P.Murugaiayan ... Vs. the State of Tamil Nadu - Court Judgment

Excerpt:
prayer: writ petition came to be numbered by transfer of o.a.no.7329 of 2000 on the file of the tamil nadu administrative tribunal praying to call for the records relating to the respondent letter no.12475/aa1/2000-2, dated 26.07.2000 to quash the same and consequently direct the respondent to include the applicant at the appropriate place in the panel for 1998-99 and promote the applicant as administrative officer from the date on which his immediate junior was promoted as such with all benefits both service and monetary. 1. the petitioner had approached the tamil nadu administrative tribunal, by filing original application no.7329 of 2000. the said original application was transferred to the file of this court on abolition of the tribunal and renumbered as w.p.no.40755 of 2006.2. the petitioner, after his appointment as junior assistant during july, 1962, was promoted as assistant in the year 1971 and subsequently, in the year 1993, he was further promoted as superintendent. finally, he was again promoted as junior administrative officer during the year 1998 and on reaching the age of superannuation, he retired from service on 30.11.2000. whileso, the petitioner sought for a prayer to include his name at the appropriate place in the panel for the year 1998-99 and promote him as administrative officer from the date on which his immediate juniors were promoted with all service and monetary benefits. as per the guidelines prescribed for the promotion of administrative officer from the post of junior administrative officer, a candidate should possess a pass in accounts test part-ii and executive officer test and further, he should be discharging his duties in the feeder category of junior administrative officer. when the proposals came for inclusion and for promotion of suitable officers to the post of administrative officer with crucial date as 01.09.98, the petitioner was appointed temporarily as junior administrative officer. out of 120 junior administrative officer promoted in proceedings dated 09.05.98, 43 qualified persons were promoted as administrative officer vide g.o.ms.no.d.no.956, health and family welfare department, dated 14.09.99, but unfortunately, the petitioner name was omitted to be included, inspite of the qualification possessed by him along with others. at the same time, the petitioner's juniors, namely, manibaigovindarajan, sl.no.61, g.kesavan, sl.no.63, s.paramasanthanam, sl.no.77, r.rajagopalan, sl.80 and a.thirugnanasambandam, sl.no.88, came to be promoted on the basis of the government order, without considering the petitioner's seniority position at sl.no.57. aggrieved by the same, an appeal dated 06.12.99 was filed. but, the appellate authority rejected his appeal and as a result, the petitioner filed o.a.no.811/2000 on the file of the tamil nadu administrative tribunal and the tribunal also, while disposing of the oa, directed the respondent to pass an order within a period of six months on the said representation filed by the petitioner. in the light of the direction given by the tribunal, the respondent rejected the case of the petitioner by passing the impugned order. challenging the said rejection order, the petitioner has filed the present petition. 3. learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submits that the reasons assigned for rejection of his appeal that the petitioner has not completed one year of service as junior administrative officer on the crucial date, namely, 01.09.98, is without application of mind, since most of the petitioner's juniors were promoted to the post of junior administrative officer, who have also not possessed one year of service. therefore, the action of the respondent is not only without any basis, but also violative of articles 14 and 16 of the constitution of india. secondly, it was contended that the respondent relieved him on 31.07.98 and thereafter, the petitioner joined the post of junior administrative officer on 03.09.98 without availing joining time. therefore, non joining of duty by the petitioner on the crucial date of 01.09.98, should be exempted in favour of the petitioner. particularly, when the petitioner was to retire from service during november, 2000, the denial of promotion is amounted to denial of receiving the entire retiral and pensionary benefits. he further contended that though the petitioner has been promoted by proceedings dated 09.05.98, he was relieved only from 31.08.98 and as a result, he joined only on 03.08.98. therefore, one year period should have been completed on 02.08.98 and the date of joining duty being 14.09.99, the petitioner should have been included and promoted along with others. on that basis, he prayed for setting aside the impugned order. 4. per contra, learned counsel appearing for the respondent submits that the petitioner's name was included in the panel for promotion to the post of junior administrative officer in the year 1997-98 and thereafter, the requisite posting orders were issued to all the candidates, who were included in the junior administrative officer panel including the petitioner by order dated 09.05.98 issued by the director of medical and rural health services, chennai. after the petitioner was given posting order in the district family welfare bureau, dharmapuri, he obtained an alternative posting in the district family welfare bureau, kancheepuram and got himself relieved only from 31.08.98 and thereafter, he joined duty as junior administrative officer in district family welfare bureau, kancheepuram on 03.09.98, whereas the other candidates, who were promoted along with the petitioner, joined duty well before 01.09.98. since the next step for promotion from the post of junior administrative officer is administrative officer, as per the rule, the feeder category for the post of administrative officer being junior administrative officer, the prescribed qualification for the post of administrative officer, as per the special rules for the tamil nadu general service under category xxi as amended in g.o.ms.no.93, health and family welfare department, dated 21.01.91, is, persons appointed as junior