IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Civil Writ Petition No.7030 of 1989 (O&M) Date of decision: 23.11.2011 Narinder Nath Sharma ...Petitioner versus The State of Punjab, through the Secretary to Government Punjab, PWD B&R Branch, Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh, and others. ....Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN ---- Present: Mr. G.S.Attariwala, Advocate, Mr. Som Dutt Sharma, Advocate, and Mr. Karamvir Singh Khehar, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. Navdeep Sukhna, DAG, Punjab, for respondents 1 to 3. ---- 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? No. 2. To be referred to the reporters or not ? No. 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest ? No. ---- K.Kannan, J. (Oral) 1. The writ petition contains 3 prayers: (i) for arranging a meeting of the Screening Committee for determination of suitability in regularizing the appointments of the promotees with final approval of the Punjab Public Service Commission; (ii) after determination of such suitability to order the appointment on the promotees to Class-II service from the date of availability of such Civil Writ Petition No.7030 of 1989 (O&M) - 2 - vacancies; and (iii) to finalize the roster of Class-II service taking into account the appointments made after such selection. 2. Before the arguments got underway, the counsel for the State says that after the institution of the writ petition, a Screening Committee had been constituted and the order were passed in the year 2004 directing the petitioner as having been regularized from 01.01.1986. The petitioner's grievance still is that the appointments of the petitioner on adhoc basis was made on 10.11.1980 itself and such regularization must be given effect from the said date itself. I am afraid I cannot accommodate such a request, for, if the promotion was merely on the basis of seniority and the appointment had been done to some other person to the detriment of the petitioner, it should have been possible to examine the petitioner's claim as one of the right. On the other hand, if the respondent had not set up a Screening Committee and did not consider the issue of promotion after determining the suitability of candidates, there can be no question of deeming the suitability and treating a person as promoted and be treated as made permanent from an assumed date. If the establishment has already allowed for regularization to a promotion post from the year 1986, I cannot examine the petitioner's contention favourably for treating it to be effective from 1980 itself, unless it is shown that there was anything arbitrary or discriminatory in the exercise of the power of the State that could fall foul by Article 14 of the Constitution. Civil Writ Petition No.7030 of 1989 (O&M) - 3 - 3. The learned counsel refers me to a decision of this in Er. B.R.Bawa and others Versus State of Punjab and others-2009(4) SCT 183, that directed in a case where there was a proof of breakdown of the quota-rota system, the seniority list was to be quashed and directions were issued to redetermine the seniority as per the Rules. The learned counsel also cites to me yet another decision in Arvinder Singh Bains Versus State of Punjab and others-2006(6) SCC 673, that held that the seniority determined without reference to the order of appointment could not be sustained without the list being reflective of the rota and quota in the seniority list. The principles of law laid down in the decisions are well taken but I have no clue as to how they fit into the facts projected before this case. I have no materials to believe that the regularization that has come about subsequently after the institution of the petition suffers from vice of not applying the quota or the rota system. The petitioner, I am told, has already been superannuated. I cannot examine the issue of seniority and as to how the petitioner was placed in the absence of any materials. The writ petition, under the circumstances, is disposed of, as having become infructuous. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE 23.11.2011 sanjeev