P.S. MAHAL & ORS.

UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

23rd May, 1°984

[P.N. BHAGWATI AND R.S. PATHAK, JJ.]

Executive Engineets, CentrG/ Engineering and Central Electrical Engineering Service (Group A) '(Regulation of Seniority) Rules, 1976, brought into force with retrospective effct from 10th Dec.ember, 1974-Rules 2(ii) and 2.(iv)-Con~ stitutional validiiy of-Whether the rules viol<; ite the provisions of Arlie/es 14 and 16.(i) of the Constitution.

lnter-se Senioriti of Executive Engineers promoted regularly within their respective quota from and afier 22nd December 1959 but before_ Jlth- December, 1974 .from the posts of Assistaht Executive Eagineers governed by the Central Engineering Service (Class-I) Recruitment Rules, 1954 and Assistant Engineers governed by Central Engineering Service (Class-II) Recruitment Rulq 1954, as re.fixed by the seniority List dated August 14, .. 1975-Whether irreiular and contrary to Jhe guidelineS indicated in the decisions reported as A.K. Subraman v.

Union of India [1975] 2 S.C.R. 979"=Qnota rule in Rule 4 of the Centra/.

Engineering Service (Class-I) Rules,.1954 when applicable. .

In the Central Public Works Department of the Ministry of Works and Housing, Government of India, the promotions to the posts of Executive Engineers are made from amongst.Assistant Executive Engineers .(Class-I ) who have rendered. more than fiv~ years of their service in their grade on the basis of Seniorit~-cum fitness and alio from Assistant Engineers (Class-II) who haVe rendered more than eight years Of service in their grade on the basis' Or nirit, the selection "being made through a dep_artmental pro:notion comffiittee pres.ided over by a member of the Union Public Service Commission, since for the latter the P.P&t of ecutive Engineer is a selection post. For promotion to .the 'giade of Exective

Engine::rs~ for the first time, on,4Sth August, 194·9, a quota in the ratio o.f 75% to 25% was prescribed by the Central Government. this was con ..

tinuCJi right upto the Recruitment Rules 1954 werenacted for these two categories .. From Septenlber 7, 1955~ this quota was altered wjth reti'oseec .. tive effect to 66-2/3% and 331/3% and it was again altered 'with effect from April I, 1.972 to SO: 5~ for a period of seven years.

However, at the time of promoti.ons not onJy the quota was not

adhered to with the result that Assistant .Baginoers came to be promoted "H

SUPREME COURT REPORTS


with Executive .Engineers far in excess of th.eir quota, while there was .a shortfall in the promotions of Asistant 'Elt.ecutive Engineers, sO rar as their quota was concerned, but all of them were treated as officiating E; xecutive

Engineers .

• There was no statutofy rules _govcro'ine; inter.se seniority of Executive Engineers pro1J1oted fro~ these two grades. They wer~ th'.!refore, gov0raed by th, e Memorandum issued by the Home Mini-; try .on June 22nd, 1949 which laid down the general principles of seniority applicable to all departments of the government. The Memorandum provided that "in respect Of -persons employed in any part"iCu\ar grad~, seniority should, as a general rule, be determined on thC basis of length of service in th<lt grad~ as well as service in .ao equivaleilt gra4e irrespective whetb:; r the latter was under Central or Provincial Governnient in Iildia or Pakistan.'' The. length of contin'uous officiatiO!J in thegrade was thus take'1 as the yardstick for_ the purpose of deterniining seniority in all depatt!Il-ents pf the government and a fortioraYi, in the grade of ExcctiVe Engineers.

On the basis of this yardstick, Assistarit Engineers .promoted as officiating Exeutiv¢ Ei1.giaeers within their quota would clearlY. e senior to Assistant ExecutiV-e Engineers promoted Ia_ter as officiating. Executive Engineers.

RespondentS 1 t_o 3 issued a seniority list on Ist July, 1971 in which

Executiv~ Engineers promoted. from the grade of Assist<tnt Eng-ineers ia. r.Cgular manner on the basis of selection made by Departmental Promotion

Committe and within their quota were shoW~ as junior to Several Executive Engineers promoted much later from the frade of Assistant Executive Engineers .. Respondents 1 to 3, in making this seniority list proceedd , on the basis that the quota rule spedfied ia the last par~ of sub-rule ( i) of Rule 4 of the Recruitment Rules nece>Ssatily imi)Iied a system of rotation and it was required to be strictly applied at the stage of confirmation in the grade of Executive Engineers. In other wOrds, out of three vacancies in the grade of Bxecv_five Engineers, unless two reserved for promotion of Assistant Executive Bilgineer_s were filled up by confirmation of such promo.tees, the third O_oe for confirmation of an AssiStant Enginyer promotr.d as Executive Engineer-could no~ be ti.fled.


acCepted the contention of the petifloners that the quota rule was t6 be applied at the stage of initial promotion in officiating capacity, to the grade of Executive Engineers and not at the stage of cOnfiration.and that it' did not necess<,1.rily imply the roational system aod since the general principles

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P. s. MAilAt v. UNION 849

for determining seniority laid down in the Memorandum dated 22nd June, A 1949 were, on their plain tern1s, applicable, seniority in the grade of ExecQtive Engine.ers was liable tO be fixed on the btsis of length of continuous officiation in that grade as provided iii the Memorandum. The Court allowed the appeal after. summarising its conclusions i~ the form of folio.wing six propositions nemely :

(I) When Assist.ut Engineers {ClassJl) are initially appointed in a regular manner iri accOrdance with the rules to-. officiate as Executive Ergineers, their sniority ia the service in Grade-I will count from the date of their initial officiating appointment in Class I provided., their initial

o'fliciating appointment as Executive Engineers was within their Quota;

(2) Their seniority will not be reckoned ffom the date of their future confirmation in CiassI. The above principle is, however, subjeC:t l_o one reservation, namely, if an Assistant Engineer, 6ef-0re his Confirmation in Class IC were appointed to officiate in Class I in the grade Or Exe.cutive Engineer; although within _bis quotii, his seniority will count only from the date of bis confirmation 1.n Class II as permanent Assistant.Engineer not- _ withstanding is earlier officiating appointme_nt as Executive Engineer;

(3) The quota rule will be enforced at the time of i_nitial recruitment, in an officiating capacity to the grade of Executiv~ Eag_ineC:r and not at the time oj confirmation;

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l4) The quota rule will be enforced with reference to vacancies in all E posts, wbether permanent or emporary including in the sanctioned Strength of the cadre (except such vacancies as are purely of a fortuitous or adventitious nature) and th6 operation of the quota rule will depend upon the avai ]ability or non availabiii~ of Assii; tant Executive Engineels for appointment as Executive Engineers. The non-availability of Assistant Executive Eo

0gicienrs for recruitment to the grade of Executive Engineer will not postpone the regular recruitment ?f the Assistant Executive Engineers within theit quota.

(5) Oncetbe As.sistant Engineers ai-e reglllarly"appoiuted to officiate as Executive Engineers w'ithin their quota tby _will b6 entitlei.:I to coaSideration in their own rights as- Class I officers to fu"rther promotions.

Their "bi.rtb rllarks'' in their earlier servicewill e of no relevance once they. are regularly officiating in th~. grade of Executive Engineer within their quota.

(6) U Assistant Engineers are recruited. as Executive EQgineers in excess of thei~ quota in a particular year they wi!l be pushed dowll to later years for absorption when due within their quota." and directed the' respon dents Nos .. I to 3 to amend and revise the" seniority list of 1st July 197; in.

the Ji-ght of the directions give1,1 in.· the judgment and to give effect to the ff revised seniority list so prePared •

SUPREME COUR')" REPORTS ll 984] 3 s.c.R.

Respqadents Nos. 1 to 3, thereafter, i&sued a seniority list on 14th August, 1975.accompanied by a memon1ndum beadag the same date in which it was stted that the seniority list of Executive ErigiOeers had been raised in the light of the judgment of tbe Supreme Courtdated 11th December,

1974 in acCordanco With the principle set out In the memorandum.

Poi the .purpose of determining the seniority in the grade of Executive Ellgineers

from and after 22lld December-, 1959 resp"ondents Neis. 1 to 3 int_roduc-:-d te carry forwArd principle and applied the r0tationa1 formula. The o'fficers who bad becD, with thl' concurrence of the Union Public Service CoffinlissiOn, . officiating as Executive Eogioi::ers prior to 25th August, 1949 nd continued to do so thereafter were shown en blqc.senior to the officers appOinte:d after 25th August, 1949 and so far as the period between 25th August 1949 and 21st December, 1959 was conCerned thd inter se Senior.ity .of persons promote~··

~ during.that period from the grades of Assistant Engineers and A:;; sistant

Executive Engineers withintheir respective quotas was determined in accordance with the length of their regular continuous service as Executive Engineers, subject to the q6aHfication that. in case of Assistant Engineers who were promoted as Executive.Engfoeers.tbe iength of their regular continuqlls seryice as Executiv_e Engineers for the pupos"e of determining . seniority would be computed only _from the date when they were confirmed as-AssSist ant Engineer. ' p ..

But with effect from 22nd December 1959, a departure was made by respondent Nos. 1 to 3 from th~ principle of continuous officiation and

carry fOrward principle Was applied by prov.'iding that s'6 posts earmarked for promotiro of Assistant Executive Engineers to the gade 'of Exee; utive Engineers in accordance with their quota 9uring the period prior tO. 22rl(t December,· 19.S 9 which hid reaia'ine~ unfilled owing to noa.availabhity of ·.

Assistant Executive Engineers up to 22nd_ D'ecember 1959 shotJld, be-carried forward and. 86 Assistant_ Executive Engineers promoted after 22nd Decmber;

1959 should be adjusted against these posts and they should be assigned sCDioiity en-bloc imO'lediately below the last EXecutive Ei:igineer promoted regularly prior to.22nd December, 1959.

The result was that the Assistant Engineers who had been promoted as Executive Engineers regulaly wit bin thei!' qu"ota subsequent to 2 ?nd _December 19 59 became junior to the , Ass.istant. EvecutivO Engineers promoted against these 86 carried forward posts, • even though they migh~ have been: _promoted as Executive Engineers long prior to tho promotion of such Assistant Executive Engineers. The Assistand ExecutiVe Engineers promoted and adjusted against these 86 Carried for"'

wad posts were given seniority -bove the ASsi$tant Engineers promQted rogUlarly within their quota after 220:d. December, 1959 irrespectiVe as to w'hen such_ Assistant Executjve Engineers were actuallY promoted. These . posts were aajusted on the basis of theorder in 'which the vacancies in the respectiVe quotas of Assistant Executive EngineerS and Assistant Engineers for promotion as Executive Engineers were allociited from time to time. The seoioril)'.' lnter-se of Assistant Executive Enginees. and Assistant Engineers promoted r.egularly within heir respective quotas subsequent to _22nd December, 19:59 was thus determined by the application of the rotational formula based on the quota pfevailing at tho relevant time. But since it had not been P:oS:sib.le to .fill all the poJts 'allocated to the Assistant Eecutive Engineers' qaota and son1~ p6_st~ emained unfiled, theyJwere shown Us vacilnt

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P, S. MAHAL v. UNION 851

in the senio:itylist prepafed according to the roste• based on'the rotationa.1

formula so that as and when .Assistant Exceutive Engineers might be pro.mo .. ted as Executive Engineers regularly within their quota, they would occupy the, vaCant posts e8.rmarked. for them in the seniority list.

The disastrous effect of th~ revised seniority list was that most of the Assistant Engineers prcunoted as Executive. Engineers r""egularly within their quota subscqµent to 22nd December, 1959_lost a considerable nurnber of places in seniority and

Wer~ Piaced in a much worse situati.on. than what they were in under the seniority list dltted Ist Jilly,_ ~971 which was quashed at their inst'anCe, in writ petitions. A contempt application against respondents Nos, .1 to 3 wus

therefore.moved.but, befofe the Court could hear the objeCtioils agai.nst the seniority list on merits; theftrst respondent issue~ on .8th June, 1976 th~ Executive Engineers, Centfal Engineering and Central Electrical' Engineering . service (Group A) (Regulation of Seniority)' Rules _1976.

These ruies were 'deemed to have cOme into fotce with effect from 10th December, 197_4,

that is orie day before the delivery of Judgment., by 'this Court and they substantially enacted in statutory form the same pririciples which were se~ out iii the memorandum that aCcompanied the seniority list dated l 4tli AUgust, 197S_aJid on which.that senirity list was based. ·

The petitioners, thereupon, filed the present writ petitions contending thaf the Rules of 1916 wefe not applicable to the petitioners and other

AsSistnt Engineers pron1oted as Executive Engineers regularly within t'heir

quota prior to 10th December 1974 and if these Rules were held to be applicable, they were unconstitutional and 'void. , Th'e petitioners challenged the validity of the seniority list d:tted 14th Augusr,1975 and the Rules of 1976 on t'be following grounds, namely; (_i)' th"t it was the case of .the petitioners and other Executive Engineers promoted from the gr3-4e or Assistant Engioeers regularly within their quota frOm and after 22nd December 1959 but beforC 11th December 1 19$4 js covered by the decision of this Court in A. K. Subraman's. c; se;

(ii) that they are entitled t9 claim seniority, on the basiS of Ieng.th of conti'nrious officiation, over. Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers later in .Point of tim'e; Gii) that the Assistallt Executive Engineers_ promoted and adjusted against 86 carried forwarp posts cannot be given seniority en bloc over Assistant Enginers 9i'Ori1oted as Executive Enginers earlier; (iv) th'at the rotational formula cannot' be applied retrospectively so 'as to deprive AssiStant. Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers of their snio.rity on the basis of_ length of coritinuous officiation lri t)je grade of Executive Engineers; (v) that the Rules of 1976 are, 'to that extent, UoconStitutional and void as'. b(:ing outside the pwer of _the Central Government; (vi) that since fhe Rules of-1976 have been bougbt_intO (orce with effect from 10t.h December, 1974, they cannot affect the .Petitioners and other. Assistant Engineers , promoted as Executive Engineers regularly within thei_r quota

ptir to that date and their St'.niority vis-a-vis Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers must _contiriue to be governed by the

prjociple of length Of continued officiation in thegrade of Executive Engineers; and (vii) that if the Rules of 1976 are applicable for determining inteT se sniority of Executive En.gineers promoted rfom 'the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant ExecutiVe Engineers within their respective quotas from and after 22nd December, 1959, they are unconstitutional and

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Stll'!IEME COURT REPORTS [1984] 3 s.c.lt.

vOid as offiending Articles 14 ad 1'6 of the Constitutton, since the::niority rules enunciated in tbe H.ules of 1976 being closely. linked with. the quota rule continued massive departure from the quota rule over a long period of t.ime must resUlt in the break down or the seniority.rules apd to hpply lhe seniority 1uh; s in such a situation would create gros$ inequality of oppor .. tunity Of employment violative of Articles 14 and 16.

Allowing the petitions~ te C0urt,

, HELD : 1.1 Rule 2(iii) of the Central Engineering and Central "Electrical Engineering Service Rules, 1976, i~ so far as it gives en foe Jeniotity to the AsSiStadt Executive Engineers promoted to the eighty ix . vacancies carried .forward from the period prioi;. to 22·12-1959 irrespective of the dat.e \Vben theY. were a.Ctually promoted and· pushed down in seniority As5istant Er.gineers though' promoted regularly within their quota prior to ·

the actual promotion.of such Assistant. Executive Engineers, merely prejudicially affecting their promotiQnal opportunities is violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

[9068-D]

1.2 Rule 2(iv) of the said Rules also suffers from the same infirmity as it provides for rotational rule of seniority based oa the prevailing quota for determining inter-se seniority between Asitant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to the grade of Executive Engineers from and after 2 nd December, 1959, subject to an en blac seni.ority being given, to the Assistant Ex_ccutive Engineers promoted to the eighty six J"'carried forward" vacancies as set' out in Rule 2(iii). Obvious; ly, if Rule '2{iii) providing for en bloc seniority to be given to the Assistant Executive Engilleers promoted to tlie eighty six "carried' forward" VacJ.ncie::i is unconstitutional and void, Rule 2(iv) is also unconstituti0nal and vOid; when there has been enormous dCviation from the quota .rU1e ia lht1 p'romotions of Assistant Execufive Engineers and such deviatin has continued from year to year over a period of almost tweaty five years. [906D-H] '

J.3 The rotational rule of stniority is inextricably linked up with the quota rule,. and -if the quota rule is not strictly imPiemented and there is large dCviation from it regularly from year tO year; it would grossly be indiscriminatory and unjust to givq effect to the rotatienal rllle of seniority.

The rotational ·-rule .of sen'iority must Obviously br<.Jak down when there is such massive dcPJ..rture from the quota rule regularly from year to year leading to contiOuOusIY )ncreasiog deficiency in promotions of Assistant Executive Engineers and corresponding excess in promotions of Assistant " Engineers.

[908C-D, 909D-E] . .

T. Devdasan v. Union of India, AIR, [1964].S.C. 179; Mervin Contindo

v. The tollector of Customs, Bombay [1966] 3 SCR. 600; G.D. Kelkar v.

Chief Collector of mports mid Exports [1967] 2 SCR 29; V.S. Badami v.

State of Mysore [!976] I SCR 815; N.K. Chauhan v. State of Gujarat, [1973] SCR 1037; A. Janardhan v .. Union of India AIR [1983] SC 769; Bishan Swarup Gupta v. Union of India [1975] ! SCR 104 referred to.

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P. S. MAHAL v. UNION 853

2.1 Notwithstanding Rules 2(iii) and 2(iv) of the Rules of 1976, the A inter se seniOrity between Assistant Engineers.and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted regularly within theiit respective quota uptO 1 ltb December, 1974 must be determinrd on the basis of length of continuous officiation in the grade of Executive Engineers. subject of course to the length of continuous officiion in the .case of Assistant Engineers being conlputed from the date of their confirmation as' Assistant Engineers in view of decision o.f .. the Supreme Couft in Su\>rainan•s case. ID. this view carrYing forward of B eighty six .posts of Executive Engi.neers a110cable to Assistant Execu:ive

Engineers and giving u_p seniority en bloc to the AssisL 1nt, Executive Eogin.eers promoted to the -carry forward posts".by applying the rotatio1lal ·formula for the purpose of determining seniority amongst Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to the subsequenc \'acancies i.s ineffective quota Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Ertgineers promoted uptottth December 1974 and so far as these Assistant C Engineers'an.d Assistant Executive Engineers are concerned, their i-.ter se seniority must"be held to be governed by the length of continuous officjation in the grade of Exeutive Engineers.

[888H, 889AB]

2.2 Oil a plain reading of the .decision in Subraman's case, it is obvious that the direction given by it in regird tO determination of inter se seniJrity On thia. basiSof length of continuous officiation was not limited to Executive Engineerl.' promoted from the grade .of Assistant Engineers.and

Assistant Executive Engineers upto 2 nd December, 1959 .but \las on its plain terms. applicable. tc all Executive Engineers promoted from tht:: .grade of Assistant Erigineers an'd Assistant Executive Engineers with'in their respective quota right upto 11th December, 1974 being the date of the decision of the Court. But the evised se'niority list dated 14th. August, 19?5 issued by the Government Of India was plainly in defiance of this direction given by the Court.

