IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.20715 of 2010 KRISHNA KUMAR PASWAN, (STATISTICAL OFFICER, BIHAR STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD, PATNA), SON OF LATE GOVIND PASWAN, RESIDENT OF MOHALLA LAXMISAGAR, SAIDPUR, DISTRICT DARBHANGA, PRESENTLY RESIDING AT 98/F (OLD), VIDDHUT BOARD COLONY, SHASTRI NAGAR, PATNA-23--------------------------------PETITIONER Versus 1.THE BIHAR STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD THROUGH ITS SECRETARY, PATNA 2.THE CHAIRMAN, BIHAR STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD, PATNA 3.THE SECRETARY, BIHAR STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD, PATNA 4.THE JOINT SECRETARY, BIHAR STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD, PATNA -----RESPONDENTS ----------- For the petitioner :Mr.Iqbal Asif Niazi, Advocate For the Board :M/S Nilu Agrawal, G.A. 6 Manoj Kumar & Putul Sinha, Advocates ----- 4. 15.3.2011 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the respondent Bihar State Electricity Board. The petitioner seeks a direction upon the authorities of the respondent Board to consider his case for promotion from the post of Statistical Officer to the post of Deputy Director of Statistics w.e.f. 2.11.2009 against the vacant sanctioned post, on which day he claims to have completed the requisite qualifications and experience for promotion for the said post. It appears that by Standing Order No. 418 dated 19.7.1974 qualifications prescribed for appointment and promotion to the posts in the Statistical Section of the 2 Board have been mentioned. In the said Standing Order the lowest post shown was of Statistical Assistant, thereafter Statistical Supervisor, Statistical Officer and Deputy Director of Statistics. The pay scale of Statistical Officer was shown as Rs.580-840/- and Deputy Director of Statistics as Rs.620-1415/-. By an Office Order of the same date ,i.e., 19.7.1974 it was stated that pursuant to the Board’s Resolution No. 2969, dated 28.6.1974 sanction is accorded to the creation of a temporary post of Statistical Officer, in the scale of pay of Rs.580-840/- for a period of one year w.e.f. the date the post is filled up. It was further provided therein that the temporary post of Deputy Director of Statistics in the scale of pay of Rs.620-1415/- sanctioned for the Secretariat of the Board shall remain in abeyance during the period for which the post of Statistical Officer is created. The petitioner was appointed on the post of Statistical Assistant by letter dated 18.1.1991. Subsequently by order dated 21.8.2000 he was promoted to the post of Statistical Supervisor along with two other persons. Again by order dated 2.11.2007 he was promoted to the post of Statistical Officer. It is the further claim of 3 the petitioner that in terms of the Standing Order No. 632 dated 23.12.1981 the minimum qualifying service for promotion was fixed by adopting the minimum qualifying service for promotion of Officers/workmen working under the Public Undertakings of the State Government, which read with the Circular dated 13.2.1981 of Government of Bihar(Finance) Bureau of Public Enterprises is three years; which was further amended by Circular dated 8.7.1981 by stating that for members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes the fixed qualifying service (Kalawadhi) shall be one year less. According to the petitioner, he became eligible for promotion from the post of Statistical Officer to that of Deputy Director of Statistics w.e.f. 2.11.2009 after completing two years on the post of Statistical Officer. He filed various representations before the authorities of the respondent Board but on their not taking any action to the same he has approached this Court. In the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the Board the stand taken is that so far as the Kalawadhi is concerned, the required qualifying service is six years which is relaxed by one year in the case of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, like the petitioner, who are required to complete 4 five years of service and thus the petitioner’s case for promotion is not fit for consideration as he has completed only three years on the post of Statistical Officer. However, the main contention on behalf of the Board is that the post of Statistical Officer itself was created in terms of the Board’s Resolution dated 28.6.1974 by the Office Order dated 19.7.1974 in lieu of the temporary post of Deputy Director of Statistics which was already in existence with the condition that the post of Deputy Director of Statistics shall remain in abeyance during which the post of Statistical Officer is created. It is thus submitted that so long as the post of Statistical Officer remains it cannot be said that simultaneously there was also post of Deputy Director of Statistics existing in the Board. It is the further stand that the post of Statistical Officer has now been made permanent and the post of Deputy Director of Statistics thus has ceased to exist in terms of Office Order dated 19.7.1974. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the very existence of the Standing Order No. 418 dated 19.7.1974 makes it clear that both the post of Statistical Officer and that of Deputy Director of Statistics were in 5 existence and thus the stand of the Board is not justified. It is further submitted by learned counsel that since the post of Statistical Officer has been made permanent in the year 1988 the post of Deputy Director of Statistics would revive and would not be covered by the Office Order of 1974. Learned counsel for the Board, on the other hand, submits that mere fixing of qualification prescribed for appointment and promotion to the posts of the Statistical Section by the Standing Order dated 19.7.1974 does not mean that both the posts were in existence simultaneously. In fact, the Office Order dated 19.7.1974 had clarified that the temporary post of Statistical Officer was being created in lieu of the post of Deputy Director of Statistics and not independent of it and thus if the post of Statistical Officer was made permanent subsequently then the post of Deputy Director of Statistics must be held to have lapsed. On a consideration of the submissions of learned counsels for the petitioner and the respondents, this Court finds sufficient force in the submission of learned counsel for the Electricity Board. It is evident that the decision regarding fixation of qualification for the posts of Statistical Section as also for the creation of temporary post 6 of Statistical Officer though contained in two different Resolutions of the Board but both the Resolutions were of the same date, and were further notified by Standing Order and Office Order respectively of the same date. Mere fixing of qualification and mentioning the scale of pay of both the Statistical Officer and Deputy Director of Statistics does not mean that both the posts were actually in existence. While there was in existence the temporary post of Deputy Director of Statistics but the Board resolved to create temporary post of Statistical Officer in lieu of the Deputy Director of Statistics which was kept in abeyance during the period the post of Statistical Officer was to continue. Thus so long the post of Statistical Officer continued to exist the post of Deputy Director of Statistics would remain in abeyance and both cannot remain together in view of the clear Resolution of the Board which having been taken on the same day clearly show the mind of the authorities of the Board when such a decision was taken. The subsequent making of the post of Statistical Officer as permanent without any further decision to revive the post of Deputy Director of Statistics can only mean that the post of Deputy Director of Statistics would cease to exist from 7 the said date unless the Board decides to create separately the post of Deputy Director of Statistics. In the above circumstances, there being no post of Deputy Director of Statistics in existence, there can be no question of any promotion being granted to the petitioner from the post of Statistical Officer to that of Deputy Director of Statistics. In view of the above discussion, the writ application must fail. It is, accordingly, dismissed. (Ramesh Kumar Datta,J.) Spal/