- (1.) The writ petitions as they were originally filed were only against the State functionaries particularly the Irrigation and Power Department represented through their Chief Engineers and the Punjab Public Service Commission. Subsequently after long number of year of more than 15 or 16 years during the pendency of the writ petitions, the candidates against whom the petitioners have a grievance that they should have not been granted the posts of Sub Divisional Officers, they have been impleaded. At the time of impleadment, I notice from the file that there had been an objection taken that it was grossly belated and that they should not be entertained. The Court, however, held the impleadment to be ordered and directed the consideration on merits of the contention namely of whether the petitioners have been guilty of laches at an appropriate time.
(2.) The writ petitions grapple with an issue which is long standing battle between graduate engineers and diploma holders. During the period when there existed a sure qualification criterion regarding passing of graduate engineering courses for consideration to the appointment to the post as SDO, the appointment was originally considered under Punjab Service of Engineers Class II (PWD Irrigation Branch) Rules of 1941. The trouble started when some instructions were given assigning certain quota for persons for promotion and in the manner of determination of quota for persons in the lower rank as Junior Engineers, there had been no educational qualification specification spelt out except the number of years of service. Consequently, persons who had only diploma qualifications were vying for competition to the promotion posts with the graduate engineers. Admittedly, all the petitioners are persons who have qualified AMIE examination, treated as equivalent to a bachelor's degree in engineering. All the private respondents who had been subsequently impleaded were persons who did not have a graduate educational qualification but they had been promoted by virtue of the fact that they were treated as seniors in the lower rank.
(3.) The challenge to the promotion was mounted in a writ petition brought before the Court by one Gurmej Singh and others Vs. State of Punjab in C.W.P. No.16691 of 1997 and another in a case titled Hari Krishan and others Vs. State of Punjab and others in C.W.P. No.12725 of 1997. It could be noticed that these two writ petitions were subsequent to the institution of the first petition in C.W.P. No.15731 of 1991. At the time when the writ petition was filed all that they were claiming was that they must be taken as promoted on 10.10.1991 and that the promotion given to the diploma holders was not valid. The institution of the subsequent writ petitions came to be disposed of earlier recording the fact that 1941 Rules did not allow for persons who did not have graduate qualification in engineering to be appointed as SDOs and consequently any notification that allowed for promotion was to be seen as contrary to the Rules. The decision of this Court was affirmed by the Supreme Court in Subhash Chander Sharma Vs. State of Punjab along with yet another case in State of Punjab Vs. Hari Krishan, 1999 5 SCC 171 decided on 14.05.1999 and . These decisions held that the notifications were bad in law and the diploma holders could not be said to be having necessary qualification for being appointed as SDOs.;