HEMANT GUPTA,J. - (1.) The challenge in the present writ petition is to the amendment in the Chandigarh Union Territory Subordinate Courts Establishment (Recruitment and General Conditions of Service) Rules, 1997 (for short 'the Rules') whereby the Stenographers were permitted to switch over to the Ministerial/Supervisory Cadre after completing minimum period of 10 years. The relevant offending extract of the Rule reads as under: - "Note. - The Stenographers may be permitted to switch over to ministerial/supervisory cadre after they have completed a minimum period of ten years service subject to the condition that the option once exercised shall not be revoked."
(2.) The petitioner was appointed as a Clerk in the District and Sessions Court, Chandigarh on 19.08.1997 and promoted as Assistant/Reader to Civil Judge (Senior Division)/Chief Judicial Magistrate upon the said post falling vacant on 15.02.2014.
(3.) The service condition of the petitioner and that of Stenographers in the District Courts, Chandigarh are governed by Punjab Subordinate Courts Establishment (Recruitment and General Conditions of Service) Rules, 1997 as extended to Chandigarh. The service condition of the employees of the subordinate Courts came up for consideration before the Shetty Commission, the First National Judicial Pay Commission, appointed to consider the service conditions of the staff of the subordinate Courts. The Shetty Commission inter -alia recommended as under: - "We, therefore, recommend that the Stenographers may be permitted to switch over to ministerial/supervisory cadre after they have completed a minimum period of service as determined by the High Court, subject to the condition that the option once exercise shall not be revoked." ;