administrative officer by recruitment by transfer shall be on probation for a total period of one year on duty within a continuous period of two years and should have completed the probation period for promotion to the post of administrative officer and further, they should have passed account test for subordinate officers part ii or the account test for executive officers. in addition to that, they should also be qualified as per the panel instructions prescribed in g.o.ms.no.368, personnel and administrative reforms department, dated 13.10.93. but, he contended that in the case of the petitioner, he was not serving as junior administrative officer on the crucial date of 01.09.98, but he joined duty as junior administrative officer only on 03.09.98. further, he was only continuing as office superintendent on the crucial date of 01.09.98, which is not the feeder category post for the post of administrative officer. further, the petitioner also retired from service from the post of office assistant. therefore, the case of the petitioner cannot be considered at all as per the rule. on that basis, prayed for dismissal of the present writ petition. 5. heard the learned counsel appearing on either side and perused the materials available on record.6. the petitioner, while serving as officer superintendent, was issued with promotional order on 09.05.98 along with his juniors for the post of junior administrative officer. instead of joining the post of junior administrative officer, immediately after 09.05.98, when the petitioner's juniors joined the feeder category of junior administrative officer, the petitioner alone, even after receiving the posting order in the district family welfare bureau, dharmapuri, he himself on his own, obtained an alternative posting in the district family welfare bureau, kancheepuram, to continue to work as office superintendent and after working till 31.08.98, he got himself relieved from the post of superintendent and after 31.08.98, he joined duty as junior administrative officer in the district family welfare bureau, kancheepuram, on 03.09.98, whereas all other juniors to the petitioner, who were promoted along with petitioner on 09.05.98, joined duty immediately well before 01.09.98. therefore, as per the special rules for the tamil nadu general service under category xxi as amended in g.o.ms.no.93, health and family welfare department, dated 21.01.98, persons appointed as junior administrative officer by recruitment by transfer shall be on probation for a total period of one year on duty within a continuous period of two years and should have completed the probation period for promotion to the post of administrative officer. secondly, they should have passed the account test for subordinate officers part ii or the account test for executive officers. thirdly, they should also be qualified as per the panel instructions prescribed in g.o.ms.no.368, dated 13.10.93. fourthly, the candidates seeking promotion to the post of administrative officer, should be working in the post of junior administrative officer as on 01.09.98. but, in the present case, though the petitioner was issued with a promotional order for the post of junior administrative officer by order dated 09.05.98, without joining post of feeder category, namely, junior administrative officer in the district family welfare bureau, dharmapuri, he himself, on his own obtained an alternative posting in the district family welfare bureau at kancheepuram, to work as officer superintendent and after continuing as office superintendent in kancheepuram, he got himself relieved only on 31.08.98 and subsequently, he joined as junior administrative officer in the district family welfare bureau, kancheepuram only on 03.09.98. 7. at this juncture, it is relevant to keep two things in mind. firstly, when there was a promotional order passed on 09.05.98, promoting the petitioner and his juniors to the post of junior administrative officer, the petitioner was posted in the district family welfare bureau, dharmapuri, but the petitioner refused to go to the district family welfare bureau, dharmapuri, as junior administrative officer and he obtained an alternative posting in the district family welfare bureau, kancheepuram as office superintendent and continued to work till 31.08.98, which is not the feeder category to the promotional post of administrative officer. secondly, the petitioner continued to work as officer superintendent in kancheepuram till 31.08.98 and after relieving himself from the post of office superintendent in the district family welfare bureau, kancheepuram, joined as junior administrative officer only on 03.09.98. as the petitioner, admittedly, was serving as on the crucial date of 01.09.98 as officer superintendent, but not in the feeder category namely junior administrative officer, the petitioner cannot be considered for the promotional post of administrative officer. therefore, the contention of the petitioner that he was relieved only by the department from the post of officer superintendent only on 31.08.98, therefore, he was able to join the feeder category, namely, junior administrative officer in the district family welfare bureau, kancheepuram, only on 03.09.98, cannot be tenable and justifiable, for the simple reason that when the promotion order dated 09.05.98 was issued to the petitioner and his juniors, the petitioner's juniors immediately joined from the post of office superintendent to the post of junior administrative officer, which is the feeder category for the promotional post of administrative officer, but the petitioner alone chose not to join in the post of junior administrative officer, but obtained an alternative posting in the district family welfare bureau, kancheepuram and continued to work in the post of office superintendent till 31.08.98 and he did not even take any step to relieve himself well before 01.09.98 to get himself qualified as per special rules for the tamil nadu general service under category xxi as amended in g.o.ms.no.93, dated 21.01.91. therefore, this court, for the reasons said above, does not find any substance in the present writ petition and accordingly, the same is dismissed.

