Allahabad High Court
U.P. Commercial Tax Statistical ... vs State Of U.P. & 2 Others on 17 May, 2017
Bench: Amreshwar Pratap Sahi, Daya Shankar Tripathi
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Court No. - 37
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 35545 of 2015
Petitioner :- U.P. Commercial Tax Statistical Staff Association & Anr.
Respondent :- State Of U.P. & 2 Others
Counsel for Petitioner :- Arun K. Singh-I
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Ajay Kumar,Archit Mandhyan
Hon'ble Amreshwar Pratap Sahi,J.
Hon'ble Daya Shankar Tripathi,J.
The present writ petition has been filed praying for a writ of certiorari to quash the Government Order dated 02.03.2015 whereby a clarification has been issued that after the promulgation of the Uttar Pradesh Government Department Statistical Service Rules, 2012 the Statistical services staff that was earlier the feeding cadre also for promotion to the post of Commercial Tax Officer, would no longer be available, and therefore the promotions will be made excluding the members of this category of the statistical services.
This clarification/Government Order is under challenge in this writ petition on the ground that firstly, the Uttar Pradesh Trade Tax Officers (Grade-II) Service Rules, 1997 clearly makes a provision for promotion on the said post to the extent of 2% of such statistical staff and which rule has not been amended/modified or rescinded till date. It is therefore contended that even if the cadre of statistical services have been restructured in all the departments of the Government, yet the statistical services staff of the Commercial Tax Department does not loose it's right to seek promotion to the extent of 2% as per the 1997 Rules which still continues to be in force.
It is next submitted that the overriding effect of the 2012 Rules is only to the extent it is not inconsistent with the provision of any other rule and since no inconsistency can be construed by a comparison of the aforesaid two provisions, consequently the right of such statistical services staff cannot be taken away for consideration of promotion under the 2% quota as fixed under the 1997 Rules. Accordingly, in the absence of any inconsistency the Government Order dated 02.03.2015 deserves to be struck down.
The third argument of Sri R.K. Ojha, learned Senior counsel for the petitioner is that so far as a selective elimination of only this category under the impugned Government Order is concerned, the same is discriminatory and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, inasmuch as the promotional feeding cadre was from three sources namely, the Stenographers, the Ministerial Staff as well as the Statistical Staff. The respondents continue to provide the avenue of promotion to the two other categories and have eliminated only the statistical staff for which there is no rational basis, and therefore this violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
The fourth argument advanced by the learned Senior counsel for the petitioner is that during the pendency of this writ petition, the respondents while proceeding to answer the queries raised by this Court have referred the Government Order dated 19.09.2014. The same has been brought on record as Annexure No.1 to the supplementary affidavit dated 23.12.2016. The said document has been referred to in the circular letter clarifying the said position by the State Government to the Commissioner, Commercial Tax on 25.11.2016 wherein it has been indicated that the matter was placed before the Cabinet and appropriate proposals for amending the Rules pertaining to the Commercial Tax Department are on the anvil and are likely to be implemented but with a rider that the 2% quota meant for these services is intended to be reduced to 1% in the 1997 Rules. He submits that this reduction has not yet taken place and no amendment has been brought about but at the same time the matter has been further clarified by the Commissioner, Trade Tax through his letter dated 18.04.2017 to the effect that promotions and selections have to be continued on the basis of the 1997 Rules which provides for 2% posts being made available to the Statistical Staff.
This has been clarified in relation to the selections for the selection year 2016-17.
It is thus clear that the respondents themselves have now proceeded to consider providing this opportunity of promotional avenue to the Statistical Staff of the Commercial Tax Department that has now been unified in the cadre of the State Statistical Services governed by the 2012 Rules, and if the respondents themselves are continuing to extend such a benefit as is evident from the letter dated 18.04.2017 and the submissions that had been advanced here-in-above, we direct that the State Government may file an appropriate affidavit within two weeks categorically clarifying the aforesaid position either by way of any amendment or by any appropriate direction in case it is so required keeping in view the letter of the Commissioner, Commercial Tax Department dated 18.04.2017 which affidavit may be filed by the next date fixed.
List on 2nd July, 2017.
If the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) is convened during this period, it is open to the respondents to convene it in terms of the letter dated 18.04.2017 and any outcome thereof shall be subject to the final decision in the writ petition.
Order Date :- 17.5.2017
atul