[872AC, PG)

~.3 When , this Court in so many terms laid down that the inter se seniority of Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of Assistant : Engineers and Assistant' Executive Engineers upto December 1 J, 1974 must be held to be_governed by the .rule of length of cotinuous officiatioil and. th~ Government of India has ben directed by a writ of the Court to amend and revise the seniority~ the effect cff this decision cannot be set at naught and the binding character of the writ issued 'a8ainst the Government of India c1D.· be abrogated by the mere prOmulgation of the Rules of 19i6' with r'etros~ pective effect' from. 10th December 1974.

It i• significant to note that the Explanatory Memorandum whi_ch was in the nature of statement of objects and reasons forthe Rules of 1976 did not seek to overridethe effect of the decision in subraman's case -but on the cOntrary affir'med that the principles of seniority set out in.those.rules were laid_down on.the baSis of the said . decision.

Since the Rles of 1976 purports _merely to. carry oUt the direc .. tion given in the said .de.cision they cannot have the effect of overriding that .. decision. and absolving the Govt, of India and the Goyernment of India, fnust: therefore, amend and revise the seniority list of 1st July~ 1971. bf api)lyiog the 1ule of seoiority based on length of contlnuous officiation for d6terininiilg


• (1984) 3 S.C.R.

i11t::r se seniority of Exe_cutive. Engineers prom"oted from the grades of AssistaOt Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers. tlp'to 11th December, 197 -t.

The relative position of the Executive Engneers in regard to their inter se seniority having been crystailised in the deciion in Subraman'scase I.ind a \Vrit havillg been isSued-by he court directing the inter. se seOiority of the Executive Engineers to be fixed on the basis of 1ength of contl.nuous officiation the Executive Engineers pron1oted from .the grade of Assistant . Engineers ... were entitled to.enf6rce the writ fo..r 'determining the inter se seniority with the Executive Engirieers in aCc.ordance with the rule of length of C'ontinuous officiation:.

The right of the Executive Engin_eers prorr.oied from the-grade of Assistant Engineers under the said decision could not be taken. away by

anYthing contained in the Rules of 1976.

The decis"ion in Sahara.man's caSe Continued to subsist and the GoverQment of_ India Was. bound to a determine intet: .re senio.rity amongst Executive Engineers in accordance with the direction contained in that decision.: If by reasoo. of retrospective alteration pf ·-the rule of seniority the decision fa rendered erroneous, the remedy may be by way of reyiew, but so long as the decision stand~ it. cannot be disregarded or igno_red <ind it must be .obeyed by the Government of fndia, despite Rule 2(iii) itnd 2(iv) so far as the Executive Engineers p, rornoted from the gr8de of Assistarit Bogin.eCI'.S and. Assistant Executive Engineers upto 11 t~ December, 1974 are concerned.

(8.73EH, .874BF, 877A-B]

Further, the rule of seniority sefout in par3.graphs 5(i~) and 6 of the M_emorandum of the Ministry of Home Affairs dated 22.12-1959 has no application to the instant case. ·[878E] •

M.M. Pathak v. Unio1 of_India and Ors. [1978]. 3 SCR 346 Followed.

E Shri Pri1hvi Cotton Mills l'd. v. Broach Borough Municipality [1970]

I SCR 388 distinguished ..

Patel Go-,.dhandas Ha, govindas ".· Munic1"pal Com-ni!isioner, Ahmeda bad {1964] 2 SCR 608 referred to.

3.1 If a vacancy arises on account of an incumbent going on leave or for' training or on deputajOn for a sbort period, it would be a fortuitous or adv"eiititiOU<> vacancy and the quota ro'le would n )t be attracted in case of such a vac.lncy.

But where a vacancy. arises o;;, i account of. the incumbent going on dt'putatiOn. for a l'.eaSonablylong perio:l and there is no reasonable likelihood of the person promoted -tO )ill su_cb vacancv having to revert; the,. vacancy woUld be subject to te:quota rule,. Qecau_se it would be a .regular vacancy in the post of Executive Engineers and the person _promoted to fif( the vacancy would' be an officiating Execiltive Engiffeer would contiriue as sticb without reversion uutil confirmed and bts promotioD. would, therefore, be by way Or_ recruitment to.thecadre-of Executive Engineers. Or course, t-he vacancy which attracts the applicability of the quota ru!e,_is the vacancy in the posi -included ia the sanctioned strength of the cadre of Executive , Engineers and 'not the vacaDcy in the d.;:putation post.

There. may be a

acn.ncy in a deputation post ip. anothe~ department or organisation and an Executive Engineer holding a pOst included in the sanctioned strength of tbe cadre of Executive Engineers may be sent to such deputation pOst, but the

P. S. MAHAL v. UNION &55

vacancy which Would call for the applcation of the quot!! rule in such a case A would be the vncancy arising in the post of Executive Engineer within the cadre by reason of the incumbent of I hat post going to the deputation_ post and not the vacancy in the deputation post which would be filled up by the ExeCutive Engineer_ going on. deputation: Therefore, what has to be conside'red for the applicability of the qu<,>ta rule is a vacancy in a poS:t included

in the sanctioned strexigth of the cadre of Executive Engineers and the sa"nctioned strength whicJl. has to be taken into account, is 'not merely the ll sanctioned strength of the Cadre ofEXecutive Engineers in the entire Central Eilgineering Service, Class I.

The sanctioned strength of the 'cadre of Executive Engineers in the 'central Engineering Ser.vice, Ciass. I, maY jncludci not only.posts of Executive Engineers in the Central Publ.ic \Vorks Depart~ rnent but also Posts or Executive Engineers in "othefdepartn1eilt.s and organisations.

[890H, 89!A-G] c

5.2 Therefore, t cannot be said that promotion to the post of Executive Engineer' contemplated. 1:1nder the Rules can be made" only where there is no lien of any officer on tba:t post because promotion acc:ording. to the quota rule "is initial promotion in officiating caPacitYttand not conCerned with confirmatiOn .. It is true that a confirmed ExeCutive Engineer who goes on deputation may re Vert to the. post 011 which he bas a lien and -so D also an officiating Executive.Engineer who g_oes on deputation may revert

back on termination of hiS-deputation and theoretically, in either case, an Assistant Eiigineer or Assist-ant Executive El'lgineer ho is promoted to . flJI

the vacancy arisiiig on account" of deputation .may have to revert, but in actual practice -and reality, not a single Assistant Engineer or 'Assistant Executive. -ngineer promoted to fill a vacancy arising on account of.deputation, bas had to revert, because deputation is a normal featurein this E service and 20 to' 25 per cent of the Executive Engineers are conlinuosly on dePutation.

Even, if one Executive Engineer comes back on termination of his deputation, another has to be sent in'1lis plce and deputations thus go on rotating with the result that the vacancy in the post of ExecutiVe Engineer arising on accorint of .deputation does not cease and the Assista:Dt Engineer of"Assistant Executive Ellgineer promoted as Executive. Ene:in.efil. to liU the vacancy does not ever have .to revert and consequently the vacancy F filled by bi.in is really .and truly a perµianen.t and long term . vacancy which has to be filled according to the quota rule, In fact, if the quota rule were not to be applied with reference to such a .vacancy°,. the position would be that Whenever an Exe.cutive Eogineer goes od deputation for a period

whicbay extelld anything between three :to.fi.ve years, the Central Government would be entitled to promote a_n Assistant Engineer i.gaoring the claims of Assistant Executive_ Engineers and this would totalJy be arbitrary G in a sit11ation where 20 to.- 25 per -cent of Executive Engineers are on

.eputation.

For tbiS purpose the vacancies in tbe pas.ts of Executive :Engineers arisi11g on account of deputation of Executive Ellgineers to other departments, organiations and public Uiidertakings. for a period of one or more years were long term vaCancies. and they could not be regarded as fortu tious or adventitious in· character . and hence they were subject to the qqqta role. [8910-H, 89SH, 896A, 897A-F, Gj H •

8,55

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS {1984) 3 .s.C.R.

3'_ 3 However, the vacancy pro tempore filled irregularly by an Assis .. tant Engineer Would continue to beloag to the quota of-Assistant Executive .

Engineers and it can be filled only by the Assistant Executive Engineer, if the quota rul~ is to be strictly observed.

The death or retiremept of an

, irrgular promotee to the vacancy cannot therefore give rise to a fresh vacancy : . it -is the same vacancy which continues until properly filled'by

promotion of nn Assi5tant Executive Engineer-at a subsequent date.

If in such a case the death or retirement cf an irregular appointed ASsistant Fngineer were tq be treated as creating a fresh acancy; it _would lead to gross distortion.

Simil:1rly while pushing down Executive Engineers prcmOted from the grade . of Assistant Engineers in eXcess oft heir quota in a subsequent yCar, the Government must treat them as absorbed from. the date when a vacancy .in that year aries in the quota of Assistant Engineers and not' on a national basis from 1st January of that year.

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(900 C-G, 901 CD]

ORIGINAL JuRISDICfION Writ Peiition Nos. 157- I 62 of 1976

 (Under article 32 of the Constitution of India)'

M.C. Bh8ndare; A.K. Ganguli, D.P.-Mukherjee.and Miss. C.K.

Suchirata for the Petitioners .

. M.M. Abdul Khader, Girish Chandra and Miss A. Subhashini for Respondent. ·• •

M.!e. Ramamurthi, J.

Romamurthi and Mrs. R. Vaigai for Respondent.

Tiie Judgment. of the Court .was delivered by

BHAGWATI, J. This wlit. petition marks yet another round of :litigation between two groups of Executive Engineers in Central Public Works Department of the Ministry of Works and Housing, Government of India, one group consisting of promotees from the grade of Assistant Executive Engineers ·.and t)le other. consisting of promotees. from the grade of Assistant Engineers. The dispute between these two groups in regard to .seniority has been going on for quite some time and it has created considerable discord and bitterness between these two groups which must inevitably affect the efficiency of the Service. It is really a matter of regret that the Central Government should not have been able to bring these two groups together and evolve a: commonly agreed formula acceptable to both sides. We hope that our decision in this writ petition will finally ring the curtain down on this unfortunate controversy and both groups of Executive Engineers wiH accept the decision ungrndgingly without any rancour pr resentment n'd wholeheartedly engage themselves in the nation building task entrusted to thero.

• P.$. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.)

There is in the Central Public Works Department of Ministry of Works and I:Iousing, Government of India a Service known as Central Engineering Service (Class I). This Service comi;>rises various grades; the highest gr!(de is that of Engineer-in-Chief and then in descending hierarchical order are the grndes of Chief Engineer, Su, ierintending Engineer, Executive Engineer and Assistant Executive Engineer. The Central Governmenl has. made rules of recruitment to this Service known as the Central Engineering Service (Class I) Recruitment Rules 1954 (hereinafter .referred to s 'Recruitment Rules') and they are issued undet SRO 1841 d'}.ted 21st May. 19.54.

Part I of the Recruitment Rules contains tlie definition and Clause (c) of Rule 2 occurring in this Part defines "Service" as Centrnl Engineering Service Class I. Rules 3, 4. and 5 contained in Part II of the Recruitment Rules lay down the modes of recruitment to various grades in this Service in the following terms : ·

"3.

Recruitment to .the service shall be made by any.of fae following methods ;-

(a) By competitive examination in India in accordance with

Part III of these rules.

(b) By.promotion in accordance with Part IV of these rules.

(c) By transfer in accordance with Part V of these Rules.

4. (I) All appointments to the service. or to posts borne upon • the cadre of the Service shall be made by Go•ernment, ·

(2) Subject to' the provisions of the rule 3 Goernment. sha, ll determine the method or methods of requirement (Sio) . (recruitent ?) to be employed for. the ·· purpose of filling any parllcular vacancies in the Service or such vacancies therein as may be . required to be file'd during. any particular period and the number of candidates to be recruited by each method.

Provided that all recruitment by competitive examination G .(vide Part III of the rules) shall be to the grade of Assistant Executive Engineer, Class I only.

Sventy-fie per. cent of the vacancies in the grade of Executive Engrneer, Clasfl, shall be filled by promotion of

Asistant Executive Engineers, Class I, the est of the vacancies

 H be!ng filled by promotion and/or by -transfer in accordance

wtth Parts IV aJ]d V of the Rules espectively. '

' 858


(1984] 3 S, C.R.

A 5.

Appointment to the Service made otherwise than by promotion will be subject to ordelS issued from time to time by the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding . special representation in the Services for specific sections of the people''.

Assistant Executive Engineers bi:long' to the !owes\ grade in this

.. B service and they are recruited.only through a competitive examination in accordance with 'Part III of the Recruitment Rules. On their initial recruitment, Assistant Executive Engineers are required to . '

undergo a period of probation fcfr two. years and they are confirmed in the grade of Assist!lnt Executive Engineers after successful completion of the.period of probation. '

There is also another Service in the Central .Public , Works Department called . Central Enginering Service Class II. This Service consists only of.the grade of Assistant Engineers. The rules ofrecruitment to the 'grade of Assistani Engineers are to be found in the Central Engineering Service Class II Rcruitment Rules. There are two modes of recruitment laid down in these Rules; one is by direct recruitment through the fame competitive examination which is held for selection of Assistant Executive Engineers, the candidates lower down in rank than ihcise selected for the grade of Assistant Executiv.e Engineers, being selected for the grade of Assistant Engineers and the other is py process of selection from a subordinate

" ' - -· Service called Class Ill SerVice. Assistant Engineers . belong to Class II service, .unlike Assistant Executive Engineers who belong to Class I Service !tut the posts which they hold are interchangeable, each of them being in charge of a sub-division aud 'the nature of work, responsibilities, powers and dutie~ discharged by them all is ,.identical. There is only a minor difference in the pay scales but. otherwise for all practical. purposes, there is no difference between them so far as their functions 'ppwers and duties are con11erned. '

The next higher grade above that of Assistant Ei!; ecutive Engineers is "that of Excecutive Engineers. Recruitment to the grade of Executive Engineers is made by .promotion from two sources, namely Assistant Executive Engineers and Assistant Engineers.

Assistant 'Executive Engineers are eligible . for . promotion to the 'grade of Executive Engineers after completion of five years of service and they are promoted on the basis of seniority-cum-fitness.

Assistant Engineers on the other hand are eligible for promotion io the grade of Executive Engineers only after eight years of Service in their grade and for them, the post of Executive Engineer is a selection post and they are selected

P.S. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.) 859

for promotion on the basis of merit; the selection being made through a departmental promotion committee presided over by a member of the Union Public Service Commission. Prior to 25th August 1949, there was no quota for promotion to the grade of Executive Engineers from the grades of Assistant .Executive Engineers and Assistant Engineers but. for the first time on 25th August 1949, a quota was. prescribed by the Central Government and i~ was provided that the vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineers shall

' be filled by promotion from the grades of Assistant Executive Engineers ad Assistant Engineers in the ratio of 75% to 25%. this continued right up to the time the Recruitment Rules were enacted in 1954 and that is why the last part of clause (2) of Rule 4 of the Recruitment Rules provided that 75% of the vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineers shall be filled by promotion of Assistant Executive Engineers, the rest of the . vacancies being filled by promotion and or by transfer in accordance with Parts IV and V of the Rcruitment Rules. This quota was altered with retrospective

- I effect from 7th September 1955 from 75 and 25 per cent to 66i and

33! per .cent and it was again altered with effect from !st April 1972 to 50: 50 for a period of seven years.

' '

Itappears that whenever , Assistant Executive Engineers and Assistant Engineers were promoted to the grade of Executive Engineers, they were first appointed on officiating basis. The quota was however, for reasns which we shall present.ly discuss not adhered to at the time of such promotions with the result that Assistant Engineers came to be promoted as officiating Executive Engineers far in excess of their quota while there was a shortfall in. the promotions of Assistant Executive Engineers so far as their quota was concerned. Now there were no statutory rules governing inter se seniority of Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of Assistant Executive Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers but there was a Memorandum issued by the· 1'fome Ministry on 22nd June 1949 which laid down general principles of seniority applical;>le to all departments. This Memorandum provided that "in respect of versons employed in any particular grade, seniority should, as a general rule, be determined on the basis of length .of service in that grade as well a~ seJ1Vice in an equivalent grade irrespective ofwhetherthe latter was under Central or Provin- cial Government iu India or Pakistan." The length of continuous, officiation in the grade was thus taken as the yardstick for the purpose of determining seniority in all departments of the g v _ td r.· .. h oern meu an a , ort1orari; m t e grade of Executive Engineers o th ·

bais. of this yardstick, Assistant Engineers promoted as fficatin:

SUFREME COURT REPORTS [l 984) 3 S.C.R. ' .

A Executive Engineers within their _quota would clearly be senior to officiating Executive

Assistant Executive Engineers promoted later as Engineers.

However, Respondent No.

I to 3 issued a seniority list on !st July 1971 in which Executive Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant Engineers in regular manner on the basis of selection made by Departmental Promotion Committee and within their quota were shown as junior to several Executive Engineers promott\d. much later from the grade of Assistant Engineers. Respondent No.

I to 3 in .making , this seniority list proceeded on the basis that the quota rule specified in the last part of sub-rule (2) of Rule 4 of the Recruitment Rules necessarily implied a systm of rotation and it was required to be strictly applied at the stage of confirmation in the grade of Executive Engineers. In other words, out of three vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineers," unless two reserved for promo ti op of Assistant Executive Engineers were filled up . by confirmation of such promotees, the third one for confirmation 'of Assistant Engineer promoted as Executive Engineer could not .be filled.

Consequently, all Assistant Enginers were treated as ad-hoc appointees without any claim to seniority until such time as they were confirmed as Executive Engineers within their quota. The impact of this decision of Respondent No. l to 3 was disastrous for a large number of Executive Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant Engineers on officiating basis, .. since many of them had to retire without being confirmed and therefore, without any claim of seniority .in the grade of Executive Engineers and even tod.ay, according to the petitioners, there are. hul'ldreds of officiating Executive Engineers promoted .from the grade of Assistant Engineers who are working .in the Central Public Works Department for decades without confirmation and .according to the principle adopted in prnparing the seniority list of lst July 1971, they would have no claim to seniority iii the grade of Executive Engineer~ and woul.d become junior even to recent promotees from the grade of Assistant Executive G Engineers.

The senioriiy list dated !st July 1971 was preceded by provisional seniority lists which were prepared annually on the basis of the same formula and some of the Executive Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant Engineers, therefore, without waiting H for the publication .of .the final seniority Jist dated !st July 1971 preferred writ petitions in the Delhi High Court challenging the

I> alidity of the provisional seniority lists. There writ petitionS" were

• •

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P.S. MAHA1. UNION (Bhagwati. J.) • 861

' referred to a Full Bench since they involved questions of some importance and the Full Bench by a common judgment dated, 20th . M:fy 1971 rejected the contentions of theptitioners and concurring . with the stand adopted by respondent Nos. 1 to 3, held that the quota rule applied not at the stage of initial promotion on officiating basis but at the stage of confirmation and rotational formula for the purpose of determining seniority was implicit in the. quota rule and on this view, the Full Bench upheld the provisional seniority lists which, as already pointed out above, were on the same lines as the final seniority list dated !st July 1971 and which fixed seniority in the grade of Executive Engineers according to the rotational formula based on the quota rule.