Judgment:
1. The petitioner had approached the Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal, by filing Original Application No.7329 of 2000. The said Original Application was transferred to the file of this Court on abolition of the Tribunal and renumbered as W.P.No.40755 of 2006.

2. The petitioner, after his appointment as Junior Assistant during July, 1962, was promoted as Assistant in the year 1971 and subsequently, in the year 1993, he was further promoted as Superintendent. Finally, he was again promoted as Junior Administrative Officer during the year 1998 and on reaching the age of superannuation, he retired from service on 30.11.2000. Whileso, the petitioner sought for a prayer to include his name at the appropriate place in the panel for the year 1998-99 and promote him as Administrative Officer from the date on which his immediate juniors were promoted with all service and monetary benefits. As per the guidelines prescribed for the promotion of Administrative Officer from the post of Junior Administrative Officer, a candidate should possess a pass in Accounts Test Part-II and Executive Officer Test and further, he should be discharging his duties in the feeder category of Junior Administrative Officer. When the proposals came for inclusion and for promotion of suitable officers to the post of Administrative Officer with crucial date as 01.09.98, the petitioner was appointed temporarily as Junior Administrative Officer. Out of 120 Junior Administrative Officer promoted in proceedings dated 09.05.98, 43 qualified persons were promoted as Administrative Officer vide G.O.Ms.No.D.No.956, Health and Family Welfare Department, dated 14.09.99, but unfortunately, the petitioner name was omitted to be included, inspite of the qualification possessed by him along with others. At the same time, the petitioner's juniors, namely, Manibaigovindarajan, Sl.No.61, G.kesavan, Sl.No.63, S.Paramasanthanam, Sl.No.77, R.Rajagopalan, Sl.80 and A.Thirugnanasambandam, Sl.No.88, came to be promoted on the basis of the Government Order, without considering the petitioner's seniority position at Sl.No.57. Aggrieved by the same, an appeal dated 06.12.99 was filed. But, the Appellate Authority rejected his appeal and as a result, the petitioner filed O.A.No.811/2000 on the file of the Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal and the Tribunal also, while disposing of the OA, directed the respondent to pass an order within a period of six months on the said representation filed by the petitioner. In the light of the direction given by the Tribunal, the respondent rejected the case of the petitioner by passing the impugned order. Challenging the said rejection order, the petitioner has filed the present petition.

3. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submits that the reasons assigned for rejection of his appeal that the petitioner has not completed one year of service as Junior Administrative Officer on the crucial date, namely, 01.09.98, is without application of mind, since most of the petitioner's juniors were promoted to the post of Junior Administrative Officer, who have also not possessed one year of service. Therefore, the action of the respondent is not only without any basis, but also violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. Secondly, it was contended that the respondent relieved him on 31.07.98 and thereafter, the petitioner joined the post of Junior Administrative Officer on 03.09.98 without availing joining time. Therefore, non joining of duty by the petitioner on the crucial date of 01.09.98, should be exempted in favour of the petitioner. Particularly, when the petitioner was to retire from service during November, 2000, the denial of promotion is amounted to denial of receiving the entire retiral and pensionary benefits. He further contended that though the petitioner has been promoted by proceedings dated 09.05.98, he was relieved only from 31.08.98 and as a result, he joined only on 03.08.98. Therefore, one year period should have been completed on 02.08.98 and the date of joining duty being 14.09.99, the petitioner should have been included and promoted along with others. On that basis, he prayed for setting aside the impugned order.

4. Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the respondent submits that the petitioner's name was included in the panel for promotion to the post of Junior Administrative Officer in the year 1997-98 and thereafter, the requisite posting orders were issued to all the candidates, who were included in the Junior Administrative Officer panel including the petitioner by order dated 09.05.98 issued by the Director of Medical and Rural Health Services, Chennai. After the petitioner was given posting order in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Dharmapuri, he obtained an alternative posting in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Kancheepuram and got himself relieved only from 31.08.98 and thereafter, he joined duty as Junior Administrative Officer in District Family Welfare Bureau, Kancheepuram on 03.09.98, whereas the other candidates, who were promoted along with the petitioner, joined duty well before 01.09.98. Since the next step for promotion from the post of Junior Administrative Officer is Administrative Officer, as per the rule, the feeder category for the post of Administrative Officer being Junior Administrative Officer, the prescribed qualification for the post of Administrative Officer, as per the Special Rules for the Tamil Nadu General Service under category XXI as amended in G.O.Ms.No.93, Health and Family Welfare Department, dated 21.01.91, is, persons appointed as Junior Administrative Officer by recruitment by transfer shall be on probation for a total period of one year on duty within a continuous period of two years and should have completed the probation period for promotion to the post of Administrative Officer and further, they should have passed Account Test for Subordinate Officers Part II or the Account Test for Executive Officers. In addition to that, they should also be qualified as per the panel instructions prescribed in G.O.Ms.No.368, Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department, dated 13.10.93. But, he contended that in the case of the petitioner, he was not serving as Junior Administrative Officer on the crucial date of 01.09.98, but he joined duty as Junior Administrative Officer only on 03.09.98. Further, he was only continuing as Office Superintendent on the crucial date of 01.09.98, which is not the feeder category post for the post of Administrative Officer. Further, the petitioner also retired from service from the post of Office Assistant. Therefore, the case of the petitioner cannot be considered at all as per the rule. On that basis, prayed for dismissal of the present writ petition.

