- (1.) Heard respective counsels appearing on behalf of the Petitioners and Respondents. Counter and rejoinder affidavits have been exchanged. The writ petition is being decided finally.
(2.) The Petitioners have made a number of prayers in the instant writ petition, but counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioners has confined his argument to prayer No. (iii), which reads thus: for issuance of further appropriate writ (s) /order(s)/ direction(s) including the writ of mandamus from this Hon'ble Court directing the Respondents not to alter/ vary the service conditions of the Petitioners which existed immediately before the appointed day to their disadvantage, as the same is violative of the provisions of Section 73 of the Bihar Reorganization Act, 2000.
(3.) Petitioner No. 1 as well as Petitioner No. 2 both were working on the post of Functional Manager under the Department of Industries of the erstwhile State of Bihar. Petitioner No. 1 has joined the post on 01.06.1990 and Petitioner No. 2 has joined the post of Functional Manager on 1st August 1990. The claim of the Petitioners along with few others for promotion to then post of General Managers/ Deputy Directors of Industries accrued while bifurcation of the State of Jharkhand and Bihar had not taken place. Since promotion of the present two Petitioners along with few others was not being considered by the then State of Bihar, a writ petition was preferred vide C.W.J.C. No. 115 of 2004. The writ petition was decided finally on 30th April 2004 with an observation that approval from the Cabinet Secretariat was awaited right from 1999 and the matter was being delayed on one pretext or the other. Finally the writ petition was disposed of with direction to the State Government to take a final decision pertaining to promotion of the Petitioners within a period of three months from the date of receipt/ production of a copy of the order. The Petitioners continued to work in the combined cadre till May 2005 and it was only subsequent to the aforesaid date, cadre of the present Petitioners was fixed as State of Jharkhand.;