Thakur Sandeep Singh vs The Singareni Collieries Company ...
2023 Latest Caselaw 2504 Tel

    THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE P.MADHAVI DEVI

                           W.P.No. 44007 of 2022

ORDER:

In this writ petition, the petitioner is challenging the

action of the respondents in issuing the Corrigendum

Ref.No.CRP/PER/R/2022/1531, dated 25.11.2022 and

Corrigendum Ref.No.CRP/PER/R/2022/1542, dated

26.11.2022, as illegal, discriminatory, contrary to law and in

violation of the principles of natural justice and consequently to

direct the respondents to conduct the recruitment for filling up

of vacancies of Under Manager E-2 Grade (Internal) strictly in

accordance with the rules framed by the Board of Directors in

the Executive Promotion Rules, 1998 as amended in 2014 and

as prescribed in the Circular Ref.No.CRP/PER/R/2022/806,

dated 24.06.2022 and to pass such other order or orders as this

Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.

2. Brief facts leading to the filing of the present writ

petition are that the respondent Corporation has issued

Circular Ref.No.CRP/PER/R/2022/806, dated 24.06.2022 for

filling up various vacancies including Under Manager (E-2

Grade) Internal as per rules. Accordingly, call letters were

PMD,J W.P.No. 44007 of 2022

issued vide Letter Ref.No.CRP/PER/R/2022/1509, dated

18.11.2022. According to the Circular dated 24.06.2022, the

qualification/service prescribed was (i) Second Class Mine

Manager's Certificate of Competency (Coal) issued by the

Director General of Mines Safety; and (ii) working as Head

Overman/Overman/Mine Surveyor who have put in five years

or more service in A1/A/B Grades in Supervisory Cadre or E-

1/E2 Grade of Executive Cadre. It is submitted that

subsequently, the respondents have issued Corrigendum letters

dated 25.11.2022 and 26.11.2022 by including the Mining

Sirdar and Senior Mining Sirdar also respectively as eligible for

submitting their applications and being considered for

promotion. Challenging the same, the present writ petition has

been filed.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that

vide interim orders dated 08.12.2022, the respondents were

permitted to proceed with the recruitment process of the said

vacancies, but the result of the same was subject to outcome of

the writ petition. Accordingly, the examination was conducted

and the results are awaited and are thus seeking a direction to

announce the results and to complete the recruitment process.

PMD,J W.P.No. 44007 of 2022

4. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners

submitted that the rules as on the date of issuing the circular

notifying the vacancies, have to be followed and cannot be

changed until the recruitment process is completed. He

submitted that rules of the game cannot be changed after the

game has begun and the respondents herein have changed the

service conditions/qualifications without amending the service

rules. He submitted that the service conditions can be amended

only by the Singareni Board and not by the Group of Directors.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner further submitted

that Board of Governors consists of the Directors from Central

Government as well as State Government and the Chairman

and Managing Director of the Singareni Collieries Company

Limited and without the ascent of all the Directors, the service

conditions could not have been amended. Therefore, he submits

that the candidature of the candidates who possessed a service

conditions as mentioned in the circular dated 24.06.2022 alone

should be considered and the result should be announced and

the recruitment process should be completed.

6. Learned Standing Counsel for the respondent

Corporation, however relied upon the averments made in the

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counter affidavit and submitted that the Chairman and

Managing Director has been delegated with the powers of

recruitment and further that after issuance of circular,

representations have been received from the Trade Unions to

include a combined service as well and therefore, a resolution

was passed to include the said services i.e., Mining Sirdar and

Senior Mining Sirdar as well and the Corrigendum were

accordingly issued. He submitted that the Corrigendum is only

in respect of the service conditions and not the minimum

qualification required and therefore, there was no illegality or

irregularity in issuing of the Corrigendum or change in rules of

the game after the circular has been issued.

7. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners

referred to the delegation of Powers to C & M.D and Functional

Directors as on 26.12.2018, available on the website, to submit

that the functions of framing of recruitment service, conduct

and other Rules have not delegated to the Chairman by the

Board of Directors. He also placed reliance upon the judgment

of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of A.Manjusree Vs.

State of Andhra Pradesh and Another 1 and submitted that the

1 (2008) 3 SCC 512

PMD,J W.P.No. 44007 of 2022

selection criteria has been prescribed in advance and rules of

game cannot be changed afterwards. He also relied upon the

judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Bishnu

Biswas and Others Vs. Union of India and Others 2, for the

very same proposition that rules of game cannot be changed

after the selection process has been initiated.