The petitioners in

thse writ petitions thereupon preferred Civil Appeal Nos. 1745, 1746 & 1747 of 1974 after obtaining special leave to appeal against the judgment of the Delhi High Court. Some other Executive Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant Engineers also filed a direct writ petition in this Court being writ petition 489 of 1972, challenging the seniority list of !st July 1971 on the ground. that the seniority worked out by applying the quota rule at the stage of confirmation and adopting the rotational formula was illegal and that the seniority ought to have been fixed on the basis of length of continuous officiation in the grade of Executive Engineers. These three civil appeals and writ petition were heard together and decided by_ a common judgment of this Court dated 11th December 1974 vidc : A.[(. Subraman & Ors. etc. v. Union of India & ors~(').

This Court accepted contention of the petitioners that the quota rule was to be applied at the stage of initial promotion in officiating capacity to the 'grade of Exec11tive Engineers and not at the stage of confirmation and that it did not necessarily imply the rotational system and since the . general principles for determining seniority laid down in the Memorandum dated 22nd June 1949 were, on their plain terms, applicable, seniority in the grade of Executive Engineers was liable to be fixed on the basis of length of continuous officiation in that grade as provided in the Memorandum dated 22nd June 1949. Some of the Executive Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant Execu.tive En.gi_neers who were respondents 'in the writ petition as also 1~ the civil appeal tried to pieet the contention of the petitioner by relymg on a subsequent Memorandum dated 22th December 1959 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government -0r'rndia but the learned Solicitor General appearing on behalf of the Union of India conceded that t.he said Memorandum had no application to the c d 1 ase an was me evant and this Court also acce!lted the same vie\j'. This

(IJ (1975)2 S.C.R. 979


(198~] 3 S.C.R

Court pointed out that since the cadre of. Executive Engineers . consisted both of permanent as. well as temporary 'posts, the vacancies referred to in the quota rule comprised vacancies not only in the permanent posts but also in the temporary posts included in the sanctioned strength of the cacfre, barring only such vacancies as were purely of a fortuitous or. adventitious nature and the quota rule applied at the stage when Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers were promoted even if it be in an officiating capacity, irrespective of whether the vacancies . were in permanent posts or in temporary posts. This Court also observed that for the purpose of applying the quota rule, .the year must be taken as a unit and the quota rule must be applied in relation to the vacancies occuring in any particular year. This Court also held, relying on the observations in Bishan Swaroop Gupta v. Union of India & Ors('). (hereinafter referred to as the Ist Bishan Swaroop Gupta case) that the ratio of promotions in the grade of Executive Engineers in any particular year was not dependnt upon whether any persons from one class or the other .1ere promoted or not and this was made ch; ar by giving an Illustration that if there were three vacancies in a particular year, two would go to Assistant Executive Engineers while one would go to the Assistant Engineers and even if there were no eligible Assistant Executive Engineers who could be promoted to fill in the two. vacancies belonging to their quota, one vacancy would have to be filled by promotion of an Assistant Eqgineer. If in such a case, having regard tcf the exigencies of the situation two vacancies belonging to the quota of Assistant Executive Engineers had to be filled in by Assistant Engineers for want of availability of eligible Assistant Executive Engineers, the appointment of Assistant Engineers to fill in such two vacancies would be irregular because that would be outside t.heir quota but in that event, .observed the Court; they would have to he pushed down to later years when their appointment could be regularised as a result of absorption in their lawful quota for those three years.

These conclusions reached by the court were summarised in the form of following six propositions at the close of the judgment:

(I) When Assistant Engineers Class (II) are initially appointed in a regular manner in accordance with the rules to officiate as Executive Engineers, their seniority in service in Grade I will count from the date of their initial officiating appointment in Class I provided, their initial officiating appointment as Executive Engineers was withiv their quota.

(1) (1975) Supp. S.C.R. 491

> -

) h,

P.S. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.)

(2) Their seniority will not be reckoned from the ; late of their A

futur~ confirmation in Class L

The above principle is, however, subject to one reserva- . tion, namely, if an Assistant Engineer before his confirmation in Class JI were appointed to officiate in Class I in the grade of Executive Engineer, although within his quota, his seniority will count only from the date of his col)firination in Class II as permanent Assistant Engineer notwithstanding his earlier officiating appointment as Executive Engineer.

(3) The quota rule will be enforced at the time of initial . recruitment, in an officiating capacity, to the grade of

Executive Enginter a:nd not at the time of confirmation.

( 4) The quota rule will be enforced with reference to. vacancies in all posts, whether permanent or temporary including in the sa.nctioned strength of the cadre (except such vacancies as are purely of a fortuitous or adventious nature) and the operation of the quota rule will depend upon the availability or nonavailability or Assistant Executive Engineers for appointment as Executive Engineers. The non-availability of Assistant Executive Engineers for recruitment to the grade of Executive Eugineer will not postpone the regular recruitment of the Assistant Executive Engineers within their quota. ·

(5) On.ce the Assistant Engineers are regularly appointed to

officiate as Executive Engineers within their quota they will.be entitled to consideration in their own rights as Class I Officers to further promotions. Their "birth matks" in their earlier servic.e will be .of no relevance once they are regularly officiating in the grade of Executive Engineer within .their quota.

(6) Jf Assist; rnt Engineers are recruited as Executive Engineers in excess of their quota in a particular year they will be pushed down to later years for absorption when due within their quota.

This Court accordingly allowed the writ petition and the civil ap; uals anj directed respondent Nos.·~ to 3 to a111end ad revise the


[1984] 3 $.C.R.

seniority list of !st July 1971 in the light of the directions given' in . the judgment and to give effect to the . revised seniority list so prepared.

Though the aforesaid directions were given by this Court for preparation of a revised seniority list as far back as 11th December 1974 respondents Nos. I to 3 delayed implementation of those . directions for a period of over three months and hence the .petitioners in writ petition No. 489 of 19.72 as. also petitioner No. 3 iri the present writ petition filed CMP No. 2563/75 on 18th April 1975 for taking action against respondent Nos. I to 3 for contempt of court.

Respondent No. I however, instead of complying with the directions given by this Court and purging itself of the contempt alleged to have been committed by it, filed CMP No. 3911 of 1975 dated 18th July 1975 for clarification of the judgment on. the ground that they felt 'some difficulty in implementing the directions issued by the Court.

This application for clarification was rejected by the Cou'rt on 21st July 1975 on the ground that the principles laid down in the judgment dated !I th December 1974 were clear and the Courtt.did not "see need to clarify them any further," and once again the Court. ordered the first respondent to prepare and publish a final seniority \ list in compliance with the directions given on !I th December 1974.

The Court kept th_e application for contempt pending and adjourned it to !st.September 1975. Respondent Nos. I to 3 thereafter issued a revised seniority list on 14th August 1975. This seniority list was accolnpanied by a Memorandum also dated 14th August 1975 in which it was stated that the seniority list of Executive Engineers had been revised in the light of the judgment oLthis Court dated I Ith December 1974 . in acco'rdaoce with the principles set out in that Memorandum.

We shall discuss these principles in detail when we deal with the various arguments advanced on behalf of the parties.

We may, however, point Out at this stage that, broadly. speaking, for the purpose of determining . seniority in the grade of Executive Engineers from and after 22nd December 1959, respondent Nos .•

I to 3 introduced the carry forward' principle and applied the rotational formula. The officers who had been, with the concurrence of the Union Public Service Commission, officiating as Executive Engineers prior to 25th August 1949 and continued to do so thereafter were shown en, bloc senior to the officers al\'ointed after 25th August 1949 and so far as the period between 25th August 1949 and 21st December 1959 was concerned, the inter se seniority of persons promoted during that period from the grades of Assistant'Enginees and Assistant Btecutive Engineers within their respective quotas was

1 .

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\ ·,,

1'.s. MAHAL v .. ONION (Bhagwati, J.)

86S

determined in accordance with the length of their regular continuonus service as Executive Engineers, subject' to the qu tlilication that in case of Assistant Engineeis wl10 wore promoted as Executive .Engineers prior to their confirmation in the grade of Assistant Engineers, the length of their regular continuous service as Executive Engineers for the purpose of determining seniority would .be computed only from the date when they were confirmed as Assistant Engineers. So far there was no dispute raised on behalf of the petitioners and it was concded that the principle for determining •eniority applied by respondent Nos. I to 3 for the period upto 21st Oecembel' 1959 was valid.

The petitioners also conceded that those Assistant Engineers "who had been promoted in excess of the.ir quota were rightly pushed dowri and adjusted within their quota in subsequent years.

Thus, for example, Shri AK. Subraman, the first petitioner in writ petition No. 489 of I 912, though promoted in officiating capacity as Executive L1gineer on 27th December 1956. with the approval of the Departmental Promotion. Committee was pushed down, since his promotion was not within the quota of Assistant Engineers at the time when h~ was promoted and his promotion was regularised on absorption within his lawful quota 1ll a subsequent year, But .with effect from 22nd December 1959 a departure was macte by respondent Nos. l to 3 rom the principle of continuous officiation and carry forward principle wa• applied by providing that 86 posts earmarked for promotion of Assistant Executive Engineers to the grade of Executive Engineers in accordance with, their quota during the period prior to 22nd December 1959 which bad remained unfilled owing to non-availability of Assistant Executive -Engineers upto 22nd December 1959 should be carded forward and 86 Assistant Execuiive Engineers promoted after 22nd December 1959 should be adjusted against these posts and they should be assigned seniority en bloc immediately below the last Executive Engineer promoted regularly priof' to 22nd December 1959.

The result was that the Assistant Engineers who.had beelf promoted as Executive Engineers regularly within their quota subsequent to 22nd December 1959 became junior to the Assistan.t .Executive Engineers promoted against these 86 carried forward_ posts, even though they might have been promoted as Executive Engineers long pr.ior to the promotion of. such Assistant Executive Engineers.

The Assistant Executive Engineers promoted and adjusted agiinst these 86 carried forward posts were given seniority above the Assistant E, pgineers

promoted regularly within 'their quota after 22nd December 1959 . ' . irrespective as to when such Assistant Executive Engineers were actua\ly promoled. After the Assistant Executive. Engineers .promoted

8~6

$UPREME COURT REPpJ.tr$

[1984} 3 S.C.R •

• as Executive Engineers were adjusted against these 86 carried forward posts and given seniority en bloc over all Assistant Egineers promoted n; gularly within their quota subsequent to 22nd December 1959, th~ rotatioiful formula was applied in respect of the posts for the period subsequent to 22nd December 1959 and these posts were adjusted on the basis of. the order in which the vacancies in. the respective quotas of Assistant Exec'utive Engineers and Assistant Engineers for promotion as Executive Engineers were allocated from time (o time. The seniority inter-se of Assistant Executive Engineers and Assistant Engineers promoted regularly within their respective quotas. subsequent to 22nd December 1959 was thus. determined by the application of the rotational formula based on the quota prevailing at .the relevant time. But since it had not been possible to fill all the posts allocated to the Assist.mt Executive Engineers' quota and some posts remained unfilled, they were shown as vacant in the senio_rity list prepared according to the roster based on the rotational formula, so that as and when Assistant Executive Engineers

miht be promoted as Executive Engineers regularly within their quota, they would occupy the vacant posts earmarked for them in the seniority list. The disastrous effect of this senip; ity list was that most of te Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers regularly within their quota subsequent to 22nd December 1Y59 lost a considerable number of places in seniority and were placed in much worse situation than what they were in under the seniorty list dated 1st July 1971 which was quashed at their instance in writ pettion no. 489 of 1972. The petitioners in writ petition no. 489 of 1972 therefore !lied an additional affidavit on 26th Augµst 1975 pointing out that the seniority list dated 14th August 1975, though purporting to be iu compliance with the directions given by this court, .was. totally in defiance of such directions and respondent Nos. I to 3 should therefore be committed for contempt of this court. It seems that some of the Assistant Ex; cutive Engineers promoted as .Executive Engineers were also dissatisfied with the seniority list dated

14th August 1975 since it took into account deputation vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineers as regular vacancies for the purpose of application of the quota rule and they also therefore filed their objections to this seniority list. The parties filed their respective affidavits in answer to the objections raised against the seniority. list and after the record was completed, 'the court was invited io decide the entire controversy between the parties. on the basis of these objections and affidavits. But . before the court could hear the objections against the seniority list on merits, the first respondent issued on 8th June, 1976 the Executive Engineers, Central

. . .

.t .

P.S. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.)

Engineering and Central Electrical Engineering Service (Group A) (Regulation of Seniority) Rules 1976 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules of 1976) in exercise of the power conferred . under the proviso to Article 309 of the- Constitution. These Rules. were deemed to have.come into force with effect from 10th December 1974, that is one day bc; fore the delivery of judgment by this Court in writ petition

• no. 489 of 1972 and . they substantially enacted in statutory form the same principles which were . set out in the Memo, randum that accompanied the seniority list dated 14th August 1975 and on which that seniority list was based. Rules 2(iii) and 2(iv) which are the material rules provided inter alia as under :

"2(iii) :. The vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineer, which were earmarked for promotion. from the grade of Assistant Executive Engineer in accordance with quotas prescribed for them during the period from 25th August, 1949 to 21st December, 1959, but could not be filled would be carried forward and filled by Assistant Executive Engineers promoted on or after 22.12.1959. The inter se seniority of such officers will be determined in the order of their seniority in the grade of Assistnt Executive Engineer-those who were considered unfit for promotion being omitted and. they will rank immediately below the.last Executive

ngineer, promoted prior to (12.12.1959).

(iv) After all the vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineer, which were earm:rked. for promotion from the grade of. Assistant Executive Engineer in accordance with the quotas prescribed for them during the

period from 25th August, 1949 to 21st December, )959, but could not be filled, are filled by Assistant Executive Engineers prompted on or after 22. 12.1959 and such officers assigned seniority as indicated in (iii) above; all subsequent vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineer will . be filled by rotation of vacancies beiween the Assistant. Executive Engineers .and Assistant Engineers on the basis of quotas prescribe'.! for. them ll:ir promotion as Executive Engineer from 'time to time. The inter se seniority of Assistant Executive Engineers and Assistant Engineers so promoted to . the grade of Executive Engineer,

• A

SUpREME COURT REpORTS [l 984] 3 s.c.R.

will also be determined on the basis of such rotation of quotas. For this purpose, .the recruitment roster shall be drawn as under:-

. (a) When the reservation of the vacancies in the grade

of Executive Engineer for Assistant Executive Engineer and Assistant Engineer is 66-2/3% and 33-1/3% respectively (that is, upto 3i.3.1972)

!st Position ) ) Asstt. Executive Engineer 2nd Position ) 3rd Position Assistant Engineer 4th Position ) . ) Assistant Executive Engineer 5th Position ) . 6th Position . Assistant Engineer and. so on.

(b) Wherr the reservation of the. vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineer for Assistant Executive Engineers, and Assistant Engineers, is 50% each (i.e. from 1.4.1972 and for a period of 7 years:)

!st Position Asst!. Executive Engineers . 2nd Position Asstt. Engineer 3rd Position Asstt. Executive Engineer 4th Position Asst!. Engineer and so on." ..

The petitioners thereupon filed the present writ petition contending that the Rules of 1976 were not applicable to the. petitioners andother Assistant Engineers . promoted as Executive Engineers regularly within their quota prior to 10th December 1974 and if these Rules were held to ,. be applicable then they were unconstitutional and void. The petitioners, in the Circumstances, prai ed in th~ writ petition that the seniority list dated 14th August 1975 should be, quashed and a new seniority list should be prepared on the basis of length of continuous officiation in the grade of Extcutive Engineers so that Assistant Engineers promoted as ilxecutive Engineers regularly • within their quota should have seniority over Assistant Executive Engineers promoted later in point of time .. The writ petition . was admitted and rule nisi was issued upon it and after affidavits. in

tply were flied on behalf of the respondents, the writ

-{ I

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) > P.S. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.) 869

petition taken up for 4earing by this Court. - In the A ctmrse of the hearipg, we made a strenuous effort to bring about settlement of this long standing dispute between Assistant Engineer and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers but our effort proved futile and hence we are now proceeding B . .

~ deliver our judgment. ' • The peiitioners challenged the validity of the seniority list dated 14th August 1975 and the Rules of 1976 on the following grounds: . . (A) The case of the petitioners apd other Executive Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant Engineers regularly within their quota from and after 22nd December 1959 but c before I !th December 1974 is covered by the-decision of

1 this Court in Writ Petition No. 489 of 1972 and Civil Appeal Nos. 1745 to 1747 of l\74"and hence they' are •f entitled to claim seniority, on the basis of length of continuous officiation, over Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers later in point of li!J:\e and the Assis- D tant Executive Engineers promoted and adjusted against 86 carried forward posts cannot be_ given seniotity en bloc over Assistant Engineers promoted as_ Executive Engineers earlier nor can the rotational formula be applied retroj, - spect1vely so as to deprive Assistant Engineers promoted E

~ Executive Engineers of their seniority on the basis of length of continuous officiation in the grade of Executive Engi- • neers and the Rules of 1976 are, tJ that -extent, uncons_titutional and void as being outside the power Of the Central .

Government.

(B) Since the Rules of 1976. have been brought into force with .F

effect from I 0th December 1'974, they cannot affect the ·- petitioners and other Assistant Eng inters promoted as

• JI Executive Engineers regularly within their quota prior to ' that date and their seniority vis-a-vis Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers must continue G , tq be governed by the principle of length of continuous officiation in the grade of Executive Engineers.

(C) If the Rules of 1976 are applicable for determining inter

.rf

se seniority of Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of_ Asistant Engineers and Assistant Executive H Engineers within their respective quotas from and after 22nd December 1959, they are unconstitutional and void


as offending Articles 14 and 16 of the ConstitutiQn, since the seniority rules en1r0ciated in the Rules of 1976 being closely linked with the quota rule cor, tiµued maSj!ive departure from the quota rule over a long period of tirlie must result in the break down of the seniority rules and to apply the seniority rules in suc!La situation would create gross inequality of opportunity of employment violative of Artie, lt:s 14 and 16.

These were the broad grounds of challenge urged on behal( of tire petitioners and we shall now proceed to deal with them in the order c in which we have set them out.

RE : GRouN~ (A). This ground i.s based on the .decision re11dered by this Court in writ Petition No. 489 pf 1972 and Civil.

Appeals Nos. 1745 to 1747 of 1974. It is necessary in order to appreciate this .ground to know wholwere the partfos in writ petition No. 489 of 1972 and Civil Appeal Nos. 1745 to 1747 of 1974.

The petitioners in writ pe!ition No. 489/1972 were Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers between 27th December 1956 and 8th September, 1959 by a properly constituted Departmental Promotion Committee and barring one petitioner: all the oihers had been promoted to the grade of Executive Engineers prior to their confirmation as Assistant •Engineers. The promotion of each of the petitioners when made was in excess of the quota of Assistant Engineers and all of them were therefore required. to be pushed down tp later years for absorption in their lawful quota for those years and through this process, their promot.ions were regularised on. different dates subsequent to 22nd Decem.ber. 1959.

The petitioners were thus all officiating Executive Engineers promoted fromthe grade of Assistant Engineers regularly .within their quottrnfter 22nd December 1959..

