Allahabad High Court
Udai Narain Singh & 43 Ors vs State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. ... on 11 July, 2017
Bench: Shri Narayan Shukla, Virendra Kumar-Ii
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH
Court No. - 2 A.F.R.
Case :- SERVICE BENCH No. - 29997 of 2016
Petitioner :- Udai Narain Singh & 43 Others
Respondent :- State Of U.P. through Principal Secretary, Department of Energy & 2 Others
Counsel for Petitioner :- Sandeep Dixit
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C, Amit Kr Singh Bhadauria
Hon'ble Shri Narayan Shukla,J.
Hon'ble Virendra Kumar-II,J.
1. Heard Shri Sandeep Dixit, learned counsel for petitioners and the learned Standing Counsel.
2. The learned counsel for petitioners has submitted that all petitioners except petitioner No.28 were appointed on the post of Assistant Engineer initially, whereas petitioner No.28 was initially appointed on the post of Junior Engineer in the erstwhile U.P. State Electricity Board. On 14.01.2000 after coming into force of the U.P. Electricity Reforms Act, 1999 by the Transfer scheme of 2000, three corporations, namely, (i) U.P. Power Corporation Limited, (ii) U.P. Rajya Vidut Utpadan Nigam Limited and (iii) U.P. Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited were created. All the employees who were already discharging their duties prior to 14.01.2000 were protected and confirmed to be the employees of U.P. Power Corporation Limited. The details of retirement, appointment and date of promotions of petitioners are mentioned in para-6 of the petition.
3. Likewise, details of retirement, appointment and promotion of Assistant Engineers belonging to Scheduled Caste category, who were juniors to petitioners in the feeding cadre, have been given in para-8 of the petition. These 11 Assistant Engineers were promoted giving them benefit of accelerated promotion under the provisions of Section 3(7) of Uttar Pradesh Public Services (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes) Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the, 'Act, 1994'). Earlier seniority list of Executive Engineers (Electrical and Mechanical) was prepared on 20.03.1998 on the basis of their seniority in the feeding cadre. After giving promotion to 11 Assistant Engineers belonging to Schedule Caste category another seniority list was prepared on 14.11.2009 regarding Chief Engineer Level (I), Chief Engineer Level (II) and Superintending Engineer (Electrical and Mechanical) according to the amended U.P. Government Servants Seniority Rules, 1991 by inserting Rule 8-A vide notification dated 14.09.2007.
4. It is also submitted that after the judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court dated 27.04.2012 and issuance of Government Order dated 21.08.2015, it was incumbent upon opposite parties to revert the reservation category officers who have been promoted after 15.11.1997 giving them benefit of reservation of promotion. Now provisions of Section 3(7) of Act, 1994 has been declared as ultra vires by Hon'ble Supreme Court. vide Uttar Pradesh Government Servant(Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2012 notified on 08.05.2012, Rule 8-A inserted in the U.P. Government Servants Seniority Rules, 1991, has been omitted. Therefore, petitioners have filed this petition and following relief has been sought:
"(a) to issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the opposite parties to consider the case of petitioners for grant of notional promotion along with all consequential benefits on the respective posts on which juniors to the petitioners have been promoted on the basis of reservation in promotion and Rule 8-A after 15.11.1997."
5. We have perused the record.
6. Hon'ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 2608 of 2011, U.P. Power Corporation Ltd. Vs. Rajesh Kumar and others and other connected appeals has declared provisions of Section 3(7) of the Act, 1994 as ultra vires, and guidelines have been issued by the State Government vide G.O. dated 21.08.2015 regarding reservation of persons, who were promoted after 15.11.1997 and prior to 28.04.2012 giving them benefit of reservation and promotion and consequential seniority. Hence the matter has to be examined by the Principal Secretary of the Department, it would be appropriate to issue direction to the respondent No.1 to consider the petitioner's matter in the light of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court rendered in the case of U.P. Power Corporation Ltd. V. Rajesh Kumar and others in Civil Appeal No.2608 and other connected appeals and take a decision with regard to the promotion as and when it became due expeditiously preferably within two months from the date of communication of this order.
7. In the aforesaid terms the writ petition stands disposed of finally.
Order Date :- 11.7.2017
Mustaqeem
(Virendra Kumar-II, J.) (Shri Narayan Shukla, J.)
