1 W.P. 1373/1995 - ( J ) IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 1373 OF 1995 Bharatkumar S/o Kisanlal Jaiswal Age : 39, Occ. : Service in Municipal Corporation, Aurangabad R/o : Aurangabad. .... PETITIONERS VERSUS 1. N.B.Salve Age : Major, Occ. Service as Sub Overseer, Taxation Department, Aurangabad Municipal Corporation, Aurangabad. 2. J.B.Gadekar Age : Major, Occ. Service C/o : Assistant Director, Town Planning Department, Municipal Corporation, Auranabad, R/o : Aurangabad. 3. S.B.Joshi Age : Major, Occ. Service C/o Tax Valuation Branch, Aurangabad Municipal Corporation, Aurangabad 2 W.P. 1373/1995 - ( J ) R/o : Aurangabad. 4. Aurangabad Municipal Corporation Through its Commissioner, Aurangabad. 5. The State of Maharashtra Through Govt. Pleader High Court of Bombay Bench at Aurangabad. ..... RESPONDENTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Ajay S.Deshpande , Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. S.N.Kendre, Assistant Govt. Pleader for State. Mr. R.S.Deshmukh, Advocate for respondent no. 1 and 4. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CORAM : B.R. GAVAI AND S.V. GANGAPURWALA, JJ. DATE : 22/06/2010 JUDGMENT : [ PER - S.V. GANGAPURWALA, J. ] 1. The petitioner vide the present petition claims deemed date of promotion to the post of Junior Engineer/Overseer from 21/6/1990. 2. The petitioner was promoted as Sub Overseer on 7/12/1982. The petitioner had passed the qualifying promotional examination of Junior Engineer in the year 1989. According to the petitioner, Respondent no. 1 was promoted as a Junior Engineer on 21/6/1990 and Respondent nos. 2 and 3 were promoted as Junior Engineer/Overseer on 19/4/1994. 3 W.P. 1373/1995 - ( J ) According to the petitioner, he is senior to respondent nos. 1 to 3 and he was qualified in the year 1989 to be promoted as Junior Engineer and as such has prayed for cancellation of promotion of respondent nos. 1 to 3 as Junior Engineer. The petitioner has, in the mean time, retired from service. 3. In fact this petition was to be heard along with Writ Petition No. 1591 of 1994. The Writ Petition No. 1591 of 1994 and Writ Petition No. 1594 of 1994 have been decided by this Court vide Judgment and Order dated 10/6/2010. While deciding the said Writ Petitions by detailed reasonings, we have set aside the promotions effectuated of respondent nos. 2 and 3 herein ( Respondent nos. 3 and 4 in Writ Petition No. 1591 of 1994 and Writ Petition No. 1594 of 1994) in the year 1994 by the Municipal Corporation, Aurangabad to the post of Overseers/Junior Engineers. The said Writ Petitions were based on similar set of facts. 4. We have in paragraph 14 of the Judgment in Writ Petition No. 1591 of 1994 and Writ Petition No. 1594 of 1994 passed following order - “ In the result, we allow the petitions. We hold that the promotions effectuated of respondent nos. 3 and 4 in the year 1994 by the respondent – Municipal Corporation, Aurangabad to the post of Overseers / Junior Engineers as against 4 W.P. 1373/1995 - ( J ) the claim of the petitioners an illegal and erroneous. The respondent – Municipal Corporation, Aurangabad is directed to follow the seniority list published by it on 01/07/1993 for the promotion to the post of Overseers / Junior Engineers, wherein the petitioner Hafezuddin is shown at serial No. 1, the petitioner Subhash Kathar is shown at serial No. 9 and the petitioner Prabhakar Pathak is shown at serial No. 15 and give them deemed date of promotion with all consequential benefits in accordance with seniority regularizing the same with the dates on which vacancies arise in the cadre of Junior Engineer / Overseers ”. 5. The petitioner is placed at serial No. 8 in the seniority list published on 01/07/1993. For the reasons recorded in the Judgment dated 10/6/2010 in Writ Petition No. 1591 of 1994 and Writ Petition No. 1594 of 1994, we direct the Municipal Corporation, Aurangabad to follow seniority list published by it on 01/07/1993 for the promotions to the post of Overseers / Junior Engineers, wherein the petitioner herein is shown at Sr. No. 8. Considering the same, the petitioner be given the deemed date of promotion as Junior Engineer with all consequential benefits in accordance with the seniority regularizing the same with the dates on which vacancies arise in the cadre of Junior Engineers / Overseers. We are not inclined to disturb the promotion effectuated in favour of Respondent no. 1 as a Junior 5 W.P. 1373/1995 - ( J ) Engineer on 22/06/1990. Respondent No. 1 was promoted as Junior Engineer on 22/06/1990. The petitioner has not challenged the promotion of respondent no. 1 for the period of 5 years. Respondent no. 1 had already worked for more than 5 years as Junior Engineer when the present petition was filed. There is delay and laches on the part of the petitioner in challenging the promotion of respondent no. 1, for which the petitioner himself has to blame. 6. In view of the above, we pass the following order. 7. In the result, the petition is partly allowed. (i) The claim of the petitioner, in so far as placing him senior to respondent no. 1 is concerned, the same is rejected since we have observed herein above that the said claim is hit by delay and laches. (ii) The petitioner is directed to be given a deemed date, in the cadre of Junior Engineer in accordance with the seniority list published on 01/07/1993. Since the petitioner is already retired from service, when he was under suspension on account of criminal trial pending him, we direct that the arrears to be worked out on the basis of the deemed date, as directed herein above, shall be paid to the petitioner, only in the event he is 6 W.P. 1373/1995 - ( J ) acquitted of the charge levelled against him. 8. Rule is made absolute on above terms. However, there shall be no order as to costs. [ S.V. GANGAPURWALA ] [ B.R. GAVAI ] JUDGE JUDGE knp/WP 1373.95