The contesting respondents Nos. 4 to 66 were Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Ex..:cutive Engineers within their quota between ! Ith March 1957 and 23rd February 1966 and obviously therefore some. of them were Assistant Executive Engineers promoted on dates subsequent to 22nd December

1959. The contest between the petitioners and. respondent Nos. 4 to 66 was therefore not confined only to those Assistant. Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers who were promoted \IS Execntive Engineers regularly within their respective qupta prior to 22nd December .1959. but it elltended also to Assistant Engineers and

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P.S. MAl!A'.L v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.,) 871

Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as executive Engine'ers . subsequent to that date. The sanie position obtained also in regard to the contest between the appellants and the respondents in C.A.

Nos. 1745-1747of1974. The appellants in these appeals were all Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers, and though some of them were promoted prior to 22nd December 1959, they were.regularised irt their appointment by. absorption wit.hin their legitimate quota. subsequent to 22nd December 1959, since at the time when they were in initially promoted, their promotions were in exce1?5 of the quota of Assistant Engineers and they were therefore required to be pushed down to later years for absorption within their quota. The large majority of the appellants, if uot all, were thus Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineer regularly within thei.r quota after 22nd December 1959 and in C.A. N_os. 1745-47 of 1974 preferredjby them, they claimed seniority over the contesting respondents who were Assistant Executive Engineers promoted later in point of time. This claim of the appellants was disputed on behalf of the contesting respondents who submitted tnat they had been rightly given seniority over the appellants by adopting the rotational formula. This controversy as to seniority between two groups of Executive Engineers, on the one hand, the petitioners and the appellant!, a

large number of whom wre promoted within their quota subsequent to 22nd December 1959 and on the other, the contesting respondents of whom also a sizeable number were promoted as Executive Engineers after 22nd December 1959, was resolved by this Court by its decision dated 11th December 1974 and it was held that the quota rule has . to be applied at the. time of initial recruit- · men! in offiiciating capacities to the gf!ide of Executive Enginerrs and if any Assistant Engineers are promoted Executive Engi-

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neers in excess of their quota in a particular year, they would F have to be pushed down to later. years for absorption when due withfo their quota and more importantly, when Assistant Engineers are promoted as officiating Executive Engineers regularly within their quota, their seniority in the grade of Executive Engineer would count from the date of their regular promotion within their quota and op 1he basis of thiiholding, the Unin of India was directed to G amend and revise the seniority list and to give effect to the seniority iists so revised. It is therefore clear and we do not think this position can admit of any doubt whatsoever, that even in regard to Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers subsequent to 22nd December 1959, H the direction' given by th' Court was that their seniority inter se should be determined on the basis of lenth of continuous officiatioq

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1984] 3 s.c.ll.

in the grade of Executive Engineers counted from the date of their regular promotion witqin the r-espective quota. It is also obviOus on a plain reading of the decision of this Court that the direction given by it in regard• to determination of inter se seniority on the basis of length of continuous officiation was not limited to Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant E'Xecutive Engineers upto 22nd December 1959 but was on its plain terms applieable to all Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers within their respective quota right upto !Ith December 1974 being the date of the decision of theiCourt.

Moreover, it may also be noted, and this is .a circumstance of considerable weight, that in any event the seniority list which wasairected to be amended and revised .by following the rule of seniority based on length . of .continuous officiation was seniority list of !st July 1971 which

determinei; I inter sc seniority amongst the Executive Engineers promoted from th~ grades Of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers righi upo June, 1971. It is the inter se senio rity amongst these Executive Engineers covered by the seniority list of !st July 1971 that was directed to be amended and revised on the basis of length of continuous officiation in the. grade of Exe cutive Engineers. The Government of India was therefore bound to revise the seniority list of Executive Engineers on .the basis that the inter' se seniority of Executive Engineers!drawn from the grades . of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers should be determined on the basis oflength of continuous officiation in service after regular appointment within their respective. quota irrespective of whether such regular promotiol! within the respective quota was ' before or after 22nd December 1959.

But the revised seniority list dated 14th August 1975 issued by the Government oflndia was plainly in defiance 'or this dinction given by the Court and what the Government of India did was to adjust the first 86 Assistant Executive Engineers promoted after 22nd December 1959 against 86 carried forward posts and to give them seniority en.bloc over all Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers regujarly . within 'their quota subsequent io 22nd December 1959 and then to apply the rotational formula in regard to the other vacancies suJ>. sequent to 22nd December 1959.- The result was that most of the Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers . lost a large number of places in seniority and were reduced to a position much worse than that in which they were under the earlier seniority !ist of !st July 1971. The success which the petitioners and the appellants

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P.$. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.) 873

had achieved in writ petition No. 489 of 1974 and Civil .Appeal Nos. 1745-47 cif 1974 was turned into a defeat ano they were badly mauled in t)le ultimate.result. The question is whether despite the direction given by this Court in its decision da(ed 11th December 1974 and in face of it, ihe Government of India was justified in fixing inter se seniority between .Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted regularly within their quota from and after 22nd Thlcember 1959 on tl)e basis set out in the Memorandum dated 14th August 1975 and the Rules of 1976. . .

The Governmeut oflndia sought to avoid the binding obligation of the direction given by the Court in its decision dated 1 lthDecember

1974 by making'the Rules of 1976 effective from 10th Decemher 1974, one day prior _to the date of the decision. The assumption underlying this menoeuvre on the part of the 'Gove'rnment of India was that if the Rules of 1976.were brought into force with effect from a date prior to the decision of the Court in A.K. Subraman's case (supra) they would, nullify'that decision and notwithstanding that decision recognising and giving effect to a different rule 'of seniority, namely, the. rule of length of continuous officiation, the Rules of 1976 would prevail and the inter' sc. seniority between Executive Engineers promoted form the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Exc.cutive Engineers subsequent to 22nd December 1959 would be governed by those Rules. This assumption, we are afraid, is wholly unfounded and the argument base.d upon it camrot be sustained. When this Court has in so many terms'faid.down that the inter se seniority of Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers upto 11th December 1974 must be held to be governed by the rule of length of continuous officiation and' the Government of India has been. directed by a writ of the Court to amend and revise, the seniority list of !st July 1971 on the basis of this rule of seniority, it is difficult to see how the effect of this decision can be set at naught. and. the binding character Of the writ issued against the Government of India can be • abrogated by the mere promulgation of the Rules of1976 with retrospective effect from 19th December 1974. It is significant o note that the Explantory. Memorandum which was in the nature of statement of objects and reasons for the Rules of 1976 did not seek to override. the effect of the decision in A.K. Subraman's case (supra) but on.

th~ contrary affirmed thal the principles of seniority set out in those rules were Jaid down on lhe basis of the decision in A, K. Subraman's case (supra), The Rules of 1976 were in no way intended to set at

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874 SUPREME COURT Rlll'ORTS [1984] 3 s.G ....

naught the decision in" A.K.Sub"raman's case (supra) in so far as it laid down . the rule of seniority based on length of continuous . officiation for Executive Engineers promoted rrom the grades of .

Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers, but it was ciaimed that they were made with a view to giving effect to the . direction contained in that .dcision. That is the reason why we do n"ot find any non-obstante clause giving overriding effect to the rules of seniority enunciated in tpe Rules of 19_76 notwithstanding the decision in A.K.. Subraman's case (supra). Since the Rules of 1976 purport merely tc;> carry out the direction given in the decision irr A.K. Subraman's case (supra) they cannot have the effect of overrid-' ing that decision and absolving the Government of India from the obli.gation to implement this direction and the Government of India must'therefore amend and revise the seniority list of !st July 1971 by applying the rule of seniority based on length of contiflnous officiation for determining inter se seniority of Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of. Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers upto 11th .December 1974. The relative position of the Exe((utive Engineers in regard to their inter se seniority having been 'Crystallised in the decision in A.K. Subarman's case (supra) and a writ having been issued by this Court directing the inter se seniority of the Executive Engineers to be fixed on the basis of leugth of continuous officiation, the Executive Engineers promoted from the gn1d~ of Assistant Engineers were entitled to enforce the writ for determining their" inter se seniority with the Executive Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant Executive Engineers in accordance with the rule. of length of continuous officiation. This right of the Executive Engineers . promoted from the grade of Assistant .Engineers under the decision in A.K. Sub.raman's .case (supra) could not be taken away by any thing contained in th~ Rules of 1976. The decision in A.K.

Subraman's case (supra) continued to subsist and the Government of India was bound to determine inter se seniority amongst the Executive Engineers in accrodance with the direction contained in that' decision.

The respondents in answer to this contention of the petitioners ieaned heavily on tbe decisiop. of this Court in Shri Prithvi Cotton Mills Ltd. v. Broach Borough Municipality(') and submitted that whatever might have been the rule of seniority on which the decision of this Court in A.K. Subraman' s case (supra) was based, the basis

(1) [1970) I SCRj388.

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P.S. MAHAL v. UIBON (Bhagwati, J.) 875

of that decision was fundamentally altered in so far as inter se seniority of Executive Engineers promoted from the,-grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers subsequent to. 22nd Decemeber 1959 was concerned, because Rules 2(iii) and 2(iv) of the Rules of 1979 retrospectively'provided for a different rule of seniority and that rendere.d the decision ineffective. and not binding on the parties We have carefully considered the decision of this Court in Shri Prithvi Cotton Mills case (supra) but we do not think that this decisio!) lays down any such wide proposition .as is conten- . ded for on behalf of .the respondents. It does not say that whenever any actual or legal situation is altered by retrospective legis- lation, a judicial decision rendered by a Court on the basis of such factual or legal situation prior to the alteration would straight. away without more, cease to be effective an}! binding on the parties. It is true that there are certain observatios in this decision which seem to suggest that a court. decision may' cease to be binding when the.conditions on which lt i; based are so fundmentally altered that the decision could not have been given in the altered circumstances.

But these observations have to be read in. the light of the he question which arose for consideration in that case. There, the validity of the Gujbrat imposition of Taxes by Municipaltities (Validation) Act, 1963 was assailed on behalf of the petitioners.

The Validation Act had to be enacted because it was held by this Court in Patel Gordhandas. Hargovindas v. Municipal Commfrsioner, Ahmedahad(l) that since section 73 of the Bombay Municipality Boroughs Act, 1925 allowed the Municipality to levy a 'rate' on buildings or lands and the term 'rate' was confined to an imposition on the basis of annualetting value, tax levied by the MJJnicipality on

land~ and buildings on the basis of capital value was invalid. Section

3 of the Validation Act provided that notwithstanding any thing contained in any judgment, decree or order of a court or tribunal . or any other, authority, no tax assessed or purported to have been assessed by a municipality on the basis of capital value of a building or land and imposed, collected or recovered by the municipality at any time before the commencement of the Validation Act shall be deemed to. have 'invalidly assessed, imposed, colle.cted or recovered and the imposition, collected or recovery of the tax so assessd shall be valid and shall be deemed to have ·-always been valid and' shall not be called in question merely on the ground that the assessment of the tax on the basis of capital value of the building or land


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(1984] 3 S.C.R.

was not authorised by' 1aw and accordingly any tax so assessed befor the com!llencement of the Validation· Act and leviable for a

~- ' period prior to such commencement but not collected or recovered before such commencement may be collected or recovered in accrodance with the relevant municipal law. .It will be seen that by section 3 of the impugned Act the Legsilature retrospectively imposed tax oil' building or Ja11d on the basis of capital value and if the tax was already imposed,. levied and collected on that basis, made the imposition levy, collection and recovery of the tax valid, notwithstanding the declaration by the Com:t that as 'rate', the levy was incompetent: This was ~!early permissible to the Legislature because in .doing so, the Legislature did not seek to reverse the decision of this Court on the interpretation of the word 'rate', but retrospectively amended the law by providing for imposition of tax on land or building on the basis of capital value and validated the imposition, levy collection and recovery of tax on that•basis. The decision of this Court holding the levy of tax to be incompetent on the basis of the unamended law, therefore, became irrelevant and could not stand in the way of fhe tax be.ing assessed, collected and recover ed on the basis of capital value under the law as retro, speciively amended. That is why this Court held that the Validation Act was effective to validate imposition, levy, collection and recovry of tax on land or building on the basis of capital value. It is difficult to see how this decision given in the context of a validating statute can , be of any help to the respondens. Here the decision in A.K.

Subraman's case (supra) which is relied upon by the petitioners is not a mere declaratory judgment holding an impost or tax to be invalid, so that a validation statute. can remove the defect pointing out by that judgment and validate such impost or tax. )3ut it is a . decision giving effect to the right of the Executiue Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant -En"gineers.to have their inter se seniority with Executive Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant Executive Engineers determined on the basis of rule oflength of continuous officiation by issue of a writ directing th.e Government of India to amend and revise the seniority list in accordance wirh such rule of seniority. Rules 2(iii) and 2(iv) seek to substitute with retrospective effect a totally different rule. of seniority in place of that recognised and given effect by the decision in A.K. Subraman's case (supra). That oviously cannot be done. Rules 2(iii) and 2(iv) cannot by retrospective alter ation of the rule of seniority nullify the decision in A.K. Subraman's case which has recognised and . given effect to an existing' rule of seniority and issue\I a writ against .

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P.S. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J) 877

the Government of lndia'on that basis. If by reason of retrospeetive

A .. ' .alteration of.the rule of seniority the decision is rendered erroneous, the remedy may be by way of review, but so long as the decision stands, it cannot be disregarded or ignored and "it must be obeyed by the Government of India despite Rules 2(iii) and 2(iv) so far as the ,.. Executive "Engineers promoted from the grades of Assistant Engineers } and Assistant Executive Engineers; upto 11th December 1974are con- B cerned. This view taken by us finds coq1plete snpport from the judg-

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ment of one of us namely Bhagwati, J. in M.M. Pathak v .. Union of India & Ors .(1) •

The respondents also relied heavily on 'the decision of this Court in Bishan Sarup Gupta v. Union'~{ India<.') (hereinafter referred to .as ihe 2nd Bishan Sar11p Gupta caJe). It was contended on behalf of the respondents that in the 2nd Bishan Sarup Gupta case, this Co.urt upheld the rotaticinal rule of seniority which determines seniority according to a roster of 1:1 amongst direct recruits and promotees in the Income-Tax Officer& (Class I) Service in the-circumstances closely resembling the present case and Rules 2(iii) and 2(iv) of the Rules of 1976 in so far as they gave senrity en bloc to the . Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to the 86 carried forward posts of Executive Engineers and applied the rotational formula for the purpose of determining seniority amongst Assistant Engineers and. Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to the subsequent vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineers, must, therefore, be upheld by us on analogical reasoning. This contention, plausible though it may seem, is, in our opinion, withouf force and must be, rejected. The situation in the 2nd Bishan Sarup Gpta case was fundamentally oiffe"rent from that in the present case. The Court, in the J st Bishan Sarup Gupta case, . came to the conclusion that on 16th January, 1959 the quota rule for filling up vacancies amongst" I nco!!Je-Tax Officers (Class I) collapsll!! by reason of upgrading of 100 Class II posts and with!that'also went. the seniority rule set out in Rule 1 (0 (iii), .because this'rule of seniority could be upheld as constitutionally valid only ifthe'rquota rule was strictly observed, with only minor deviations permitting, and the question, therefore, arose that "if the seniority_ rule 1 (fl (iii) ceased to be operative from 16th January, 1959' how. is the.inter-se seniority between the.direct recruits and the promotees to be fixed thereafter ?" There was no

(I) [1978] 3 SCR 346,

(2) [!975) I SCR J04.

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[1984) 3 S.C.R

specific seniority rule to determine inters.e seniority between the direct recruits and the proinotces appointed regularly within their respective quota from and after 16th January, 1959 and though, in the absence of any specific seniority rule, the Court could 'have applied the' residuary rule based on length of continuous officiation, the Court did not do so.because it felt that since the old seniority . rule Jiad ceased to operate by reason of the Infringement if the . . guota rule, it would be for the Government to devise "a Just and fair seniority rule as between the direct recruits and the promotees for being given effect to from 16th January, 1959." It was pursuant to this direction given by the Court that the rotational rule. of seniority impugned in the 2nd. Bishan Sarup Gupta case was made the Government and this seniority rule did not seek to undo the effect of that decision. Now, in the present case also,· by reason of clause 3 of the Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1959,' the rule of seniority based on length of continuous officiation enun ciated in the Memorandum dated 22nd June, 1949 came to an end and the(eafter until the Rules of 1976, were formulated, . there was no specific rule of seniority which governed inter-se seniority bet ween Assistant Engileers arid Assistant Executive Engineers promo te.d as Executive Engineers regularly within their respective quota subsequent to 22nd Decemb!!r, 1959. The Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1959 was undoubtedly in force, but for reasons which we shall presently state, neither Paragraph 5(ii) relied on by the petitioners nor paragraph 6 relied on by the respondents had any application for determining inter-s_e seniority in the grade of Executjve Engineers. The Court could hve, therefore, followed the same course as in the I st Bishim Sarup Gupta case and in the . absence of a spcific rule of seniority to determine icter se seniority amongst Assistant Engineers and Assistant ExecJ!tive Engineers promoted to the grade of Executive Engineers from and . after 22nd December, 1959, the Court could have directed the Governmeq.\ of In.dia to evo\e a new rule of seniority. But the"'Court instead chbse to adopt the rule of seniority based on length of continuous officiation and directed inter se seniority amongst Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers prom_oted to the grade of Executive Engineers regularly within their re speetive quota upto the date of its decision, to be determined on the , application of this rule of seniority based on length of continuous officiation. This course, the Court was clearly entiled to adopt, because, as we shall presently point out, when there is no specific rule governing deter- . . mination of seniority in a grade, the norll!al rule applfoable would be

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p .s MAHAL •. UNION (Bhagwati, J.)

~ 879

to determine seniority on the basis of length of continuous officiation in the grade and the Court could certainly adopt this residuary rule and direct inter se seniority in the 'grade to be fu\ed on the application of this seniority rule. It will .thus be seen that while in.

Jst Bishan Sarup Gupta case, the Court left it to the Government to decide what rule of seniority should be dev.\sed for determining inter se seniority .between !he direct recruits and. the promotees appointed from and after 16th January, 1959, the Court in the present case did not 'leave .it to the Government to evolve a riew Rule of seniority for determining inter se seniority amongst Assistant Engineers and Assistant-Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers from and after .22nd December, 1959 but itself laid down that su, ch inter se se11iority shall be determined on the application of the rule of seniority based on length of continuous officiation. This constituted a 'vital difference between the I st .Bishan Swarup Gupta case and the present case and the government was not . entitled, as in the case .of Bishan Swamp Gupta and other Income-Tax Officers; to evolve a new rule of seniority different from that recognised and given efftct to by the Court in A.K.

Subraman's decision for determining. seniority amongst Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers regularly with in their respective quota from and after 22nd December, 1959. To permit the Government to do so would be in plain defiance of the direction given by the Court in A:K.

Subraman's case.

The petitioners reiled strongly on paragraph 5 (ii) of the Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1.959 and contended that the seniority rule laid down in th.is Paragraph governed the determination of seniority amongest f:xecutive Engineers promoted from the Grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers from and after 22nd December, 1959 and if this rule of ' seniority as applied, the Assistant Engineers promoted regularly within their quota after selection by the Departmental promotion ,

Committee in any year would rank higher .than the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted; in the subsequent years and in that view, the seniority list dated 14th August, 1975 and the Rµles of 1976 in so far as they give seniority en bloc to the .Assistant Executive EngineeI.s. promoted to the 86 carried forward posts of Executive Engineers and apply the rotational formula for the pur- ' pose of determining seniority amongst Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to the subsequent vacau...

