- (1.) The conditions of service of persons appointed to the Punjab Service of Engineers, Class II, P.W.D. (Public Health Branch), are governed by the Statutory Rules known as the Punjab Service of Engineers, Class II, P.W.D. (Public Health) Rules, 1967 (hereinafter called the Rules). Rule 6 of the Rules provides as to how recruitment to the Service is to be done. The said rule is in the following terms : "Recruitment to Service. - (1) Recruitment to the Service for cadre and ex-cadre post shall be made in the following manner only from the sources fisted below in the proportions and the order indicated against a lot of every 40 vacancies :- Method of Recruitment : Proportion : Allocation to each source in lot of 40 vacancies comprising five blocks. I II III IV V 1. Direct appointment : 26 5 6 5 5 5 2. Promotion from the members of Punjab P.W.D. Public Health Sectional Officer Service : 8 2 1 2 1 2 3. Promotion from Draftsmen members of the Draftsmen and Tracers Service : 2 1 - - 1 - 4. Promotion from members of the Punjab P.W.D. Public Health Sectional Officers Service and the Draftsmen and Tracers' Service : 4 - 1 1 1 1 Possessing qualifications Prescribed in Appendix 'B' Total 40 8 8 9 8 8 (2) In case suitable candidates are not available from source No. (4), the vacancies shall be filled by direct recruitment. (3) In case, a candidate is not available from sources 1 and 3 and a person has to be appointed, in public interest, as a stop-gap arrangement from other than the allotted source, such a person shall be liable to be reverted to his original cadre when a candidate from the allotted source is available and the period of service rendered by such person will not be reckoned for the purpose of seniority. (4) The Government may fill a short-term vacancy, in the exigencies of public service, after recording specific reasons for a period not exceeding six months in each case by local arrangement from among the members of the Punjab P.W.D. (Public Health) Sectional Officers' Engineering Service, without resorting to the select fist prepared under rule 9. (5) No person, except to the extent provided under sub rule (4)-(a) who is not substantive member of the P.W.D. (Public Health) Class II Service, or a member of P.S.E. (Public Health Branch), Class I Service, in the junior scale on the date of enforcement of these rules; or (b) who is not considered suitable for appointment to the service, as provided in rule 7 read with Appendix 'G' shall hold the post of a Sub-Divisional Engineer, even in an officiating capacity, unless he is declared within a period of six months from the date of enforcement of these rules, as suitable for appointment to the Service under the provisions of these Rules." It will be seen from the Rule that for recruitment to the service, quota for various sources as also the rota for the sources is provided in Rule 6 of the Rules. In the present case, we are concerned with the first 29 vacancies in the Class II Service and according to Rule 6 ibid, the roster for filling the first 29 vacancies from different sources will be as under : ROSTER OF MECHANICAL WING (P.H. DEPARTMENT) Sr. No. Name of Category 1. Direct) 2. Direct) 3. Direct) Source 1. 4. Direct) 5. Direct) 6. Sectional Officer) Source 2. 7. Sectional Officer) 8. Draftsman Source 3. 9. Direct) 10. Direct) 11. Direct) 12. Direct) Source 1. 13. Direct) 14. Direct) 15. Sectional Officer) Source 2. 16. A.M.I.E. Source 4. 17. Direct) 18. Direct) 19. Direct) Source 1. 20. Direct) 21. Direct) 22. Sectional Officer) Source 2. 23. Sectional Officer) 24. A.M.I.E. Source 4. 25. Direct) 26. Direct) 27. Direct) 28. Direct) Source 1 29. Direct) According to Rule 7 of the Rules, which lays down the qualification for appointment by promotion to the service, a person has to be a member of the Punjab P.W.D. (Public Health), Sectional Officers (Engineering) Service or a Draftsman member of the Public Health Branch Draftsman and Tracers Services and has put in a service of ten years.
(2.) All the three petitioners are Sectional Officers and belong to Source No. 2 and they had become eligible for promotion to Class II Service as Sub Divisional Engineers (Class II Service) under Rule 7 of the Rules on 1.1.1979, 1.1.1982 and 1.1.1979, respectively. In the present writ petition, petitioners stake their claim for promotion as Sub Divisional Engineers against Points No. 15, 22 and 23 respectively on the roster reproduced above, as these points according to the petitioners, under the Rules, are meant to be filled by promotion of Sectional Officer (Source No. 2). Further it has been prayed that the selection of Respondents No. 2 to 5, who have been selected for being appointed as Sub Divisional Engineers in Class 11 Service by direct recruitment against the points meant for the Sectional Officers on the roster is bad in law. The petitioners have also challenged the order of Government, dated 22nd June, 1979 (Annexure P-2) (to which detailed reference will be made in the latter part of the judgment), by which inter alia the points on the roster meant for the Sectional Officer have been shifted for the direct recruits and vice-versa.
(3.) Sarvshri S.L. Mahajan, Rajinder Pal Singh, Mohinder Singh and Avtar Singh, who belonged to the category of Sectional Officers were admittedly senior to the petitioners as Sectional Officers. Since no candidate through the direct recruitment was available for the first five posts in the roster, excepting one (Shri T.C. Singla) the Government made stop-gap arrangement under Rule 6(3) ibid and gave stop-gap promotions as Sub Divisional Engineers to the above said four persons in the year 1967, 1968 and 1970.;