5. Heard the learned counsel appearing on either side and perused the materials available on record.

6. The petitioner, while serving as Officer Superintendent, was issued with promotional order on 09.05.98 along with his juniors for the post of Junior Administrative Officer. Instead of joining the post of Junior Administrative Officer, immediately after 09.05.98, when the petitioner's juniors joined the feeder category of Junior Administrative Officer, the petitioner alone, even after receiving the posting order in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Dharmapuri, he himself on his own, obtained an alternative posting in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Kancheepuram, to continue to work as Office Superintendent and after working till 31.08.98, he got himself relieved from the post of Superintendent and after 31.08.98, he joined duty as Junior Administrative Officer in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Kancheepuram, on 03.09.98, whereas all other juniors to the petitioner, who were promoted along with petitioner on 09.05.98, joined duty immediately well before 01.09.98. Therefore, as per the Special Rules for the Tamil Nadu General Service under category XXI as amended in G.O.Ms.No.93, Health and Family Welfare Department, dated 21.01.98, persons appointed as Junior Administrative Officer by recruitment by transfer shall be on probation for a total period of one year on duty within a continuous period of two years and should have completed the probation period for promotion to the post of Administrative Officer. Secondly, they should have passed the Account test for Subordinate Officers Part II or the Account Test for Executive Officers. Thirdly, they should also be qualified as per the panel instructions prescribed in G.O.Ms.No.368, dated 13.10.93. Fourthly, the candidates seeking promotion to the post of Administrative Officer, should be working in the post of Junior Administrative Officer as on 01.09.98. But, in the present case, though the petitioner was issued with a promotional order for the post of Junior Administrative Officer by order dated 09.05.98, without joining post of feeder category, namely, Junior Administrative Officer in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Dharmapuri, he himself, on his own obtained an alternative posting in the District Family Welfare Bureau at Kancheepuram, to work as Officer Superintendent and after continuing as Office Superintendent in Kancheepuram, he got himself relieved only on 31.08.98 and subsequently, he joined as Junior Administrative Officer in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Kancheepuram only on 03.09.98.

7. At this juncture, it is relevant to keep two things in mind. Firstly, when there was a promotional order passed on 09.05.98, promoting the petitioner and his juniors to the post of Junior Administrative Officer, the petitioner was posted in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Dharmapuri, but the petitioner refused to go to the District Family Welfare Bureau, Dharmapuri, as Junior Administrative Officer and he obtained an alternative posting in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Kancheepuram as Office Superintendent and continued to work till 31.08.98, which is not the feeder category to the promotional post of Administrative Officer. Secondly, the petitioner continued to work as Officer Superintendent in Kancheepuram till 31.08.98 and after relieving himself from the post of Office Superintendent in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Kancheepuram, joined as Junior Administrative Officer only on 03.09.98. As the petitioner, admittedly, was serving as on the crucial date of 01.09.98 as Officer Superintendent, but not in the feeder category namely Junior Administrative Officer, the petitioner cannot be considered for the promotional post of Administrative Officer. Therefore, the contention of the petitioner that he was relieved only by the department from the post of Officer Superintendent only on 31.08.98, therefore, he was able to join the feeder category, namely, Junior Administrative Officer in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Kancheepuram, only on 03.09.98, cannot be tenable and justifiable, for the simple reason that when the promotion order dated 09.05.98 was issued to the petitioner and his juniors, the petitioner's juniors immediately joined from the post of Office Superintendent to the post of Junior Administrative Officer, which is the feeder category for the promotional post of Administrative Officer, but the petitioner alone chose not to join in the post of Junior Administrative Officer, but obtained an alternative posting in the District Family Welfare Bureau, Kancheepuram and continued to work in the post of Office Superintendent till 31.08.98 and he did not even take any step to relieve himself well before 01.09.98 to get himself qualified as per Special Rules for the Tamil Nadu General Service under category XXI as amended in G.O.Ms.No.93, dated 21.01.91. Therefore, this Court, for the reasons said above, does not find any substance in the present writ petition and accordingly, the same is dismissed.