TAPEN SEN, J. - (1.) HEARD Mr. Saurabh Arun, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. M.M. Banerjea, learned counsel for the respondents.
(2.) WHEN the case was taken up, Mr. Saurabh Arun, learned counsel for the petitioner pointed out that an amendment application has been filed on 13.9.1999 wherein he has made a prayer for quashing the subsequent order dated 11.3.1999 passed by the Chairman -cum -Managing Director, Coal India Limited rejecting the appeal of the petitioner. Since this matter is being taken up finally, Mr. Banerjea has no objection to the aforementioned prayer for allowing the amendment application. Accordingly the amendment application is allowed and the same is taken up for hearing alongwith the writ application. The petitioner, in the instant case, has prayed for quashing of Annexure 5, which is an order dated 3.9.1998 passed by the Chairman -cum -Managing Director, Central Coalfields Limited, Darbhanga House, Ranchi, whereby and whereunder he has been reduced to the initial stage in the same time scale of pay for a period of two years without any future effect. The petitioner has also made a prayer that the respondents be directed to grant promotion to the petitioner which, according to him, has been arbitrarily withheld in the Grade of M -2.
(3.) ACCORDING to the petitioner, he was appointed as a Junior Executive in December 1973, whereafter he was given different promotions on various dates, the last of which was in June 1992 when he was promoted to the E -6 Grade which is presently known as M -l Grade. At paragraph 6, the petitioner has categorically stated that his appointing authority is the Chairman -cum -Managing Director of Coal India Limited and that his cadre is also maintained at the level of the apex Company, i.e., Coal India Limited. This paragraph has not been denied by the respondents, inasmuch as at paragraph 7 it has merely been stated that these statements are matters of record and as such they require no comments. Paragraph 7 of the counter -affidavit is therefore quoted below : "7. That with reference to the statement made in para 3 to 6 of the writ application I say and submit that the same are matters of record and as such no comment is required to be furnished." ;