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SUPREMi COURT REPORTS [1984] 3 s.c .. R. ..

cies in the Grade of Executive Engineers, would clearly be unconstitutional and void as retrospectively affecting the seniority of the Executive Engineers promoted .from the Grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers within their respective • qyota from and after 22nd December, 1959. This contention was urged before us with a certain degree of plausibility but 0:1 close scrutiny we find th-at it is not well founded. There are two formidable answers to this contention and. each answer is sufficient to warrant rejection of this contention.

In the first place, it may be pointed out that this contention i~ no longer open to the petitioners in view of the decision 1n AK Subraman's case where the Court applied the rule of siority based on len.gth of continuous officiation for determining inter-se seniority amongst Assistant' Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers D promoted as Executive Engineers regularly within their respective quota upto 11th December, 1974, being the date of the decision and directed such inter•se seniority to be determined on the application of this seniority rule. Even if the rule of seniority. set out in Paragraph S(ii) were otherwise applicability must stand negatived by the decision in A.K. Subraman's case which is binding on 'the E parties. Moreover; it may noted that in A.K. Subraman's case it was conceded on behalf of respondents Nos. 1 and 2 that this Memorandum was not relevant to the question of determination of seniority between the petitioners and the respondents. In that cas~ though the promotion of some of the petitipners was regularised by F absorption in their lawful quota subsequent to 22nd December, 1959 and some of the respondents were also promoted as officiating Executive Engineers within the -their quota after that date, the learned counsel appearing on b.ehalf of the petitioners did not contend that Paragraph 5(ii) of the Memorandum dated 22nd G December, 1959 was applicable to determine interse seniority amongst such of the petitioners and respondents as were promoted after 22nd December, 1959 and agreed with the concession made on behalf of fespondents Nos. 1 and 2 that the Memorandum dated 22nd December 1959 was irrelevant :and likewise no discordant notewas struck also by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the e respondent Assistant Executive Engineers and it , was not contended on their behalf that so far as the petitioners and the respondent Assistant Executive EIJtineers promoted rcguh1rly within iheir lawful quc:ie subsequent to 22nd December, 195919Cre concerned, their senioriyt ' . .

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P.s. MAHAL v. UN(ON (8hagwati, J.) 881

was governed by- Paragraph 5(ii) or any other paragragh of the Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1959.

Therefore, it was the common case of all the parties including the Assistant Engineers . and the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive

Enginees that neither the rule of seniority set out in paragraph 5{ii) nor the seniority rule set out in any other paragraph of the Menwrandum dated 22nd December, 1959 ivas applicable.

I But; since the case has been argued fully before us we would consider the applicablity of Paragraph 5(ii) of the Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1959 on merits. There can be no doubt that the contention of the petitioners 'based on Paragraph 5(ii) would have had great force if on a true interpretatiol) of that paragraph, the rule of seniority set out in that provision could be held to govern the. determination of seniority amongst the Executive Engineers promoted from the. Grades of A sistant E'ngineers and Assistant Executive Engineers from and after 22nd December, 1959 being th~ date when this rule of seniority came into force. But we are of the view that' the rule of seniority set out in Paragraph 5(ii) of the Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1959 could have no application in case of promotios made to the Grade of Executive Engineers from the Grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers. Paragraph 5(ii) of the Memorandum dated 22nd .Deceinber, 1959read.as follows:

"5(ii) : . Where promotions to a grade are .made from more than one grade, the eligible persons shall be arranged in sep

erate lists in the order of their relative seniority in their respective grades. Thereafter, the Departmental Promotion Committee shall select persons for promotion from each list upto.the prescribed quota and arrange .all the candidates selected from diffeent lists in a consolidated order of merit which will determine the seniority of the persons on promotion to the higher grade."

and the rule of seniority set out in this provision was explained by the folfowin g illustration given in an Explanatory Note attached to the Memorandum dated 22nd Decembr, 1959 ;

"Note : If separate qu.otas for proµiotion have not already been prescribed in the relevant recruitment rules, . the Ministries/Oepartments .may do so, now in consultation with.the Oommission wherever necesssary."

. SUPREME COURT REPORTS

(1984) 3 S.C.R. • This rule of seniority, on the plain terms of Paragraph S(ii) applied only in a situation "where promotions to a Grnde are made from more than one . Grade" and the .argument of respondents Nos. 4 to 190 was that when this provision spoke of promotions to a Grade from more than one Grade,' it referred to promoiions within the same service, that is, where the grades from which promotions are made as also the grades of promotion are all grades .within the same service, but where one of the grades. from which promotions

ar~ made belongs to a lower service than the grade of promotion and the promotion is therefore from a lower service to a higher

servic~, the rule of seniority set out in this provision could have no application. Respondents Nos. 4 to 190 in the circumstances submitted tliat since the grade of Assistant Engineers was in Class II Service while the grade of E:xecutive Engi_neers was in Class I Service, the rule of seniority laid down in this provision was not applicable for determining seniority in the grade of Executive Engineers. We do not think this argument advanced on behalf of. tespondents Nos. 4 to 190 is well.founded. The postulate for the applicability of the rule of seniority set out in this provision simply _reads : "Where promotions to a Grade are made from more than one Grade" and it. does not introduce any requirement that the grades from which the promotions are made should belong to the s.ame service as the gaade of promotion. It.is no _doubt true that E . the illustration given in the Explanatory Note refers to promotions. from the grades of Upper Division Clerks and store keepers to the grade of. Head Clerk and all these grades beloug to Class III Service but it would not be right to limit the applicability of the seniority i:ule set out in this provision. by reading into it a limitation which is not there, merely because .an illustration of the applicability of the seniority rule given in the Explanatory Note relates to a case where the grades are all in the same service.

If the interpretation contended, for on behalf of respondents Nos, 4 to 190 were correct, the rule of seniority set out in this provision would not be applicable where both the grades, from which the

promotions are made, belong to a lower service while the grade of promotion belongs to a higher service and for such a case, there would be no rule of seniority laid down in the Memorandum date 22nd December, 1959 which would be applicable. We are clearly of the view that the rule of seniority set out in Paragraph S(ii) would . be attracted in all cses where promotions to a grade are made from more than one grade, irresp.ective as to whether these grades all belong to the same service or not and, therefore, the applicability of of this rule of seniority could not be repelled in the present case on

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l'.S. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.) 883

the ground that the grade of Assistant Engineers belongs to Class II A Service while the grade of Executive Engineers belongs to Class I Setvice.

But, there is a more fundmental rea$on why the rule of seniority et out in paragraph S(li) of the Memorandum. dated 22nd December, 1959 must be held to be inapplicable in the case of promotion to the grade of Executive Engineers. The promotion from the grade of Assistant Executive Engineers was by selection on merit while the promotion from the grade of Assistant Engineers was on the basis of senior.ity-cum-fitncss. Then; was no element of selection on merit in the case of Assistant Engineers as in the case of Assistant Executive Engineers and .the entire basis of promotion from the two grades was different. Moreover, this provision postu lated the existence of one single Departmental Promotion Committee for the selecting persons the promotion from the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Eicecutive Engineers and it was this single Departmental. Promotion Committee, which was to "arrange all the candidates selected from different lists in a consolidated order of merit which wilt determine the seniority of persons on promotion" to the grade of Executive Engineers. Now, there was some controversy between the parties whether in the case of promotions to the grade of Executive Engineers, there was one single Depart- . mental Promotion Committee for selecting person from the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive .Engineers or there were separate Departmental Promotion Committees-one for selection from the grade of Assistant Engineers and '.the other for -selection from the grade of Assistant Executive Engineers. Respondents Nos. 1 and 2 in the counter affidavit filed by S.R. Roy Choudhury asserted that in case of selectionifrom the grade of Assistant Engineers; the Union PubliciService Commission was associated with . the Departmental Promotion Committee~ while in case of selection •from the grade of Assistant Executive Engineers, the Union Public.

Service Commission was not so associated and a combined grouping

of the persons sought to be promoted from the two groups was, therefore, not possible. The first petitioner however, jn the rejoinder affidavit filed by him on behalf of the petitioners disputed the correctness of this avernment made on. behalf of respondents Nos. I and 2 and submitted that it was wrong to suggest "that the UPSC is not associated with the DPC because in all the selections concerned with the petitioners and the respondents, a Member of the UPSC

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(1984] 3 S.C.R.

was on both the DPCS" and in this. connection he relied on rule 4 of Section 7 of Chapter Vat page 48 of the CPWD Manual, Volume I (1970 Edition). It is not necessary for the purpose of determining t, he applicability of the rule of seniority in Paragraph. 5(ii) of the Memoranrlum. dated 22nd December, 1959 to decide whether a . Member of the Union Public Service Commission was associated with the Departmentar Promotion Committee for selection of AssistantExecutive Engineers or not. It is implicit in the statement of the first .petitioner in his rejoinder affidavit that there were two different Depar.mental Promotion Committees for selecting persons for promotion from the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant . Executive Engineers. The composition of the Departmental pro-,

motion Committees being different and the criteria for promotion to ·!lie grade of Executive Engineers z.lso being different in the case of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers, it is difficult to conceive how combined merit rating on the persons sought to be promoted from the two groups could . possibly be made as envisaged in paragraph 5(ii) of the Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1959.

It was suggested that a comparative assessment of the merits of the persons chosen from two groups could made on the basis of still be as to which Departmental Promotion Committee would their confidential reports, bnt the. question would still be as to which Departmental Promotion Committee would make the comparative assessment and eyen if the Departmental Promotion Committee

fo~ seleciion of persons to be promoted from the two groups was the same, it is difficult to appreciate how and comparative assessment of the merits .could be made on the basis bf onfidential reports.

The confidential reports of the officers from the two groups would not be written by the same officer or even by officers of equivalent rank, because in the case of Assistant Engineers promoted as officia- . ting Execµtive E.ngineers in excess of their quota and cnsecjuently

pushed down for being absorbed within their quota in fater years, their confidential reports for the preceding three years would be writ~ ten in respect of their performance as officiating Executive Engineers by the Superintending Engineers, while in the case of Assistant Executive Engineers, their confidential reports for the preceding three years would be wrirten in respect of their performance as Assistant Executive Engineers by the Executive Engineers. Thus at the point of time when in any particular year, the officers of the two streams meet for their seniority in _the grade of Executive Engi.neers, their confidential reports would not be by the same officers or eve.n by officers of equivalent rank and it would be .almos 't

• •

P.S. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.) 885

impossible to arrive at a comparative .assesment of their respective merits for the ptlrpose of working out the seniority rule.in Paragraph 5(ii) of the Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1959: Moreover, in fact tliis seniority rul~ was never regarded as applicable in case of promotions to the grade of Executive Engineers and the procedure set ont there was not followed at any time while making promotions from the grades of Assistant Executive Engineers and Assistant Engineers to the grade of Executive Engineers. It is, therefore, clear that the seniority rule set out in Paragrah 5(ii) of Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1959 could not be invoked for determining inter se seniority between Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers , and' the petitioners could not legistimately found any argument upon thaf seniority rule for the purpose of invalidating the seniority . list dated 14th August, 1975 and the Rules of 1976.

It is interesting to note that while the petitioners relied on Paragraph 5(ii) of the Memorandum dated 22nd December 1959, respondent Nos. 4 to 190 rested their argument on Paragraph .6 of this.

Memorandum. They contended that the rotational formula adopted for determining seniority a: ongst Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promc <ed to the grade of Executive Engineers from and after 22nd December, 1959, 'Subject to precedence being given ; n bloc to Assistant Execeutive Engineers promoted to fill in 86 carried forward posts of Executive Engineers, was in consonance with Paragraph 6 of the Memoranduni dated 22nd December, 1959 and did not in any way affect retrospectively the inter se seniority of the Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers. We are afraid this contention is not open to respondent Nos. 4 to 190 in view of the decision of this Court in AK. Subraman's case and moreover as already pointed out by us while rejecting the contention of the petitioners based on Paragraph S(ii), it was the common case of all the parties including the Assistant Engineers and the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted a~' Executive Engineers that the Memorandum dted 22nd December, 1959 was irrelevant for the purpose of determining the inter se seniority amongst the Assistant Engineers and Assistant .Executive Engineers promoted fr()m and after 22nd December 1959 and .neither the.seniority rule set out Jn Paragraph 5(ii) nor that set out .in Paragraph 6 wa~ applicable.

But eyen so since full arguments have been advanced before us, we propose to consider the applicability of Paragraph 6 on merits. It is necessary. in order to appreciate the contention raised on behalf .

'o.

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ' .

(1984] 3 S.C.R

of respondent Nos. 4 to 190 to examine t])e scope and ambit of Paragraph 6 of the Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1959 which reads as follows :

 "6. Relative seniority or Direct Recruits and Promotees:

The relative seniority of Direct recruits and of pro-. motees shall b!J determined according to the rotation of vacancies between direct recurits and promotees which shall be based on the quotas of vacancies reserved for direct recruitment and promotion rspectively in the Recruitment

Rules." ·

This paragraph on its plain. terms laid down a rule for deiermining the r.elative seniority of direct recruits and promotees in a grade to which appointments were required to be' made by direct reeruitment and promotion according to a certain fixed quota.· This rule of seniority obviously could have no application for determining inter se seniority in the grade of Executive Engineers, since both Assistant Engin>ers'and Assistant Executive Engineers were inducted ill the grade of Executive Engineers hy. promotion and Assistant Executive Engineers apointed in the grade of Executive Engineers did not bear the character of direct rec.ruits. It is, of course, true that Assitant Executive Engineers wete initialy taken up as direct recruits in the grade of Assistant Executive Engineers in fact that was only method of entry into the grade of Assistant Executive Engineersbut when they. entered the grade of Executive Engineers, they did so by way of promotion just like the Assistant Engineers. There . was, therefore, in the present case, no question of determining relative seniority between direct recruits and promotees. Both the Assistant Engineers as well as the Assistant Executive Engineers were promotees to the grade of Executive Engineers and Paragn1ph .. 6 of the Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1959 had, therefore, no application for determining inter se seniority between thell) in the grade of Executive Engineers.

We have considered the applicability of Paragraphs. 5(ii) and 6 of the Memorandum dated 22nd December, 1959 on merits and

come~ the conclusion that the rule ol'seniority set' out in neither . ofthese two .t>aragraphs could have any application. in the present case. But at the same time, we cannot escape the conclusion that by reason of clause 3 of the Memorandum dated 22nd December,

~ , _1

P.S. MAHAL v. UNION .(Bhagwati, J.) 887

1959, the rule of seniority prescribed in the Memorandum dated 22nd June, '1949 stood repealed, except in regard to .determination of seni)lri~ of persons appointed to the grade of Executive Engineers 'prior to 22nd December, 1959. There was, therefore, no rule of seniority )aid down either statutorily or by any executive order or instruction for determining seniority amongst Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of Assistant Engineers .and Assistant Executive Engineers regularly within their respective quota from and after 22nd December, 1959. But it is now wellsettled as a result of several decisions of this Court that in the absence of any statutory rule or executive memorandum or order laying down a rule for determining seniority in a grade, the normaJ rule applicable would be to determine seniority on the basis of length of continuous officiation in service..

Vid'e the observations of Palekar J. in -B.S. Gupta v. Union of India.(1) To the some effect we find the observations Krishna Iyer, 1., speaking on behalf of the Court in Chauhan v. Stale of Gujarat(•) where the learned Judge said at page 1057 of the report :

''Seniority, normally, is measured by length of con tin nous officiating service-The actual'!s easily accepted as the legal." .

Chandracl\ud, J., as he then was, also . reiterated the same. principle when he said in S.B. Patwardhan v. State of Maharashtra(•) that "all other factors being equal, continuous officiation .in a non. fortuitous vacancy ought to receive due recognition in determining rules of. seniority as between persons recruited from different sources, so Jong as they be long to the same cadre, dircharge similar functions and bear similar responsibilities." 'The inter se senfority of Executive Engineers promoted from the grades of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers regulariy within their • respective quota from and after 22nd December, 1959 was, therefore, determinable on the basis of !ength of continuous officiation in the grade of Executive Engineers and the Court was, in the circumstances, justified in A.K. Subraman's case in holding in. paragraph 1 of the summary of its co11clusions that "when Assistant Engineers (Class II) are initially appointed in a regular manner in accordanee with the rules to officiate as Executive Engineer, their seriio.

(I) [1975] I s.C.R. 104 at 113.

(2) [1977) l S.CR. 1037.

(3) (1977] 3 S.C.R. 775 at P•J• 800,

G ,

88& SUPRllME COURT REPORTS [1984] 3 s.c.R •.

rity in service in Gr.ade I will counHrom the date of their initial officiating appointment as Executive Engineers was within their quota." It is undonbtedly irue that in reaching this conclusin the :Court proceeded on the assumption that ''the Memorandum dated 22nd June 1949 was clearly applicable" and equally jt must be conceded that this assumption was erroneous in so far as inter se seniority between Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineerrs promoted from and after 22nd December, 1959 .was copcerned, sine the ruJe. of seniority based on length of conti nuous officiation enunciated in the Memorandum dated 22nd June,

1949. was repealed by the Memorandum dated 2nd December,

1959. But it can hardly be disputed that the conclusion reached by the Court was correct in law, because in the absence of any specifi¢ rule of seniority governing determination of inte[-se seniority bet ween Assistant Engineers and . Assistant Executive Engineers pro moted fro'm and after 22nd December 1959 their interse seniority ' ' was clearily governed by the rule of seniority based on length of Continuous officiation. We do not think it ivould be right to assnme that .the Court in A.K.

Subraman's case overlooked that the rule ofseniority laid down in the Memorandum dated 22nd .June, 1949 was repealed by the Memorandom dated 22nd December, 1959 and it is, therefore, quite possible that when the Court said that "the Memorandum of June 22, 1949 will clearly apply", whafthe Court meant was that the rule of seniority based on lengih of continuous officiation would clearly apply for deter mination of inter-se seniority between Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive .Engineers promoted to the grade of Executive -Engineers. We 'may point out that in any event. the decision in A.K. Subhrama11,'s case holding that the inter-se seniority bet ween Assistant Engineers. and Assistant Executive Engineers prornoted as Executive Engineers should be governed by the rule of seniority based on length of continous officition and that their inter-se seniority should be determined on the application of thi~ rule of seniority, must be regarded as binding on the parties and it ·

is not open to the petitioners or .to the respondents to rai-se any contention contrary to. this conclusion reached by the Court; This conclusion, we may repeat, was not limited to Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers prior to 22nd December, 1959 but also covered Assistant E:ngineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted. subsequent to that date. right upto the date of the decision of the Court. We must, therefore, hold that, notwithstanding Rules :i(iii) (Ind 2(iv) of the ·

P.S. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.) 889'

Rules of 1976, the inter-se seniority between Assistant Engineers A and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted regularly within their respective quota upto ilth December, 1974 must be determined on the basis of length of continous officiation in the grade of Executive Engineers, subject of course to the length of continuous officiation in the case of Assistant Engil)ecrs being computed from the date of their confirmation as Assistant Engineers. . 11

Before we proceed to consider grounds B and Cit would be conventions at this stage to deal with some of the contentions advanced by respondent Nos. 4 to 190 on behalf of the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engieers against the va!ldity of the seniority list dated 14th August 1975 ; n .so far as ce.rtain. aspects of that seniority list are concerned. Though the seniority list dated 14th August, 1975 was substantially in . favour of Assistant .Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers, they were not wholly satisfied with if and they attacked it in three respects. They urged that respondent Nos. l to 3 had egregiously erred in formulating the seniority list dated 14th August, 1975 in as much as (I) respondents Nos. t to 3 had treated vacancies ari.sing on account of deputation of Executive Engineers to other organisation or departments as vacancies to be filled up in accordance with the quota and so also where an Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer . was, promoted for being sent on deputation as' Executive Engineer in another organisation or department, respon dent Nos. 1 to 3 had treated such promotion as filling up of vacancy subject (o the quota rule:; (2) respondent Nos. l to 3 had inclu ded, for the purpose of allocation of quota, also those vacancies which arose on account of death or retirement of Executive Engineers who were promoted from the grade of Assistant Engineers in excess of their quota and whose promotions were not regularised within their quota prior to their death or retirement, as if those vacancies were fresh vacancies governed by the quota rule and (3) while pushipg down Executive Engineers who were promoted from the grade of Ass.istant Engineers in excess. of their quota and adjusting them within their quota in a subsequent year, respondent Nos. 1 to 3 had treated them as absorbeb not from the date when the vacancy arose in their quota but from .Ist January of that year.

