- (1.) BEING aggrieved of the seniority list of Site Engineers issued by the Jaipur Development Authority on 12.12.2006 wherein the respondents have been shown senior to the petitioners and the order dated 14.12.2006 issued by the Jaipur Development Authority promoting respondent no.2 on the post of Sector Engineer from that of Site Engineer, the petitioners have filed this writ petition. Accordingly, it has been prayed that the seniority list of Site Engineers issued by the JDA on 12.12.2006, showing respondent nos. 2 to 8 above the petitioners be quashed and set aside. Further it has been prayed that the order dated 14.12.2006 passed by the JDA by which respondent no.2 has been promoted on the post of Sector Engineer from the post of Site Engineer be also quashed and set aside. The petitioners have then prayed that the respondent JDA be directed to recast the seniority list of Site Engineers on the basis of joining of services in JDA and further to promote the petitioners on the post of Sector Engineer in accordance with recasted seniority.
(2.) THE case of the petitioners is that after having passed their B.E. Examination from the respective Universities, they were initially appointed as Assistant Engineer (Works) in the erstwhile Avas Vikas Sansthan (in short, here -in -after referred to as 'the AVS') which was a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The AVS was brought into existence as a result of the scheme formulated by the Housing and Urban Development Corporation, New Delhi, to set up a chain of buildings at the Centre and the State of Rajasthan. The AVS had started functioning in the year 1989. Lateron, in the year 1997 the AVS had begun to incur heavy losses so much so that it could not even pay salary to its employees after 1.12.1998. Therefore, the State Government had decided, in view of financial and administrative conditions, to dissolve the AVS. It was also decided that the employees of the AVS would be adjusted on priority basis against the vacant posts of the Municipal Board, Municipal Corporation, Jaipur Development Authority and other local bodies, whenever the posts fall vacant on the retirement of the employees of such bodies. Accordingly, by resolution dated 26.3.1999, the AVS was dissolved.
(3.) ON 26.2.2000, a letter was written by the Deputy Secretary of the Urban Development Department, Government of Rajasthan to the Commissioner, Jaipur Development Authority and Rajasthan Housing Board clarifying that in pursuance of the order no.101/99 dated 20.5.1999 of the Cabinet of the State Government, the former employees and engineers of erstwhile AVS will be appointed through direct recruitment on the lowest post and no pay protection would be given. The past service rendered by them in AVS will not be considered in the new department. They were to be appointed on the minimum of scale of post on which they were given appointment (Annexure -1). In pursuance of the said order/ letter, the petitioners along with some other persons were appointed on the lowest post of Junior Engineer after interview held by the department of local bodies in the month of December, 1999. The petitioners were then appointed in JDA vide order dated 3.3.2000 on probation for a period of one year and their names appeared at sr. nos. 15 to 19. It was mentioned in the order that the said appointment was with certain conditions, such as, that their services would start from date of joining and that it was a fresh appointment. It is to be noted that petitioner nos. 1 to 3 were already working on deputation with JDA, even prior to their appointment on 3.3.2000. Their date of joining on deputation was 30.1.1999, 22.2.1999 and 30.1.1999 respectively. Even petitioner nos. 5 and 6 were also working in JDA, on deputation, prior to their aforesaid fresh appointment. The petitioners and for that matter all persons including the respondents who had so joined the services of JDA had given an undertaking that they will not claim any seniority, continuity of service and pay protection in respect of the service rendered earlier with erstwhile AVS.;