- (1.) HEARD the learned counsel for the petitioner and the respondents. The petitioner in this writ petition has prayed for an issuance of an order to the respondent State of Jharkhand for considering the claim of the petitioner for relaxing the condition imposed in the notification relating to his mutual transfer whereby the petitioner has been made to lose his seniority From the facts pleaded in the writ petition, it appears that the petitioner was appointed as an Assistant Engineer in the Road Construction Department, in the State of Bihar and after several transfers, he joined as an Assistant Engineer in the in the district of Palamau in the State of Jharkhand in the year 2005.
(2.) FINAL cadre list was declared by the Govt of India vide annexure 1 dated 13.9.2006 whereby the petitioner was allotted Bihar cadre. Another Assistant Engineer, Avinash Prasad Singh of the same department was allotted Jharkhand cadre. Later, with their mutual consent, the petitioner and Avinash Prasad Singh opted for change of cadre. The petitioner opted for the allocation of State of Jharkhand and Sri Avinash Prasad Singh opted for the State of Bihar. Their option was allowed by the impugned notification no. 12730 dated 5.12.2007, (annexure 6), whereby the petitioner was allocated the State of Jharkhand, but with a condition that the claim of seniority will not be allowed to the petitioner. Assailing the said condition in the aforesaid notification, learned counsel submits that the condition could not legally be imposed in view of the fact that it is not a case of transfer within the State. Rather it is a case of allotment of his services to the successor State of Jharkhand by the Acts of the Central Government on the basis of the scheme for mutual exchange of services and under section 73 of the Bihar Re -organistion Act, the benefit of service which accrued to the petitioner, cannot be denied, curtailed or withdrawn.
(3.) REFERRING to the judgment passed by this Court in the case of Rajendra Pratap Sinha Vs State of Jharkhand and others (2009[2]JLJR 750], learned counsel explains that similar issues as raised in the present writ petition, were raised in the aforementioned case and the question of law framed by this Court was whether the respondents can alter or change the position of the writ petitioner in the seniority list on the ground of mutual transfer.;