Prem Chand Jain, J. - (1.) THIS judgment of ours will dispose of Civil Writ Petitions Nos. 4689 of 1978, and 1702 of 1973 and L.P.A. No. 670 of 1973, as common questions of law arise in all these cases.
(2.) THE interpretation and constitutional validity of Rule 6 of the Punjab Service of Engineers Class I, P.W.D. (Irrigation Branch) Rules, 1964 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) are the main subject -matters which require determination. In order to decide the aforesaid questions reference may be made to certain facts from C.W.P. 4689 of 1978. Although a very lengthy petition has been drafted yet for the purpose of the decision of the above matters it is not at all necessary to reproduce the detailed facts given in the petition and it would serve our purpose if only a few relevant facts are noticed, which read as under:
(3.) O . P. Bhatia, Petitioner No. 1, was recruited as Sectional Officer in the Punjab Public Works Department, Irrigation Branch, on February 23, 1947, while Balbir Bahadur Singh, Petitioner No. 2, was recruited as Sectional Officer on October 6, 1949. The Petitioners were confirmed as Sectional Officers with effect from April 10, 1959 and March 1, 1960, respectively. Petitioner No. 1 was promoted as officiating Sub -Divisional Officer on November 21, 1960 and Petitioner No. 2 was promoted as officiating Sub -Divisional Officer on March 28, 1969. On re -organisation of the State of Punjab, the Petitioners' services were allocated to the State of Haryana. In the petition the Petitioners claimed themselves to Be the members of Class II Service and their grouse is that they are not being considered for appointment to Class I Service in view of the wrong interpretation which is being put on Rule 6 of the Rules. That is how the Petitioners have filed this petition praying that the official respondents be directed to consider the case of the Petitioners for promotion to Class I Service.;