Court affirms the entitlement of ad-hoc Junior Engineers to promotion as Assistant Engineers from the date their juniors were promoted, following the precedent set by the Supreme Court.
In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, has dismissed two special appeals filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh, thereby upholding the promotion rights of ad-hoc Junior Engineers, Anil Kumar and Shailendra Singh. The court confirmed that these engineers are entitled to be promoted to Assistant Engineers from the date their juniors were promoted, irrespective of the regularization date of their services.
The decision, delivered by Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Manjive Shukla, aligns with the precedent set by the Supreme Court in the case of Siraj Ahmad v. State of U.P., which established that ad-hoc services, if uninterrupted until regularization, must be counted for determining eligibility for promotion and seniority.
In this case, Anil Kumar and Shailendra Singh were appointed as Junior Engineers on an ad-hoc basis in 1986, following a proper advertisement and selection process, albeit without the consultation of the U.P. Public Service Commission. Their services were regularized in 1997 and 2002, respectively. However, despite this regularization occurring after their juniors were promoted, the High Court ruled that their ad-hoc service should be considered for promotion purposes.
The State of U.P. had argued against the promotions, citing the lack of vacancies under the specific quota for degree holders and the need for regularization before promotion. However, the court noted that supernumerary posts had been created for similarly placed employees in compliance with previous court orders, making the denial of promotion on these grounds unjustifiable.
The court further emphasized the doctrine of precedents, stating that once the Supreme Court has settled the law in identical facts, the High Court is bound to follow the precedent without reconsidering the issues already decided.
This ruling reinforces the legal standing of ad-hoc employees in the public sector, ensuring that their service is duly recognized and valued, even when procedural irregularities are present in their initial appointments.
Bottom Line:
Ad-hoc Junior Engineers, whose appointments were irregular but not illegal, are entitled to promotions on the post of Assistant Engineer from the date their juniors were promoted, irrespective of the regularization date of their services.
Statutory provision(s): U.P. Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973, U.P. Development Authorities Centralised Services Rules, 1985
State of U.P. v. Anil Kumar, (Allahabad)(DB)(Lucknow) : Law Finder Doc id # 2867388