This three-fold grlevaoce .made on behalf of respondent Nos. 4 to

190 cannot be said to be wholly unjustified, We find that_ the second and third 'heads of grievance are well-founded while the nrst is not.

Our reasops for saving so ae. as fo1!ows,

G •

. SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1984] 3 s.c.R •

So far as the first head of the grievance. of respondent Nos. 4 to 190 is concerned, their argument was that on a true interpreta tion of the judgment of this Court in A. K. Subraman's case, the quota i:ule was applicable only to permanent vacancies in t!ie posts,. whether permanent or temporary, included in the sanctioned stren gth m the cadre of Executive Engineers "except sucjl vacncies as were purely of a fortuitors or adventitious character" llnd since the vacancies arising on account oT depu.tation of Executive Engineers to other organisations or department could not be regarded as per

- manent vacancies but were vacancies -of fortuitous or adventitious character, they were not subject to the .quota rule and could not be t.11ke1;1 into account for applicability of the quota rule. This argument, plausilile though it may seem at first sight, cannot be su.stained.

It is, first of all, necessary to clear the ground by pointing out that according to the judgment of this cQurt in A.K. Subraman's case, the qnota rule was to be applied not with reference to the posts in the cadre of Executive Engineers but with reference to vacancies. in . such posts. There might he more than one vacancy in a post in the course of a year or any other unit o(time aJJ.d it was with reference to each such vacancy that the quota rule had to be applied. Now a vacancy may arise in a post on account of death, retirement or resignation of the incumbent of the post or it may arise on account of bis dismissal, discharge a reversion from the post or promotion to a higher post oi: by reason of his deputation to a11other department or organisation. Whenever, therefore, a vacancy arises in a post, whatever he the reason by which the vacancy is caused, it would have to be filled up by promotion of an Assistant Engineer or av Assistant Executive Engineer and the quota. rule would apply so. long as the vacancy is a permanent vacancy, that is to say, in the words of Palekar J. in the 1st Bishan SarupGupta's case, a .acancy which is not "for a few days or a few months" or otherwise adventi tious". We have in these words of Palekar, J., adopted wholly and completely in A.K. Subraman's case, a negative definition of what may be regarded as a permanent vacncy for the purpose of. appli cation of the quota rule ad it clearly shows that a vacancy which is of a short duration arising on account of fortuitous or advel\, litous circumstances would not be regarded as permanent vacancy and in such a case, by reason of the very nature of the va<:ancy, there would be no question of making recruitment to the cadre as to attract the applicability of the quota rule. It is therefore obvious that if a vacancy arises on account of an incumbent going on leave or for training or on deputation for a short period, it would be a fortui-

''\

P.S. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati. J.) 891

tous Qr adventitious vacancy and tlie quota rule would not be attracted in case of such a vacancy. But wher~ a vacancy arises on account

of the incumbent going on deputation for a reasonably long period and there is no reasonable likelihood of the person promoted to fill such vacancy liaving to revert, the vacancy would be subject to the quota rule, because. it would be a regular vacancy in tlfe post of Executive Engineer (\nd the person promoted to fill the vacancy would be. an officiating Executive .Engineer who would continue as such without reversion until confirmed and his promotion would, ·

therefore, be by way of recruitment lo the cadre of Executive Engineers. Of course, it should be made clear . that the vaclmcy which .

. attracts the applicability of the quota rule, is the vacancy in the post included in the sanctioned strength of tlie cadre of Executive Engineers and not the vacancy in the deputation post. There may be a vacancy in a deputation post in another department or ori; anisation and an Executive Engineer holding a post included in the sanctioned strength of the cadre of Ex, ecutive Engineers may lie .sent to such deputation post, but the vacancy which would call for the application bf the quota rule in such a case would be the vacancy arising in the pest of Executive Engineer within the cadre by reason of the incumbent of that post going to the deputation post and not the vacancy

in the deputation post which would be filled up by the Executive Engineer going on deputation" It is,. therefore; apparent that what bas tq be considetec! for the applicability of the quota rule is a vacancy in a post included in the sanctioned strength of the cadre of.Executive Engineers nd the sanctioned strength; which. has to be taken into account, is not merely the sanctioned strength of .. the cadre of Executive Engineers in the Central Public Works Department btit the sanctioned strength of the cadre of Executive Engi- F neers in the entire Central Engineering Service, Class I. The sanctioned strength of the cadre of Executive Engineers in the

Centrl Engineering Service, Class I, may include not only posts of Executive Engineers in the Central Public Wor'ks Department but also posts of Executive Engilleers in other departments and organi-

G sations. ·

Now, so far as the Central Engineering Service, . Class I, is

~ . - . concerned, the deputation of officers in various grades including the grade of Executive Engineers is a normal feature. of the 'Service.

The Central Public Works Department is an agency 9f the Centr~J H Government operating .throghout Country. for construction, maintenance and repair of all works .and buildings financed from Civil

.. D

SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1984] 3.s.C.tl.

Works Budget except for certain. departments which bad their own engineering units or which may get their Civil works executed through private agencies. The ofilr.ers borne ou the cadres of Chief Engineers, Superintending Engineers .and Executive Engineers in the ·

Central Engineering Ser; vice, Class I, are therefore sent on deputation to various departments and organisations and some of them are also on deputation with the Government of Bhutan, Delhi Municipal Corporation, New Delhi Municipal Committee and various. other public undertakings. The normal duration. of such deputation is one to three years and it may even be extended beyond three years.

The record shows that the ni)mber of Cl1ief Engineers, Superintend il, lg Enginee; s and Exec11tive. Engineers on deputation to various departments, organisations.· and public sector undertakings has always been substantial and by way of illustration, it may be pointed out that there were as on !st January, 1975, 90 out of

pproxin:iately 360 Executiv~ Engineers, 33 out of 80 Superin.tetiding Engineers and S out of 20 Chief Engineers on deputaiion. On an . average, about 25 to 40% of the Executive Engineers are on deputa tion to various organisations, departments and public sector under-, takings and whenever any such Executive Engineers are sent .on deputation and the vacancies in.the posts arising on account of such deputation are filled up by Assistant Engineers or Assistant Executive Engineers regularly se\ected through Departmental Promotion Committee,. such promotees have never bad .to .revert, because the deputations are for a minimum period of one year and in most cases for three yearsand they go on rotating. The vacancies arising in the posts of Executive Engineers orr account of deputation to other departments, organisations and public sector undertakings ai:e, therefore, .Jong term .vacancies and cannot be characterised as vacancies of fortuitous or adventitious character and, consequently, according to the judgment in A.K. Subraman:s case, the quota rule must be held to be applicable with reference to such vacancies.

This has always b.een the view taken by the Government of Ind.ia,

aSis clear from ihe letter-dated 19th qctober, .1971 addressed by the Ministry of Works and Housing, Government of India to the Secretary,. Union Public j/; ervice Commission; where, we fihd the following observation :

"Jn accordance with the recruitment rules the posts at' the level of Executive Engineers are to be filled by promotion of Assistant Executive Engineers and Assistant

Enineers iii the ratio of 2: I, ·. This ratio is pplicble tq

~. ~. "

P._S. MAHAL v. UNION (Bltagwati, J.)

both permanent and temprary . Vc!incies including the deputation. vacancies". (Emphasis supplied) ·

~93

. It is significant to.note that the view that deputation vacancies being long term vacancies should be regarded as . permanent vacan-·

~ ci; s for the aplcability of the quota '. rule prevailed with' the .

~.oven1ment of India as. far back as 19th October 1971 long before the present cntroversy arose between the parties and even prior to the decisions. in Bishan Sarup Gupta's case~ and A.K. Subraman.'s

case~ . We find that this view was reaffirmed by the _Government of India in the Office Memorandum dated 30th December. 1976 issued by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforqis, Cabinet .

Se.cretariat \Yher'e it has been stated as foJlows under the heading

"etermination of Regular Vcancies":- . ". ' . ciu j~ essential that the number of vacacies . in respect of which a pan.el. is to be prparfd _by a o:P.C. . should be estimated a~ accurately a.s possible. For this purpose the vacan.ties to be taken into account should be t.be clear vacancies arising in post/ grade/scfrvice due 'to death, retirement, resignation, regular long term promo tion, of incumbents of one. post/grade to higher. post/ .-.. 'grade and vacancies arising from creation of additional

'pots ' on a long term bais and thse arising:out of depu

tation.' As. regards vacancies arising out of deputation it is clarified that for . the. purpose of drawing up a . slect list. for promotion, vacancies arising out of depritatio~ for periods more than one year should be taken into

account~ due note however. eing kept also o.f the number of the dt:putationists likely to return to the cadr"e and who

• , gave to. be provide'd for. Purely short term .vacancies

arising. as a resu)t of officers proceeding on lea_ve, on . . deputation for a shorter period, training etc., should not . . be taken into account for the purpose o~ -preparation. of

1 . a panel":

The same stand .has been consistetly taken. by th~ Governmet l of India. in the various affidavits fiied on its behalf' in these proceedgg as ".also in the miscellaneous proceedjngs arising in A.K. '!; ubi:amap's case. W_e may usefully reproduce the following para

graphs from the Counter-Affidavit 'filed on behalf of the Government oflndia in C.M.P.No. 6689 of 197S'in A..K.. Subraman's case:.

. E


"8. With reference to paragraph 2(a), J submit that this Hon 'ble Court, no doubt, stated that all the vacancies except fortuitous and adventitious ones in the sanctioned strength in the cadre have to be taken in.to account. So far as the deputation vacancies are concerned, the position is that the post of.the borrowing a.uthority tow. hich a deputa- "'!' tll . tion is made is certainly outside the cadre of the Central. ..

Engineering _and Electrical Engineering.._ Service, but the consequential vacancies which arise because of the deputa . tioil are certainly vacancies in the cadre. The deputations are generally for a periocl of a year and more and the con- . sequential vacancies are also long term vacaru::ies, which cannot be aUed for.tuitions or adventitious". "15. With reference to paragraph 4 (8) (I) (a); I say that the post in the '' borrowing department is certainly a post outside .the sane- . , .tioned strength of the C.P.W.D. However, deputatiol)

of an officer belonging .to the C.P.W.D. to fill such a post causes a vacancy in the C.P.W.D ..• It is this vacancy which

hs been added and not then post on tlfe borrower's estab. lishment. This has been done because in our case, the quota allocation is linked to vacancies and not to post ; of course, the' vacancies must be in posts in the cadre". . , .•

So also the Union of India reiterated the same view .in . the Counter Affidavit filed on its be.halfin C.M.P. No. 2663 of 1975 in A.K. Subraman's case :

 "Vacancies : The quota system, based on w\llch the date of commencement of the regular appointment of eithdr side' had to be fixed,, in accordance with the directives of the Hon'ble Court, had been introduced by the-~

Central Engineering Service (and Central Electrical Engin" - eering Service) Recruitment• Rules promulgated on 25 .. 8.1949 ... Hence the vacancies had to be identified right from this date.

Vacancies in ihe grade of Executive Engineers had occurre!l not only due to death, retirement, resignation etc. ill the grade but. also be.cause of promotion (to higher >-- , grade) dismissal from this or higher grades, reversion to ., lower grades and degutation to other organisations like the Delhi Development Authority; undertaking, he retains his lien on the post in th.e parent department and he has !I

>-.

P.S. MAHAt v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.) 895

right to come back to that post which he can exercise at any time .and hence the vacancy caused by his deputation cannot be regarded as a prmanent vacancy. liable to be filled by regular . recruiment to the cadre of Executive . Engineers. It was urged that so long as an Executive Engineer who has "gone on .deputation retain~ his lien on the post in the parent department, that post canno.t be filled by promotion of another Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive' Engineer by way of substantive recruitment to ·.the cadre of Executive Engineers, because two officers cannot hold a )ien on the same post simultaneously. We do not ' think this argument is wellfounded. There is here no question of violation of the ba&ic principle of service jurisprudence that two officers cannot simultaneously have a lien on the .same post. .It issignifipant t, o note, and this was common ground b;.tween the parties, that the vacancy which atrracts the applicability of the quota rule is not {)nly a vacancy in a permanent post but also a vacancy iii a temporary post and obviously no Executive Engineer

c:i.n haye a lien on a temporary post and therefore, extingurshment of a lien on a post is not ne"cessary in . order that there should be .an available vacancy for the. applicability of quota rule. It is now settledas a result of the decision A.K. Subraman's case that the quota rule is to be applied at the time of initial other Central or State Government undertakings or Departments, UN assignments etc. none of which could be called fortuitous or adventitious because they were all long term appointments covering a .

period of one to two years or. more.· F

Calculafions of all such vacancies with reference to the ca so and .circumstances as called out from the original papers right from 25.9.1949" was a herculean task and it was difficult to he sure that there had been no errors r . omissions. Hence, to be sure, the answering respondents decided to treat each long term promotion to the grade of Executive Engineer, for whatever reasons, as a vacancy, oli the assumplion that such a promotion could not have been made without the existence o~ a vacancy" .. . "

- -< It is thus clear that the vacancies in the posts of Executive 'Engineers arising on accounfOf deputation of Executiv1; Engineers

. fl

SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1984] 3 s.c:r •

to other. departments~ organisations and public undertakings for a period of one. or more years were long term vacancies and they . could not be regarded as fortutitous or adventitious iu character and hence they were subject to the quota rule. . . .

But the answer sought. to be given on behalf of respondents Nos. 4 to 19.0 to repel this conclusion was that when an . Executive Engineers goes on deputation to another department, organisatiQ.11 .; or .public sector recruitm.ent in an officiating capacity to the cadre<. of Executive Engineers and not at the time of confirmation. It' is, therefore, not necessary hat the lien of an officer on a post of Executive Engineer must be extinguished before any promotion to •that post can be made jn accordance with the quota rule, Even where a confirmed. Executive Engineer is promoted to the. pot of Superintending Engineer but continuous to have his lien on the post of Executive Engineer, a yacancy wollld undoubtedly arise in . the post of Executive Engineer by reason of his promotion and such vacancy would clearly be a permanent vacancy liable to b.e filled according to the quota rule. So also a vacancy attracting ihe applicability of the 11uota rule. would arise where an Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer regularly promoted with in his lawfui quota dies or retires before confirmation .. The occurrence of a vacancy in the.post of Executive Engineer inviting the

application•of the quota rule has, therefore, nothing to do With the extinguishment of lien on the. post; The argument of respondenf+ Nos. 4 to 190 proceeds on the assumption that promotion to the' post of Executive Engineer contemplated under the recruitment rules can be made only when there is no liep of any other officer on that post,· for otherwise there will be two. officers having lien on the same post. But this assumption is . wholly fallacious, because promotion according to the quota rule envisaged in the Rcruit ment Rules is, as pointed out in A.Ko Subraman's case, initial promotion in an officiting capacity and has nothing ta do wh confirmation. The contention of respondents Nos. 4 to 190 woillc!l. have had considerableforceif promotion to the cadre of Executive Engineers were dependent' on confirmation and the quota rule

were applicable at the stage of confirmation. But this position stands compietely negatived by the decision. in A.K. Subraman's. case. Therefwe, Whenever there is a permanent vacancy, that is t~ say; a long 1erm vacancy in a post of Executive Engmeer, it . would have to b~ filled according to the quota rule irrespective .of , the fact whet.her there is any. officer having a lien on that post,. It ,

. '

").-•

p .s. MAHAL y. UNION (Blzagwati, J.) .891

is true that a confirmed Executive Engineer who goes on deputation may revert to the post .on which he has a lien and so also an officiating Executive 'Engineer who goes on deputation may revert back on termination of his deputation and theoreticaUy, i11 either case, an Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer who is promoted to fill the vacancy arising on account of deputation may have to revert, but in actual practice and rt'ality,. not a single Assistant Engineer or Assi.stant Executive Engineer promoted as Executive Engineer to fill a vacancy arising n account of depta tion, has had to revert, because deputation is a normal feature in this service and 20 to 25 per cent of the Execvtive Engin.eers are continuously on deputation. Even if one Executive , Engineer com.es back on termination of his deputation, another has to be sent in his place and .the deputatio11s thus go on rotating wi, th the re.suit thai the vacancy in the post of Execvtive Engineer arising on account of deputation does not cease and the .Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer promoted as Executive Engineer to fill tlie vacancy does not ever have to revert and. consequently, the vacancy filled by him is really and truly a permanent or long term vacancy which has to be filled according. to the quota ; ule.

In fact, if the quota-rule were l)ot to be , applied with reference to such a vacancy, the position would be that w]lenever an Executive Engineer goes on deputation for a period . which may extend to .anything between three . to five years, the Central Government

would be entitled to ijromote an Assistant Engineer ignoring the claims of Assistant Executive Engineers and this would be. totally arbitrary in a situation, where, as mentioned above, 20 to 25 per cent of Executive.Engineers are on deputatiou.

