PARIHAR, J. - (1.) The controversy is in regard to promotion to the post of District Transport Officer from the post of Motor Vehicle Inspectors. The promotions are made under the Rajasthan Transport Service Rules, 1979. As per Schedule to the above rules, 1979, promotions to the post of District Transport Officer is to be made 50% by direct recruitment and 50% by promotion. So far as promotions are concerned, the same can be made from the post of Motor Vehicle Inspector. Apart from the requisite qualifications the experience for promotion required is 5 years experience on the post of Motor Vehicle Inspector. Service rendered against the post of Sales Tax Inspector or Inspector Excise and Taxation prior to posting in the Transport Department or Motor Vehicles Inspector shall be counted in computing the period of 5 years service as Motor Vehicle Inspector. Earlier there was a condition of passing qualifying examination for promotion to the post of District Transport Officer. However, the condition was deleted from the schedule vide Notification dated 13.4.92.
(2.) As per Rule 1.0 of the above Rules, determination of vacancies have to be made on first April every year, for the actual number of vacancies in the occurring financial year. Rule 10 reads as under:- Determination of vacancies.-(l)(a) Subject to the provisions of these Rules, the Appointing Authority shall determine on 1 st April every year, the actual number of vacancies occurring during the financial year, (b) Where a post is to filled in by a single method as prescribed in the rule or Schedule, the vacancies so determined shall be filled in by that method. (c) Where a post is to be filled in by more than one method as prescribed in the rules or Schedule, the appointment of vacancies, determined under clause (a) above, to each such method shall be done maintaining the prescribed proportion for the over all number of post already filled in. If any fraction of vacancies is left over, after apportionment of the vacancies in the manner prescribed above, the same shall be apportioned to the quota of various method prescribed in a continuous cyclic order giving precedence to the promotion quota. 2) The Appointing Authority shall also determine the vacancies of earlier years, year wise which were required to be filled in by promotion, if such vacancies were not determined and filled earlier in the year in which they were required to be filled in."
(3.) Procedure for recruitment by promotion have been provided under Part V of the Rules. Relevant portion of Part V is reproduced as under:- Rules 24. Criteria, Eligibility, and Procedure for Promotion to Junior Senior and other posts encadred in the Service.-(1) As soon as the Appointing Authority determines the number of vacancies under rule 10 and decides that a certain number of posts are requires to be filled in by promotion, the Appointing Authority shall, subject to provisions of sub-rule (9), prepare a correct and complete list of the senior-most persons who are eligible and qualified under these Rules for promotion on the basis of seniority cum -merit or on the basis of merit to the class of posts concerned. (2) The persons encumbered in Column 5 of Schedule-1 shall be eligible for promotion to posts of specified against them in Column 2 thereof to the extent indicated in Column 3 subject to their possessing minimum qualifications and experience on the first day of the month of April of the year of selection as specified in Column 6. (6) Selection for promotion to all other higher posts or higher categories of posts in the Service shall be made on the basis of merit and on the basis on seniority- cum- merit in the proportion of 50:50. Provided that if the Committee is satisfied that suitable persons are not available for selection by promotion strictly on the basis of merit in a particular year, selection by promotion on the basis of seniority- cum- merit may be made in the same manner as specified in these Rules. Explanation.- If in the service, in any category of post, number of posts available for promotion is an old number then for purpose of determining the vacancies for selection by promotion on the basis of seniority- cum- merit and merit in the proportion of 50:50, the following cyclic order shall be followed: The subsequent vacancy by merit; The cyclic to be repeated. (9) The Zone of consideration of persons eligible for promotion shall be as under:- (i) Number of vacancies Number of eligible persons. (a) for one vacancy Five eligible persons. (b) for two vacancies Eight eligible persons. (c) for three vacancies Ten eligible persons. (d) for four or more vacancies Three times the number of vacancies. (ii) Where, the number of eligible persons for promotion to higher post is less than the number specified above, all the persons so eligible shall be considered. (iii) Where, adequate number of the candidates belonging to the Schedule Castes or the Scheduled Tribes, as the case may be, above, the zone of consideration may be extended to five time the number of vacancies and the candidates belonging to the Schedule castes or the Scheduled Tribes, as the case may be (and not any other) coming within the extended zone of consideration shall also be considered against the vacancies reserved for them. (iv) For the higher post in the State Service:- (a) if promotion is from one category of post, eligible person up to five number shall be considered for promotion; (b) if promotion is from different categories of the post in the same pay scale, eligible persons up to two in number from each category of posts in the same pay scale shall be considered for promotion. (c) If promotion is from different categories of posts carrying different pay scales, eligible persons in the higher pay scale shall be considered for promotion on the merit in the higher pay scale then only the eligible persons of other categories of posts in lower pay scales shall be considered for promotion and so on and so forth. The zone of consideration for eligibility in this case shall be limited to five senior most eligible persons in also." (10) (b) The Committee shall also prepare a separate list on the basis of seniority- cum- merit and/or on the basis of merit, as the case may be, as per criteria for promotion laid down in the rules, containing names of persons equal to the number of persons selected in the list prepared under (a) above to fill temporary or permanent vacancies, which may occur subsequently. The list so prepared on the basis of seniority cum -merit and/or on the basis of merit, as the case may be, shall be arranged in the order of the seniority in the category of posts from which selection shall be made. Such a list shall be reviewed and revised by the Departmental Promotion Committee that meet in the subsequent year and that such list shall remain in force till the end of the last day of the next year or till the Departmental Promotion Committee meets, 'whichever is earlier.";