8. Having regard to the rival contentions and the

material on record, this Court finds that the circular was issued

for recruitment of Under Manager E-2 Grade (Internal) on

24.06.2022. The qualifications as per the said circular are the

Second Class Mine Manager's Certificate of Competency (Coal)

issued by the Director General of Mines Safety. The candidates

who are eligible to participate in the recruitment process are

those who are working as Head Overman/Overman/Mine

Surveyor who have put in five years or more service in A1/A/B

Grades in Supervisory Cadre or E-1/E2 Grade of Executive

Cadre. The Corrigendum letters dated 25.11.2022 and

26.11.2022, modify the category of employees who are eligible

for participating in the recruitment process. The basic

qualification of holding a Second Class Mine Manager's

2 (2014) 5 SCC 774

PMD,J W.P.No. 44007 of 2022

Certificate of Competency (Coal) issued by the Director General

of Mines Safety continues. By the modification, the respondents

have included the Mining Sirdar and Senior Mining Sirdar, who

have put in five years or more service in A1/A/B Grades in

Supervisory Cadre or E-1/E2 Grade of Executive Cadre. This

Court finds that by the above amendments, the respondents

have only expanded the category of employees who can

participate in the recruitment process, but have not modified

the minimum qualification required. Therefore, this Court is of

the opinion that the service rules or service conditions of the

circular have not been changed after issuance of the circular. As

long as minimum qualification remains the same and minimum

number of years to be put in by a candidate of a particular rank

remains the same, this Court is of the opinion there is no

change of service conditions. The expansion of the cadre for

participating in the examination would not amount to change in

the rules of game after the game has started. In view of the

same, this Court does not find any merit in the writ petition.

9. The judgments relied upon by the learned counsel

for the petitioner, are distinguishable on facts and hence are not

applicable to the case before this Court.

PMD,J W.P.No. 44007 of 2022

(i) In the case of Bishnu Biswas and Others (cited

supra), there was a variation of recruitment rules/

advertisement midway into selection process. The post of

appointment of Group-D staff was taken up and thereafter the

recruitment rules were amended providing 50 marks for written

examination while 50 marks were allocated for interview. The

Court observed that the rules of game have been changed after

conducting the written test and not admittedly at the stage of

initiation of the selection process and thus, allocation of equal

marks for interview cannot be sustained. It was further

observed that the manner in which marks were awarded to the

candidates in the interview indicated lack of transparency. It

was in these circumstances that the Court has held that the

rules of the game have been changed after conducting the

written test and admittedly not at the stage of initiation of

selection process.

(ii) In the case Writ Appeal i.e., W.A.No.138 of 2017, the

Division Bench of this Court was considering the case where

after conducting the written test, interviews for non-executive

posts such as Junior Mazdoor Grade was conducted much

against the instructions received from the Union of India. It was

in these circumstances, that the Division Bench has held that

PMD,J W.P.No. 44007 of 2022

the selection process cannot be changed midstream and the

amended rules cannot be applied to employment notifications

issued prior to the date on which the amended rules came into

force.

(iii) In the case of A.Manjusree (cited supra), the Hon'ble

Supreme Court has held that the minimum qualifying marks

have to be prescribed both for written examination and

interview before conducting the examination and not after the

examination.

(iv) In the case of Assam Public Service Commission

and Others Vs. Pranjal Kumar Sarma and Others 3, there was

a change of norms of selection for an ongoing process

midstream in course of recruitment. The Hon'ble Supreme

Court observed that a candidate has a limited right of being

considered for selection in accordance with the rules as they

existed on the date of advertisement and he cannot be deprived

of that limited right by amendment of the rules during the

pendency of the selection, unless the rules have to be applied

retrospectively.

3 2019 LawSuit (SC) 1918

PMD,J W.P.No. 44007 of 2022

10. All the above judgments are to the effect that the

rules have to be prescribed before conducting the written

examination and not midstream or after conducting the written

examination.

11. In this case, the minimum qualification or nature of

the examination has not been changed. It is only the category of

persons who can participate in the recruitment process which

has been expanded. Therefore, no prejudice is caused to the

candidates who were eligible to write examination by virtue of

the circular dated 24.06.2022 and by subsequent amendment

dated 25.11.2022.

12. In view of the same, this Court does not find any

merit in the writ petition and is liable to be dismissed.

13. Accordingly, this writ petition is dismissed. There

shall be no order as to costs.

14. Miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in this writ

petition, shall stand closed.

____________________________ JUSTICE P.MADHAVI DEVI Date: 20.09.2023 bak

PMD,J W.P.No. 44007 of 2022

THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE P.MADHAVI DEVI

W.P.No. 44007 of 2022

Dated: 20.09.2023

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