But then it was contended on behalf of respondents Nos. 4 to 190 that even if a vaca.ncy arising by reason of an. Executive Engineer going on deputation were regarded as ·.a permanent vacancy attracting the applicability of the quota rule, the position .would be .different where an Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer Was promoted for being. posted as Executive Engineer in a deputation post. To such a promotion, it was urged, the quota ule' would not arPlY• because the promotion in' sq.ch a case would not be to fill a po; t in the sanctioned strength of the . cadre of Exepµtive Engineers but would be to fill a deputation post of Executive. Engineer in an:Qther department,. organisation or public. sector imdertaking. This argument; plausible though it may seem at first sight, is in our opinion not sustainable. When a

898 SVPREME COURT REl>ORTS [1984] 3 s.c.R ..

department, organisation or public sector undertaking. requests the

Cntral Public Works Department to make available the services of an Executive Engineer on deputation, The Central Public Works . Department has two options available to it : either to send an Executive Engineer . who is occupying a post in the cadre of Executive Engineers, whether confirmed or on officiating basis or to promote an Assistant Enginer or .Assistant Executsve Engineer as Executive Engineer and straightaway send hi111 outside to the depu: talion post. Now if the former mode of proceeding could lead to a vacancy attracting the applicability of the quota, it is difficult to appreciate how the latter mode of proceeding should not lead .to a • similar result. In both cases, the ultimate result would be pro · motion of an Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer as Exeutive Engineer against demand for . deputation. Where an Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer is promoted as Execqtiv'e Engineer and immediately sent t6 a deputation post ii) another department, organisation or public sector undertaking, whaf really happens is that in the eye of law, a pµst is temporary created in the cadre of Executive Engineers to which the Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer is promoted and then sent on deputation. Obviously, an Assistant Engineer or. Assistant Executive Engineer cannot be promoted . directly to the post 0f Executive Engineer in another departi; ient, organisation or public sector undertaking : he can be promoted only to a post of dxecutive Engineer In Centrai Engineering Service Class I and then asked to go on deputation .. Of co11rse, an Asistant Engineer Or Assistant Executive Engineer can be directly sent on deputatiort .to the post of Executive Engineer in another department, organisation or public sector undertaking without being promoted. as Executive Engineer in his own department and in such a case there will be no question of filling a vacancy according to thequota rule. The Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer who goes . on deputation as Executive Engineer fo another department, organi sation or public sector undertaking would in such a case continue to remain an Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer in his own department, but would be merely occupying the post. of Executive Engineer in the other department, organisation or public sector undertaking as a deputationist and on the termination of his deputation, he wo<uld revert. as Assistant Enginee.r or Assistant' Ex.ecutive Engineer in .his own depatment. Such a deputation cannot be regarded as filling Of a vacancy in the post of Executive . :Engineer in the Central Engineering Service Class I so as to attract

< •

,,1

P.S. MAHAL v. u.NION (Bhagwati, J.) 899.

the applicability of the quota . rule. But .when an Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer is promoted as Execut.ive Engineer in his own department .and simultaneously With such promotion, he is sent on deputation to another department, orga nisation or public .septor undertaking, he goes on such deputation as Executiv~ Engineer, so that if for any reason his deputation comes to an end, he reverts to his own department as Executive Engineer and not as Assistant .Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer. The petitioner filed before us several orders of pro

motion of Assistant Engineers as Executive Engineers for being sent on deputation to other departments or organisations and these orders clearly showed that the Assi.stant Engineers in. respect of whom these orders were passed, were promoted as Executive Engineers and then, simultaneously, under the. same orders, sent on deputation to other departments or organisations. Obviously, in cases of this kind, the promotion of the Assistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer would be to a post in the cadre of Executive Engineers and it would be subject to the quota rule. The present contention of respondents Nos. 4 to 19_0 seeking exclusion of deputation -:acancies.from. the applicability of the quota rule must, therefore, be rejected, provided bf cour.ge the promotion of the As.sistant Engineer or Assistant Executive Engineer to .a deputation vacancy is a regular promotion, that is, after selection by the Departmental Promotion Committee and. is not an ad hoc promotion.

Respondent Nos. 4 to 190 are however on firmer ground. in regard to the . second head of complaint urged by them against the validity of the seniority list dated 14th August, 1975 It is true that in preparing the seniority list dated 14th August, 1975 respondent Nos. 1 to 3 included, for the purpose of allocation of quota, also those vacancies which arose on account of death or retirement of Executive Engineers who were promoted from the grade of Assistant Engh, eers in eitcess of their quota and.whose promotions were not regularised by absorption within their quota prior to their death di' retirement and treated these vacancies as if they were fresh vacan . cies governed by the quota rule. This was clearly an error on the part of respondent Nos. 1 to 3. It is difficult to see how a vacancy in the post of Executive Engineer which, according to the quota rule, is aliocable to an Assistant Executive Engineer but which is filled up by irregular appointment of an Assistant Engineer cn be treated as a fresh vacancy when the Assistant Engineer irregularly promoted . .

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900 . SUPREME COURt REPORts

(!984] 3 S.C.!L

dies. or retires fro1n ser.vice before regularisation of. his promotion by absorption within his .quota. So long as the quota rule is binding and enforceable, the Assistant E.ngineerwhois irregularly promoted to fill in a vacancy which belongs ti> the qu.ota of Assistant Executive Engineers is an illegal oc.cupant of the vacancy. and the vacancy ; continues to be & vacancy belonging to the. quota of Assistant Executi'{e Engineers and liable to be filled by promotion of an Assistant Execu.tive Engineer. In fact, the promotion of an Assistant Engineer to the vacancy would be invalid as being contrary to .the quota rule, but in .the 1st Bishart Sarup Gupta case, the Court, in order to . obviate undue:Jiardship, evolved the theory of temporary invalidity of the promotion by holding that the promotion would only be irregular and it could be regularised by absorption within the quota in later years. The vacancy though pro tempore filled irregularly by an.

Ass.istant Engineer would continue to belong tothe quota of Assistant Executive Engineers and it can be filled only by an Assissant Executive Engineer if the quota rule is to be strictly. observed. The ·.death or retirement of an irregular promotee to the vacancy.cannot therefore give-Tise to a fresh vacancy : it is the .sanic vacancy which continues until properly filled by promotion of an Assistant .Executive Engineer at a subsequent date. If in .such a case the death or retirement of an irregularly appointed Assistant Engineer were to be treated as creating a fresh vacancy, if would lead to gross distotion.

Let us take a hypothetical case where in a particular year say 1956, there are 12 vacancies in the posts of Executive Engineers out of which 8. vacancies belong to the quqta of Assfstant Executive Engineer and 4 vacancies belong to the quota of Assistant Engin er. but only 2 Assistant Executive Engineers .are available with the result that 6 Assistant .Engineers are irregularly appointed !o fill the remain, ing 6 vaca.ncies allocabletb 'the Assjstant Executive Engineers. Now suppose in the next year 1957 there are no new allocable vacancies but 6 Assistant . E)lgineers irregularly appointed in the earlier year 1956 die or retire, If the socalled vacancies arising by reason of the death or retirement of these 6 irregularly appointed . Assistant E.ngineers were to be treated a's fresh vacancies 4 out of them would go to Assistant Executive Engineers while 2.would go to Assistant Engineers The result would be that the Assistant Engineers would get 2 . ore vacancies which they would not have

P.s. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.) 901

got if all the 8 vacancies allocable to Assistant Exe.cutive Engineers i~ the year 1956 \Jad been filled by promotion of :Assistant Executive Engineers and there had been no irregular promotion of 6 Assistant Engineers. Thus the Assistant Engineers would gain two more vacancies within their quota.by reason of irregular appointment of 6 Assista.nt Executive Engineers. That would be allowing Assistant Engineers to profit from irregular :appointments which result can never be countenanced. We must; therefore, accept the contention of respondent Nos. 4 to 190 under the. second head ofcomplaint. • •

The third head of complaint urged on behalf of respondent Nos. 4 to 190 must also likewise be held to be well-founded. Respondent Nos. 4 to 190 are right in contending that while pushing down Executive Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant Engineers in excess of their quota and adjusting them within their quota in .a subsequent year, respondent Nos. !. to 3 must treat them as absorbed from ti)e date when a vacancy in t):lat year arises in the quota of ,\ssistant Engineers and not on a notional basis from !st 'January of . that year. What the decision in A.K. Subraman 's case requires is that Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers in excess of their quota must be pushed down and their promotion must be regularised by absorption when tl\le within their quota in a subsequent year and therefore they can be adjusted only in a vacancy which arises in that year and is allocable to the quota of Assistant Engineers. There is nothing in the decision in A.K. Subraman~ case which warrants that when Assistant Engineers promoted in excess of their quota are pushed dowh and absoroed within their quota i.n a subsequent year, their absorption should be reckoned nationally from 1st January of that year. What respondent N'os. 1 to 3 have done is that all Assistant Engil)eers who had been promoted in excess of their quota and who having been pushed down were entitled to be. abs<)rbed within their quota in a particular year, are treated as absorbed from !st January of that year and placed en hloc senior to the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted tn that year within their quota. The.re can be no doubt that respondent Nos. I to 3 were not entitled to determine seniority on this basis. This Assistat Engineers promoted in excess of their quota and therefore pushed down for absorption within their quota in a subsequent year could be absorbed . only in a vacancy arising in that year and allofable to the quota of Assistant Engineers. ·

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I .


(1984] 3 S C.R.

 Re : Ground B

This ground of challenge i.s clearly qnsustainabJe lmd must be rejected. It is true that the Rules of 1976 have been brought into force with effect from 10th December, 1974'.bui in rules 2(iii) and 2 (iv) they lay down a rule of seniority. affecting Assistant Engi- . neers and Assistant Executive Engineers . promoted as Executive Engineers reguhrly within their respective quota from and after • 22nd December, 1959. It iS therefore not possible to say as a matter of plaih grammatical construction that the Rules. f 1976 cannot affect. tlie petitioners and other Assis Lant Engineers promoted ·.regularly within there quota prior to 10th December, 1974.

The question 1; vould however remain whether Rules 2 (iii) and 2 (iv) of the Rules of 1976 in s6 far as they lay down a rufo of senior; ty different from the .rule of length of continuous offiiciation.for Executive Engineers promoted fro:n and after 22nd Dcember, '1959, are constitutionally valid. This is the question which we shall proceed to consider under Ground C.

Re : Ground C.

We have already pointed out that though the Rules ofl976 havo been broug1t into force with effect from. IPth Dcem'Jer 1974, th•y do notlhve the effect of over-riding the dcision in A.K.

Subraman's case directing th' Government to amend and revise the Syniority list. so. as to fix int.er se seniority between. Assistant Engineers and. Assistant Executive Engineers promoted regularly within iheir Nspective quota up to 11th Docember 1974, by applying the rule of seniority based on length of continuous officiation. On this view, Rules 2(iii) aq, d 2(iv) of the Rules of 1976, in so far as they provide for seniority being given en bloc to the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to the 86 . carried forward posts of Ex, ecutive . Engineers and apply the rotat; onal formula for the pmpse of determining seniority amongst .Assistant Engineers and Assistant .Executive Engineers promoted to the ubsequent vacancies, must be held to be ineffective "qua Assistant Engineers & Assistant .Executive Engineers promoted up to 11th December, 197 4 and so far as these Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engin•ers are concerned, their i1lter se seniority must be held to be governed by the length of.conti nuous officiation in the grade o( Executive Engineers.

But the q\lestion wou_ld still survive whether inter se seniority be.tween Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted

subsequent to 11th December, 1974 would have to: be determined in acordance with th~ rotational rule of seniority.· set out in Rule

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• • •

P. s, MAHAL V UNION (Bhagwati, J.) ..

2(iv) or this rotational rule of senirioty is unconstitutional and void as offending Articles 14 and 16 of the Costitution, It may also be considered in the alternative, on the assumption that Rules 2{iii) and 2(iv) of the Rules of 1976 govern the determination of inter se seniority between Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted from and after 22nd December, I 959 despite the decision in A.-K. Subraman case, whether tnese rules can successfully meetthe challenge of Article I 4 and 16 or they would be liable to be. condemned as constitutionally invalid

We may firill consider the constitutional validity of Rules 2(iii) and 2(iv) of the rules of 1976 in. so far as they affect the inter se seniority of Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engi,- neers promoted regulrly within their respective quota from and after 22nd December, 1959. Now the position which obtained on 22nd December 1959 was that there were 86 _Assistant.

Engineers who had been promoted m excess of their quota and correspondingly there was short-fall of: 86 in pre-motions of Assistant Executive Engin'eers.

W~ are no1 sure whether in the light of what we have said . above, the excess in promotions of.

Assistant Engineers and the deficiency in promotions of Assistant .

Executive Engineers would stand redued, but that would not make any difference so far as the present question' is concerned and we shall therefore proceed on the• footing that the excess in"promotions of Assistant Engineers and the short-fall in' promotions of Assistant Executive Engineer s was 86. The question. 'is whether, consistently with the constitutional requirement, of Articles 14 and 16, en bloc seniority could be given to the Assistant Executive Enginers promoted to fil, l the 86 vacancies allocable to the qu9ta of Assistant Executive Engineers and remaining unfilled by them up to 22nd December 1959. These 86 vacancies were under Rule 2(iii) directed to be carried forward and filled by Assistant Executive Engineers promoted on or after 22nd December 1959 and the Assistant Executive Engineers no promoted were"given seniority en bloc. The petitioners objected to this movision in Rule 2(iii) for carry forward of these 86 vacancies and contended thatthere could be no carry forward of any vacancies which were not filled by Assistant Executive Engineer~ and so promotions of Assistant Executive Engineers could be made to fill such vacancies as from thedate when they arose in any particular year. This objection raised on behalf of the petitfoners is partly sustainable and partly. not. Where the quota rule is a statutory rule which h, as to be scrupulously observed, the vacancy which according to the quota rqle is allocable to promotees

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS (198 4] 3 s.c'R ..

from one source cannot be fllled by a promo tee from another source . and if, notwithstanding the quota rule, the. vacancy is filled by a promotee from that other source, such promotion would be irregular and as pointed out above, the vacancy would continue to remain a vacancy, Hable to be filled. by a promotee from the first mentioned source.· Ii would not be strictly accurate to say that in such a case the vacancy is carried forward in the sense in which. that exepression has been used in T. Devda!an v. Union of India(1). llt was pointed out by this Court in Mervin Cou/inhs v. The Co/lee tor of Customs, Bomb.ay (2) : " ...... in the case of the carry forward ruk certain quota is fixed annually for a certain lass of persons and it is carried . forward from year to year. This is.very different , from a case where a service is qivided into.two parts and there are. two sources of recruitment, one of promotion and the othe.r by direct recruitment.

In such a case the whole cadre .of a particular service is divided into two parts and there is no question of carrying. anything forward . from year.to year in (he matter of annual intake". These observations were quoted with approval by a Bench of Five Judges of this Court in G.D. Kelkar v: Chief Collector of Imports and Exports(a) . . What therefore happens in such a case is that the . vacancy which is

ro temporc irregularly occupied by a promotee f:om another source remains available for being filled by a protnotee from the source to . which the vacancy belongs'and in that sense,.it may loosely be said that the vacancy i.scarried forward from the year in which it arose to a subseqifent year in which it is properly filled by a promotee .from the right source. This is precisely what Ray, C.J. speaking on .

behalf of the Court in V. S. Badami v. State of Mysore('> said at page 823 of the Report :

" ...... if promotions are madetcJ vacancies m excess of the promotional quota, the promotions. may no.t be total illegal but would be irregular. The promotees cannot claim any right to hold the promotionafposts unless the vacancies fall within their quofa. Ifpromotees occupy any vacancies. "which are within the qu"1a of direct recruits when direct recrui.tme:tit takes place the direct .recruit will occupy the vacancies within their quota. Promotees who were occupy:

ing the vacancies wirhin the quota of direct recruits will ' . . .

(I) AIR [1964) S.C. 179.

(2). [1966] 3 SCR 600.

(3) Jt 967] 2 SCR 29. ·

(4) .[1976] 1 SCR 815 .. •

'_..,_--.:

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P. s. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.) 905

either be reverted or they will be absorbed in the vacancies A within their quota in the facts and circumstances of a case." . .

We must therefore hold. that Respondent Nos. 1 to 3 were right in proceeding on the basi~ that 86 vacancies allocable to. the quota of Assistant Executive Engineers remained unfilled as on 22nd December, 1959 and were available for being filled by Assistant Executive Engfoeers subsequent.to that date.

But the question arises whether the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to fill these 86 vacancies which were, to use the expression in Rule 2(iiil, carried forward from the period prior to 22nd December 1959 could be deeme.d to have been promoted from the dates whert tnese 86 vacancies arose or they could. be said t9 have been promoted only from the date.s of their actual appointment.

Now obviously there could not be any appointment of Assistant Executive Engineers to these 86 vacancies with retrospective effect and they must be taken to have been promoted to these 1l6 vacancies

only from.the dates of their actual appointment and from no earlier dates. Tf that be. so, it is difficult to appreciate how, consistently with the mandate of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, an Assistant Executive Engineer appointed io one of these 86 vacancies could under Rule 2(iii) be given seniorit:,; as if he were promoted to . . that vacancy.on 22nd December 1959, though he might in fact have , been promoted years later and on this basis given precedence over Assistant Engineers promoted regularly within their quota long prior to theactual.proril.otiol). ofsuch Assistant Executive Engineer.

The consequence of giving effect to Rule. 2(iii) providing en bloc seniority to the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to fill these 86 vacancies . would be that a lar-ge number of Assistant Engineers though promoted regularly within their quota years before the actual promotion of such Assistant Executive Engineers would become junior to such Assistant Executive Engineers and their promotional opportunities would be seriously prejudiced .. In fact, they would . have to wait until the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to

these 86 vacancies were promoted further as Superintending Engineers and then only they would have a chance of being considered fot further promotion and .even such chance would recede and be reduced to almost nil.if the rotational rule of seniority were to be applied irt respect of promotions to subsequent vacancies as set out in Rule 2(iv}. This would become amply clear if we look at the chart Annexure I to the writ petition which reproduces the seniority list d:ited 14th August 1975 along with other particulars relating

SUPREME COURT REPORTS • [1984] 3 s.c.R.

. to the Assistant Engineers and Assistant. Eitecutivc Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers. The .Assistant Execµtive Engineers promoted to these ,86 'carried forward' vacancies figure in the seniority list dated 14th Augusn975 at Sr. Nos. 100 to 185 and the particulars given in regard to them 'in the chart Ex. I show that though the Assistant Executive Engineers at Sr. Nos. 122 to 185 were promoted (IS Executive Engineers after 1962, they were placed higher h seniority than petitioner No. 1 who was as Assistant Engineer promoted as Executive Engineer and absorbed within his legitimate . quota in .1962 and so also the Ass.istant Executive Engineers at Sr. Nos. 173 to 185 though promoted after 1966 were given seniqrity above petitioner No. 2 who was an Assistant Engineer promoted as Executive Engineer and absorbed within his lawful quota in 1966, . Rule 2(iii) in so far as it gives en bloc seniority to the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to these 86 vacancies irrespective of the date when they were actually promoted and pushes down in seniority Assistant Engineers though p'romoted regularly within their quota prior to theactual promotion of such Asstt. Executive Engineers, thereby prejudicially affecting their promotional opportunities, must therefore be held to be violative of Articles .14 and 16 of the Constitution.

We find that rule 2(i'1) also suffers from.the same infirmity, It provides for rotational rule of seniority based on. the prevailing quota for determining inter se seniority between Assist.ant Engineers . and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to the grade of Exe cutive Engineers from and after 22n~ December 1959 subject to en bloc seniority being given to the. Assistant Executive En$ineers • promoted'- to the 86 'carded forward' vacancies as set out in Rule

 F 2(iii). Obviously, if Rule 2(iii) providing for en bloc seniority to be given to the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted to the 86 'carried forward' vacancies is unconstitutional and void as held by us in the . preceding paragraph of this judgment, it mu; t follow that the inter se seniority between Assistant Engineers and A; sistant Executive Engi;, eers promoted from.and after 22nd December 1959 ..

G would be governed wholly by the rotational. rtile of seniority set out in Rule 2(iv). Now there can be no doubt that a rule of seniority . based . on rotation of vacancies according fo the quota prevailing at the time. would be constitutfonally acceptable if the quta nik were strictly implemented, barring minor deviation.s.

It is well settled as Hl a result of. several decision of this Cou{t that there is nothing . inherently wrong in working out the quota rule. by adopting .the

 rotational rule of seniority. But, as pointed out by this Court in

) ..

