WP(C) 5716/2010 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE B.K. SHARMA All the writ petitions pertaining to the claim of the petitioner s for promotion to Grade-III posts in the Irrigation Department have been heard together and are being disposed of by this common order. In all the writ petitions, the petitioners’ primary grievance is the advertisement dated 28.8.2010 (Annexure-5) issued by the Chief Engineer, Ir rigation Department for filling up of Grade-III posts indicated in the advertise ment. The posts are Junior Assistant, Senior Assistant, Tracer and Power Pump Op erator. Be it stated here that the petitioners are Grade-IV employee. While in the writ petition being WP(C) No. 6884/2010 it has been agitated that although a selection for promotion was conducted in the year 2007 circle/division wise and pursuant to such selection, promotion had also been af fected, but in respect of the petitioners, who belong to Karimganj Division, suc h promotion was not affected. It is the stand of the petitioners that time to ti me representations for promotion did not yield any result and eventually the res pondents issued the aforementioned Annexure-5 advertisement for filling up Grade -III posts mentioned above. It is the prayer of the petitioners that the respond ents could not have taken recourse to process of direct recruitment without firs t exhausting the quota earmarked for promotion for which the selection was condu cted in the year 2007. The prayer in the said writ petition is to set aside the advertisement and to give promotion to the petitioners on the basis of selection conducted in 2007. Another prayer made in the writ petition is to exclude the vacan cies which are meant for promotion. In other words, the prayer of the petitioner s is to maintain the quota earmarked for promotion. In WP(C) No. 5810/2010, similar is the prayer and it is submitte d that during pendency of the writ petition, some of the petitioners have been p romoted. The prayer in the other writ petitions is to exclude the vacancies earm arked for promotion as per the prescribed quota from the advertisement. The appr ehension of the petitioners is that the respondents by taking recourse to proces s of direct recruitment will deprive the petitioners from being promoted against prescribed quota. The respondents have filed counter affidavits in all the writ pe titions. Their basic plea is that the impugned advertisement has not included th e vacancies meant for promotion and that the quota/percentage earmarked for prom otion will be maintained. So far as WP(C) No. 6884/2010 is concerned, it has bee n stated that although select lists of 2007 prepared division-wise throughout th e State had been implemented as per the orders passed by this Court in certain l itigations, but the selected petitioners involved in the writ petition could not be promoted as they did not approach the Court. In this connection, the respond ents have referred to the judgment and order dated 21.8.2009 passed by this Cour t in WP(C) No. 798/2008, operative part of which is reproduced below: As this Court have already allowed similar nature of writ petit ions, arising from the select list prepared by the same selection committee, as discussed above, the petitioner cannot be deprived of similar benefits already g iven by this Court to similarly situated persons. Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed and the respondents are directed to promote the petitioner as per he r merit position in the select list dated 2.2.2005 within a period of three mont hs from the date of receipt of this order. Sri Nasiruddin Khan, Deputy Chief Engineer, Irrigation Departmen t, who has filed the affidavit in WP(C) No. 6884/2010 has stated thus: 6. That with regard to the statement made in paragraph No. 7 of the writ petition it is stated that after the said selection, which was held fo r all Irrigation Circles of Assam differently on different dates under the Rules , by selection committees headed by the Circle’s Superintending Engineers, some cases had been filed by the selected persons and this Hon’ble Court has been ple ased to hold the said selections to be valid. Accordingly by different orders th ose cases were disposed of with directions. Following such directions of this Ho n’ble Court in almost all circles the selected persons have been appointed. From Karimganj Division none has approached this Hon’ble Court and accordingly no Ap pointment/ promotion has been made. 8. That the petitioners in paragraphs No. 8, 9 and 10 of the wri t petition presupposed that they are entitled to automatic promotion without und ergoing a selection. On such supposition some incumbents from some other Divisio ns had approached this Hon’ble Court praying for Mandamus. They had even challen ged the earlier selection. This Hon’ble Court dismissed such cases. In the aforesaid affidavit-in-opposition, there is no denial of the fact that a selection was undertaken in the Karimganj Division on 17.6.2007, but the strange stand of the Deputy Chief Engineer is that since the petitioner s did not approach this Court, they could not be promoted. At this stage, Dr. B. Ahmed, learned Standing Counsel, Irrigation Department submits that all the pet itioners involved in the writ petitions are not selected candidates. Mr. HRA Cho udhury, learned Sr. Counsel representing the petitioners fairly confirms the sai d stand. Be that as it may, a selection having been held with the finality to th e same, the respondents ought to have promoted the selected candidates, more par ticularly, in view of the aforesaid direction contained in the judgment and orde r dated 28.4.2008 passed in WP(C) No. 7563/2005 (Usha Rani Bora Vs. State of Ass am & Ors.). In view of the above, the respondents are directed to promote th e successful candidates involved in WP(C) No. 6884/2010 from the respective due dates with notional fixation of pay. However, it is made clear that on such prom otion, the promotees will not be entitled to any arrear salary. This now leads us to the prayer made in other writ petitions, wh ich has been mentioned above. As submitted, some of the writ petitioners in WP(C ) No. 5810/2010 have already been promoted and thus their grievance stands redre ssed. The remaining petitioners in all the writ petitions are the aspirants for promotion against the quota/ percentage earmarked for such promotion under the r elevant recruitment rules. Having regard to the prayer in the writ petitions, th e said writ petitions are disposed of directing the respondents to consider the case of the petitioners as per the provisions of the recruitment rules subject t o their eligibility and zone of consideration having regard to the number of vac ancies which may fall for consideration for promotion. Since the respondents have clarified their position in the count er affidavit filed in the writ petitions that posts involved in the impugned adv ertisement do not included the posts meant for promotion, the grievance of the p etitioners with the regard to the same stands redressed on exclusion of the post s meant for promotion from the purview of the impugned advertisement. The respon dents shall consider the case for promotion against available future vacancies i n terms of this direction. Such selection may be conducted from amongst the elig ible candidates and subject to their coming to the zone of consideration dependi ng upon vacancies. As regards the promotion of eligible petitioners involved in WP( C) No. 6884/2010 is concerned, the respondents, more particularly, the responden t No. 2 and 3 shall pass appropriate order as expeditiously as possible, but at any rate not later than 30.6.2011. With the above directions, all the writ petitions stand disposed of.