Mohammed Rafiq, J. - (1.) The petitioner who is working with the Municipal Board, Khetri has filed the present writ petition with the prayer that the respondent Board may be directed not to revert him from the post of Assistant Sanitary Inspector to the post of Sub-Nakedar and the respondent Board may further be directed to regularise his services on the aforesaid post of Assistant Sanitary Inspector with due benefit from the year 1981 as the petitioner not only possess requisite qualification but also possess experience for the said post.
(2.) According to the averments made in the memo of the writ petition, the petitioner was initially appointed in the year 1973 on the post of Naka Guard and was promoted to the post of Sub-Nakedar in the year 1977. However, the petitioner was required to work on the post of Sanitary Inspector in the year 1980 and was formally asked to take charge of this post vide order dated 2.3.1981. Charge assumption report dated 10.3.1981 placed on record as Annexure-1 with the writ petition. It appears from this document that one Bhagwati Prasad Saini, who was earlier working as Assistant Sanitary Inspector, was transferred elsewhere. Therefore, the petitioner was required to take charge of his post. It is further stated in the writ petition that the respondent Board has sent to him for undertaking the Diploma Course of Sanitary Inspector in the year 1987-88 vide order dated 1.7.1987 and he was allowed to undertake the said Diploma Course and was also paid salary even during that period from the respondent Board. He has been satisfactorily discharging his duties of the said post for last more than a decade. The Chairman of the respondent Board thereafter recommended his case for regular appointment on the post of Assistant Sanitary Inspector by creating one such post vide letter dated 7.2.1992 followed by another letter dated 2.5.1992. Suddenly, however, the respondent Board vide its order dated 29.2.1992 decided to revert the petitioner from the post of Assistant Sanitary Inspector to the post of Sub-Nakedar, which is being impugned in the present writ petition.
(3.) The respondents have contested the writ petition and filed a detailed reply. They have stated in their reply to the writ petition that the petitioner was temporarily given the charge of the post of Assistant Sanitary Inspector consequent upon the transfer of regular incumbent Shri Bhagwati Prasad Saini, which would be evident from the Annexure-1. He was sent for undergoing diploma course only to ensure that as and when his services are required for sanitation purposes, the same may be availed of by the respondent Board. However, it is not necessary that all those who have completed the training course, are required to be appointed on the post of Assistant Sanitary Inspector. On the contrary, expenses for training course have been incurred by the Board and the petitioner has received advancement of two advance grade increments on that account. It has been stated that letter dated 7.2.1992 issued by the Chairman of the respondent Board was not valid letter/order as according to Section 68(4) of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), every order issued in the name of and for the Board is required to be authenticated by its executive officer. Rule 3(3) of the Rajasthan Municipal Authentication of Document Rules, 1974 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules') also categorically so provides and, therefore, the Chairman of the Board did not have any legal authority to pass the order in question. Even otherwise, letter dated 21.5.1992 is merely a letter of recommendation and not an order regularising services of the petitioner. According to the Schedule appended to the Rajasthan Municipal (Subordinate & Ministerial Service) Rules, 1963 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules of 1963), source of the recruitment for the post of Sanitary Inspector Grade II is 50% by direct recruitment and 50% by the promotion and the feeder post for promotion to such is that of Jamadar. The petitioner was originally appointed as Sub-Nakedar and, therefore, he was not eligible for promotion to the post of Sanitary Inspector Grade II as latter post is not avenue of promotion for the former. Impugned order dated 29.5.1992 was, therefore, passed in order to rectify the mistake as the earlier order passed was not in accordance to the law.;