IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.7116 of 2009 ABHAI KRISHNA SHARMA, son of Sri. Rama Nath Sharma, R/o- Mohalla+P.S.-Patliputra Colony, Town+District-Patna, presently working as Chief Engineer(Civil) Bihar State Housing Board, Patna. ……Petitioner Versus 1. The State Of Bihar 2. The Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Housing Department, Government of Bihar, Patna. 3. The Secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Government of Bihar, Patna. 4. The Engineer-in-Chief, Technical Vigilance, Government of Bihar, Patna. 5. Bihar State Housing Board, Patna through its Secretary. 6. The Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Bihar State Housing Board, Patna. 7. The Secretary, Bihar State Housing Board, Patna. ……..Respondents. ----------- 04. 04.08.2009 Petitioner was the senior most Civil Engineer in the Bihar State Housing Board. After the Chief Engineer of the Housing Board retired in the year 2001, petitioner being the next senior most, though a Superintending Engineer was made to officiate and perform the work of the Chief Engineer. It is not in dispute that the work of the Chief Engineer involves higher degree of responsibility than that of the Superintending Engineer. Petitioner filed this writ petition on 25.06.2009 claiming to be appointed as the Chief Engineer on which post he was being made to work for the last two years. On 30.06.2009 petitioner superannuated. A counter affidavit has been filed by the Housing - 2 - Board where seniority and entitlements of petitioner is not disputed. It is also not disputed that since retirement of the Chief Engineer in the year 2001, Chief Engineer’s post remain vacant till 2007 when petitioner was asked to officiate as Chief Engineer. Simultaneously while petitioner was asked to officiate as Chief Engineer as required, the Housing Board sent the requisition to the State Government for permanent appointment of Chief Engineer. In that service particulars of the petitioner was also sent. From 2007 to date various communications are being exchanged. Now as per counter affidavit of the State, pursuant to details received from the Housing Board vide their letter dated 20.07.2009(Annexure-D to the counter affidavit of the Housing Board) State vide their communication dated 28.07.2009 has made a recommendation to the Bihar Public Service Commission to consider the matter and take a decision accordingly vide Annexure-A to the counter affidavit of the State. One noticeable aspect of the matter is that once again the attitude of the Board is not very clear. Three names have been forwarded which includes the name of the petitioner but the tragedy or the comedy of it is that all of three of them have since superannuated. One in the year 2004 itself, the other on 31.05.2009 and the petitioner on 30.06.2009. - 3 - This Court only wants to observe that this writ petition has thus become academic except for monetary benefits which anyone of them or all of them would get. Regrettably what is to happen now and will the Housing Board ever have a Chief Engineer is a question which is still left in limbo and is anybody’s guess for what reason and with what objective, this Court fails to appreciate. Be that as it may, as due recommendations have been made by the Housing Board and the State Government to the B.P.S.C., it is expected that B.P.S.C. would decide the matter finally in respect of the entire period from the time the last Chief Engineer retired till the date of petitioner’s superannuation and that decision must be taken within a period of two months from today. Commensurate to the said decision, payments if any must be made immediately by the Housing Board to the respective claimants. Let learned counsel for the State and the Housing Board inform to the B.P.S.C. of this order immediately. With these observations and directions, the writ petition stands disposed of. Shageer (Navaniti Prasad Singh, J)