VEERENDR SINGH SIRADHANA,J. - (1.) The petitioner, aggrieved of the Circular dated 26th February, 1998, finalising the Inter-se-Seniority list of Senior Group Officer and Labour Welfare Officers, has approached this Court praying for the following relief(s) : (i) call for the entire record of the case and after examining the same quash and set aside the impugned final inter-se-seniority list dated 26.02.1998 and may kindly be revise the inter-se-seniority list of Sr. Group Officer of Labour Welfare Officer and the petitioner be shown above in the said inter-se-seniority list qua respondent No. 2 and 3 will with consequential benefits. (ii) issue an appropriate writ, order or direction and direct the respondent No. 1 to consider the candidature of the petitioner higher to respondent No. 2 and 3 for promotion on the post of Assist. Manager and if any order is passed during the pendency of writ petition, that shall be taken on record and be quashed and set aside. (iii) issue any other beneficial order or direction which the Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper in the facts and circumstances in favour of the petitioner. (iv) costs of the present petition may kindly be awarded in favour of the petitioner."
(2.) Shorn of unnecessary details, the essential skeletal material facts necessary for appreciation of the controversy raised in the writ application needs to be first noticed. The petitioner was initially selected and appointed on the post of Senior Assistant in the Rajasthan State Industrial and Menaral Department Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as 'the Corporation', for short), which lateron was bifurcated and the concerned unit is known as the Rajasthan State Menaral Department Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as 'RSMDC Limited', for short). The services of the petitioner were transferred to RSMDC Limited on 1st November, 1979. The petitioner was accorded promotion on the post of Group Officer in the year 1985. Consequent upon the up-gradation of two posts of Group Officers to that of Senior Group Officers vide order dated 25th January, 1994. The petitioner was appointed as Senior Group Officer in the pay-scale of Rs. 2000-3500 from the date of his joining, as would be reflected from the order dated 12th July, 1994 (Annexure-2). The Corporation issued a Provisional Inter-se-Seniority list on 17th January, 1998, wherein the name of the petitioner was shown at Serial No. 3 with the date of his joining in the cadre as 12th July, 1994. The Provisional Inter-se-Seniority list also contained the name of respondents No. 2 and 3. Shri S.Ponippas, Labour Welfare Officer with the date of his joining in the cadre as 7th May, 1994 was shown at serial number 5. Shri M. Patidar, respondent No. 3-herein, in the writ application, was also shown at Serial number 6 with the designation of Labour Welfare Officer with the date of joining on 12th May, 1994. It is pleaded case of the petitioner that vide circular dated 18th February, 1998, the Provisional Inter-se-Seniority list, reflecting the Seniority position of Senior Group Officers and Labour Welfare Officers of the Corporation as on 16th January, 1998, reflected his name at Serial No. 5 and that of respondent No. 2 and 3 at Serial No. 3 and 4; above him. The petitioner represented his case as the candidates, whose names were reflected in the Inter-se-Seniority list, were allowed to make representation, if any, within ten days. The respondents, after consideration of the representation submitted by the petitioner, maintained the Provisional Inter-se-Seniority list dated 18th February, 1998 as final Inter-se-Seniority list, as would be evident from the circular dated 26th February, 1998, wherein the petitioner's name was below the respondent No. 2 and 3, in the cadre of Group Officers with his joining in the cadre as on 12th July, 1994. The petitioner aggrieved of action of the respondent-Corporation, in showing him as Junior to respondent No. 2 and 3, who were Labour Welfare Officers; has assailed the action of the respondents as illegal, arbitrary and malafide.
(3.) In response to the notice of the writ application, the respondents have filed their counter affidavit. The respondent-Corporation in its counter affidavit has pleaded that since there are no specific rules to determine the Inter-se-Seniority list of two different cadre i.e. Senior Group Officers and Labour Welfare Officers, therefore, the Corporation adopted the criteria of length of service in the respective cadre, and accordingly, after publication of the provisional Inter-se-Seniority list inviting objections from the candidates aggrieved, if any, finalised the same vide Circular dated 26th February, 1998. It is further pleaded that the service conditions in the Corporation are governed by the RSMDC Recruitment and Promotion Rules, 1980, and the mode of recruitment has been detailed out in Scheduled-I wherein the post of Assistant Manager (P and A) is to be filled 25% by direct recruitment and 75% by promotion. Further, the feeder posts for promotion are that of Labour Welfare Officers as well as Senior Group Officers with three years experience as the case may be. The petitioner who joined the post of Senior Group Officer vide order dated 12th July, 1994, in pursuance to his promotion of even the date, is junior to respondents No. 2 and 3, who joined the post of Labour Welfare Officer on 7th and 12th May, 1994, respectively. Therefore, the action of the respondent-Corporation is perfectly legal, valid, just and proper and cannot be faulted on any of the grounds pleaded in the writ application while assailing the legality, validity and correctness of the finalisation of the Inter-se-Seniority list of two different cadres issued vide circular dated 26th February, 1998.;