P. s. MAHAL v. UN!ON (Bhagwati, J.)

N.K. Chauhan v. State of Gujarat (supra) quota is not 'so inter-locked with rota that where the former is expressly prescribed, the latter is impliedly inscribed". The quota rule does not inevitably invoke the appfoation of the rotational rule of seniority. Even where a quota is prccribed for recruitment from different sources, there may be different modes prescribed for determining seniority of officers on entry into the cadre. In fact, right from 25th August, 1949 when the quota rule was introduced upto 22nd December, 1959, the seniority amongst Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers was governed not by the rotational rule by but the length of continuous officiation. It is therefore obvious that even where there is a quota rule governing recruitment to a cadre from differnt sources it is not necessary that there should be any particular rule of seniority.

The Government may in its wisdom adopt an appropriate rule of seniority which may be base'!! on length of continuous officiation or may follow a roster arranged in conformity with the quota rule so that seniority may be determined according to the rotation of vacancies under the quota rule. Th're may also be any other appropriate rule for determining seniority in a cadre. Iiideed, a• pointed out by Krishna Iyer, J. in N.K. Chauhan's case, myriad ways can be conceived "for determining seniority of officers on .entry into a cadre." But whatever may be the rule of seniority adopted by the Goverrncnt, it is well settled that it must satisfy the best of equality enshrined in Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The question in each case would be whether on the facts and circumstances of the case, the rule of senioritv prescribed by the Government meets the challenge of the constitutional provision enacted in Articles 14 and 16.

We have already pointed out thattlierc is no inherent vice in the quota rule being operated through the rotational rule ofseniority.

Where the rotational rule of seniority is adopted, the relative seniority of promotees from different sources has to be determined on the basis of a roster maintained in accordance with the quota rule, so that when promotion of an officer is regularly made wi.thin his quota, he is fitted into the vacancy'reservd for promotees from his sowce and his seniority is reckoned from the date when such vacancy arose. But this rotational rule of seniority can work only if the quota rule is strictly implemented from year to year. Some slight deviations from the quota rule may not be material but as pointed out by Palekar, J. in the Bishan Swarup Gupta's case, "if there is enormous deviltion, other considerations may arise". If the rota-


(1984] 3 S.C.R.

tional rule of seniority is to be applied for determining seniority amongst officers promoted from different sources, the quota rule must be observed. The application of the rotational rule of seniority when thee is large deviation from the quota rule in making promotions is bound to create hardship and injustice and result in impermissible discrimination. That is why this court pointed out in A. K. Subarmans's case that "when recruitment is from two or several sources, it should be observed that there is no inherent invalidity in introduction of quota system and to work it out by a rule of rotation. The existence of a quota and rotational rule, by itself, will not violate Article 14 or Article 16 of the Constitution ,;, ......... It is the unreasonable implementation of the same which may, in a given case, attract the frown of the equality clause." The rotational rule of seniority is inextricably linked up with the quota rule and if the quota rule is not strictly implemented and there is large deviation from it regularly from year to year, it would"be grossly discriminatory and unjust to give effect to the rotational rule of seniority. We agree wholly with the observation of D.A. Desai, J. in A. Janardhan v. Union of India(!) that "the quota rule is linked with the seniority rule; if the first breaks down or is illegally not adhered to, giving effect to the second would. be unjust, inequitous and improper". This was precisely the reason why the Court in the first Bishan Sarup Gupta's case held that with the collapse of the quota rule, the rule of seniority set out in Rule l(f) (iii) also went.

Now in the present case the record shows that there has been enormous deviation from the quota rule in the promotions of , Assistant ExecutiveEngineers and such deviation has continued from year to year over a period of almost 25 years.

We have in an earlier part of this judgment adverted to the fact that as on 22nd December, 1959 there was a short fall in the promotions of Assistant Executive Engineers to the extent of 86, because the quota rule had not been properly implemented from 1953 up to 22nd December, 1959 and promotions of Assistant Executive Engineers had not been effected according to the quota applicable to tl)em. It is interesting to note that even after 22nd December, 1959, the quota was consistently breached from year to year except for four or :five years and there was massive under recruitment of Assistant Executive Engineers, with the result that as on 31st July, J975, the cumulative shortfall in promotiom of Assistant Executive Engineers was 206 while there was corresponding excess in promotions of Assistant

(I) Cl\ No. ~~O of 1980 decided on 26t~ i\wil IQ/!~

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P. s. MAlfAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.)

; Engineers to the extent of the same number. Though there was such large deficiency in promotions of Assistant Executive Engineers and corresponding excess in promotions of Asstt. Engineers npto 31st July, 1975, no attempt was made by the Government to set right this imbalance by stepping up the recruitment of Assistant Executive Engineers in the subs•quent years so as to restore the balance in the composition of tho cadre of Executive Engineers. On the co'trary, the under recruitment of Assistant Executive Engineers continued uninterrupted and by the end of f981 the short-fall in the promotions of Assistant Executive Engineers increased to 247 with corresponding excess in the promotions of Assistant Engineers.

This enormous deviation from the quota rule on account of massive under recruitment of Assistant Executive Engineers has led to grave distortion and it is difficult to see how, in this situation, the rotational rule of seniority can be applied consistently with the mandate of equality enshrined in Articles 14 and 16. The rotational rule, of seniority must obviously break down when there is such massive departure from the quota rule regularly from year to year leading to continuously increasing deficiency in promotions of Assistant Executive Engineers and corresponding exces~ in promotions of Assistant Engineers.

It is obvious that by reason of under-recruitment of Assistant Executive Engineers and over-recruitment of Assistant Engineers in breach of the quota rule over a period of almost 25 years, most of the Assistant Engineers having been promoted in excess of their quota would have to be pushed down to subsequent years when they could be absorbed within their lawful quota aud many of them would have to wait for 7 to 12 years on an average before their promotions could be regularised by absorption within their quota. But, despite regularisation of their promotions after a wait of seven to twelve , years, they would not be entitled to claim seniority over Assistant Executive Engineers promoted later in point of time because by reason of the application of the rotational rule of seniority based on the roster maintained in accorance with the quota rule, the Assistant Executive Engineers though promoted subsequently would be entitled to have their seniority reckoned from the date when the vacancy .allocable to their quota arose. The Assistant Executive Engineers though promoted long after the regularisation of the promotion of the Assistant Engineers would gain seniority over such Assistant Engineers, beause they would be fitted into the vacancies kept reserved for them and artificial seniority would be given to them on

SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1984] j S.C.R.

the fictional hypothesis that such vacancies were filled by them at the time when they arose. The result would be that Assistant Executive Engineers who were promoted years after the regularisation of the promotions of Assistant Engineers by absorption within their quota which regularisation also would have taken place after they had been working as Executive Engineers for a period of about 7 to 12 years would become senior to such Assistant Engineers even thOugh at the time when they were promoted, such Assistant Engineers would have already been functioning as Executive Er.gineers for a number of years. The Assistant Executive Engineers promoted later in polnt of time would shoot up in seniority irrespective of the length of their service in the grade of Executive Engineers, by reason of the rota tional rule of, seniority based on the roster ma.intained in accordance with the quota rule. It is obvious that giving such artificial se11iority to Assi.stant Executive Engineers promoted years after the regular promotions of Assistant Engineers would completely blight the promotional opportunities of such Assistant Engineers, because for promotion to the higher grade of Superintending Engineers, they would have to wait for consideration of their case until the Assistant Executive Engineers who are given artificial seniority oyer them arc

promote~. even though they would have put in a much longer period of service as Executive Engineers than such Assistant Executive Engineers. The point we are making would become obvious if we consider a few illustrative instances.. Take, for example, the case of petitioner No. I. He was promoted as Executive Engineers on !st October, 1956 but since his promotion was out side the quota of Assistant Engineers, he had to be pushed down and he was ultimately absorbed within his lawful quota in 1962 and though he became a regular promotee within his quota since 1962, he was placed at serial No. 273 in the seniority list dated 14th August 1975 'While many Assistant Executive Engineers promoted much later in point of time than 1962 were placed higher than him in seniority. The result was that he never got a ehance for being considered for promotion as Superintending Engineer and he ultimately retired as Executive Engineer on 31st January, 1978. The case of petitioner No. 1 may now be contrasted with that of J.P. Singhal, who was recruited as Assistant Executive Engineer on !st Februarv, 1967 and who was promoted as Executive Engineer on 14th Janu"y, 1972. Though J.P.

Singhal was not even in service at 'the date when petitioner No. 1 became a regular promotee Executive E:agineer in 1962 and he was promoted as Executive Engineer almost ten years after the regular promotion of petitioner No. 1 by absorption within his quota, JP.

Singhal was placed in seniority at Sr. No. 113 while, as pointed out

P. s. MAHAL )'. UNION (E!wgwuti, J.) .9tl

above, petitioner No. l was placed at Sr. No. 273 in the seniority list dated 14th August 1975, with the result that J.P. Singhal came to be promoted as Superintending Engineer on 15th February 1979

while petitioner No. I did not even have a chance of being considered for such promotion. Similarly we may also contract tj, J.e case of pcUioner No. 2 with that of R.A. Armugam. Petitioner No. 2 was promoted as Executive Engineer on 7th April, 1959 but since his ptomotion was not wjtbin the quota of Assistant Engineer, he had to be pushed down and he was ullimately absorbed within his quota in 1966 and though he was regularly promoted as Executive Engineer within his quota since 1966, he was placed at serial No. 396 in the seniority list dated 14th August, 1975 while R.A. Armugam who was recruited for the first time as Assistant Executive Engineer on 20th JanuJry .1971 and promoted as Executive Engineer only on 14th April, 1975 .was placed higher in soniority at serial No. 260. Thus, the resultof the application of the rotational rule of seniority was that R.A. Armugam who was not even in service at the date when petitioner No. 2 became a r, gularly promoted Executive Engineer and who was promoted as Executive Engineer 9 years after petitioner No. 2, acquired several places above petitioner l'/o. 2 in seniority. It is not necessary for us to multiply instances where Assistant Executive Engineers promoted years after the regular promotion of Assistant Engineers have sh.ot up in seniority above such Assistant Engineers by reason of the applicability of the rotational rulo of seniority, with devastating effect on the promotional chances of such Assistant Engineers. Such instances are legion and, in fact, Q!most every Assistant Engineer has in the process suffered loss of seniority vis-a-vis Assistant Executive Engineers promoted years later in point of time. The application of the rotational rule of seniortty h1S thus resulted in gross discrimination against Asstt.

Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers, in so far as their opportunities for promotion to the higher grades are concerned.

Th~ seed of discrimination attracting the frown of the equality clause

h'8 germinated from the fact of reg-liar undue deviation in actual implemenation of the quota rule and obviously the deviation from tho quota rula, the greater and more intense 1s the discrimination.

We. have already pointed out the enormity of the deviation from the deviation from the quota rule in the present case and this deviation continued from year to year for a period of over 25 years has consid•crab Y aggravated the discrimination against the Assistant Engineers.

SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1985] 3 s.c.R.

Now it is obvious that if Assistant Executive Engineers recruited at a young age are given artifical seniority several years above the Assistant Engineers who have already been pushed down 7 to 12 years bdore absorption within their lawful quota, they would get chances of promotion much earlier than the Assistant Engineers and once promoted, they being young in age would occupy the posts in the higher grades for a much longer period and that to a large extent block the chances of promotion of Assistant Engineers even when their turn comes for consideration though at a much belated point of time. If officers from two sources are promoted according to quota, then officers from both so,1rces get promotion to posis in the higher grade on the basis of continuous officiating service in the grade, reckoned from the initial date of appointment subject, of course, to merit and this process goes on continuously due to progressive retirement of officers in the higher grades, such officers being of an appropriate higher age group. But if, as in the present case, relatively younger officers drawn from one source are given artificial seniority over older offiicers promoted from the other source, such younger officers would, by the reason of the artificial seniority given to them progressively occupy most of the posts i~ the higher grades and because they belong to a younger age group, they would block the promotional avenues open to the officers drawn from the other source. This disastrous situation has occurred here because of the rotational rule of seniority and the result is that, as at the end of 1981, out of 101 Superintending Engineers 93 were fro!ll the source of Assistant Executive Engineers and so far as the higher cadre of Chief EngiJieers is concerned, all the 19th Chief Engineers were from the same source, namely, Assistant Executive Engineers, though in the grade of Executive Engineers, out of a total of 384 Executive Engineers, 103 only were from the source of Assistant Executive Engineers while 281 were from the source of Assistant Engineers.

These statistics clearly highlight how discriminatory and unjust has been the application of the rotational rule of seniority to the Assistant Engineers.

It was c.ontended on behalf of respondent Nos. 4 to \90 that the under recrnitment of Assistant Executive Engineers during the period from 1949 to 31st July, 1975 was due to the fact that the Government took the view, which of course was found erronebus by the court in A.K. Subraman's case that the quota rule wa; to be applied only at the stage of conflrmation and it was because a differe.nt view was taken in A.K. Subraman's case, namely, that the

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!>. s. MAHAL v, UNION (Bh; gwatf, J,)

quota, rule was applicable at the stage of initial promotion in an

officiating capacity to the grade of Executive Engineers and not at the time of confirmation that this imbalance in seniority took place.

This contention is clearly unfounded but even if it were not so, it is entirely immaterial, because the constitutional validity of the rotational rule of seniority cannot depend upon what the government thought to be the correct position in regard to the applicability of the quota rule. The question whether the rotational rule of seniority is constitutionally valid or not has got to be determined in the light of the interpretation placed on the application of the quota rule by the decision in A.K. Subraman's case, because that must be accepted as the correct interpretation and in the context of that interpretation, the constitutional validity of the rotational rule of seniority must be judged. But, as pointed out above, we do not thi.Jk this contention urged on benalf of respondent Nos. 4 to 190 is correct. We are not inclined to accept the submission of re; pondent Nos. 4 to 190 that under-recruttment of Assistant Executive Engineers took place because the government thought that the quota rule was to be applied only at the stage of confirmation. There is considerable material placed before the court to show that the government rightly understood the quota rule to be applicable at the stage of initial promotion but failed to strictly implement it Paragraph 4 of the minutes of the meeting held on 14th May, 1968 in the office room of Shri B.R. Patel, Secretary, Ministry of Works and Supply, clearly emphasii:<:s this position by stating that "the intake of Assistant Executive Engineers should be increased by considering 2/3rd of all the temporary and deputation posts in the grade of Executive Engineers and above in the departmeat as permanent ones for the purpose of working out th" strength at the junior scale." So also we find a categorical statement to the same effect in the letter dated 19th October, 1971 addressed by Shri Kartar Singh, Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Works and Housing-a letter to which we have already referred earlier. The Government also took up a positive stand in the affidavit in reply filed by P.B. Kulkarni in

A.K. Subraman's case where it was stated: "I submit that the quota rule is to be applied as and when vacanqies in the grade of Executive Engineers are required to be filled but as already stated earlier, it ha5 not bee\) possible to apply this quota rule rigidly at the time of officiating promotions as promotions from the grade of Assistant Engineers have been in excess of t!J.eir quota." (Emphasis supplied).

It will thus be seen that the government was under no illusion in regard to the true position relating to the applicability of the quota. rule. But the government deliberately resorted to the policy of under

91~

SUPREME COURT REPORTS !1984] 3 s.C R.

recruitment of Assistant Executive Engineers because, as set out in the Note regarding Cadre Review of the Central Engineers Service Class I, prepared and submitted to the Government in June, J 978 it was felt that "it is not po; sible to recruit enough officers in Clas; I junior scale to fill up lhe quota at Executive Engineers level as it

would worsen the promotion prospects of direct recruits to <ilass I and make the service totally unattractive". The Note regarding Cadre Review also pointed out:·

"A. perusal of form VI would indicate that in the next ft ve years the annual • recruitment would be of the order of 80 and in the subsequent five years it would be of the order of 40. According to the existing Rules, the vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineers are to be filled up by the promotion of Asstt. Executive Engineers (Group A) and Asstt. Engineers (GroupB) in the ratio of 1 : I Sine<: the annual intake of Asstt. Executive Enginers is to be corelated with the vacaacies that would be available in the grade of Executive Engineers, the ., innual intake of Asstt.

Executive Engineers (CES GROUP A) would be 40 in the next ftve years arid 20 in the subsequnt five y'earn. It has been already explained in para 2 : 3 : 6 that when the annual recruitment was less than I 0, the direct recruits were able to reach the Junior Administrative grade in 10 to 11 years.

When this was subsequently increased to 20 per annum the period taken for promotion has increased to 14 years which is likely to increase further if the annual intake is main tained at the same level. For this reason, it is not considered desirable to appoint direct recruits to C.E.S. Group A in large number. In the Indian Railways Service of Engineers, the recruitment to the Junior Scale in Group 'A' is related to the number of posts at the level of Chief Engineer and above and the annual intake has generally been less than the number of posts of Chief Engineers. In the CPWD we have only 12 posts of Chief Engineers and it is, therefore, recommended that the annual intake to Junior Scale Class I through UPSC compotitive Examination should e restricted to 10 only." ·

There can be no doubt that the failure to recruit Assitant Exe

cutivc Engineers in sufficient numbers, so that when vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineers allocable to the quota of Asst!. Exe cutivc Engineers arose from year to year, there would be Asst!. r

P. s. MAHAL v. UNION (Bhagwati, J.) .915 ,, Executive Engineers available for promotion to fill such vacan• A cies, was responsible for the gross distortion which took place in the cadre of Executive Engineers over the years.

We must in the circumstances hold that Rules 2(iii) and 2(iv) of the Rules of 1976 are violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution and they must be declared to be unconstitutional and void. It that be so, then obviously the seniority between Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers regularly promoted within their respective quota mmt be determined by the length of continuous officiation in service in the grade of Executive Engineers, subject to the qualification that in case of Assistant Engineers the length of continuous officiation shall b~ reckoned from the date when their promotion is regularised by absorption within their lawful quota.

We would therefore allow the writ petition and quash and set aside the Memorandum and the seniority list dated 14th August 1975 and the Rules of 1976. We would direct the government to prepare a new seniority list of ExecJtive Engineers in the light of the observations contained in this judgment. The Govern!llcnt will prepare such seniority list within a period of two months from today. When th~ seniority in the grade of Executive Engineers is rearranged in accordance with the directions given in the judgment, the cases of Assistant Engineers who would have been due for considaration for promotion as Superintending Engineers and thereafter as Chief Engineers on the basis of their revised seniority, will be considered by a duly constituted Departmental Promotion Comn.ittee as on the dates on which they would have been due for such consideration if the correct seniority had been given to them, and if on the basis of their performance and record as on those dates they would have been selected for promotion, they must be given promotion with retrospective effect from such dates and if necessary, supernumerary posts in the grades of Superintending Engineers and Chief Engineers shall be created for the purpose of accommodating them and all arrears of salary and allowances shall he paid to them on the basis of such retr.>spective promotions. We may make it clear that those Assistant Executive Engineers who have been promoted as Superintending Engineers or Chief Engineers upto the date of this judgment shall not, on account of revised seniority in the grade of Executive Engineers, be disturbed from the positions which they are occupying at present but their seniority in sachJ!igher grades will

StlPRllME COURT REPORTS . (1984] 3 s c.l.

have to be earranged on the basis of the . directions given in the. judgment.

We hope and trust that this judgment will put a quictous to . the Jong ranging controversy between Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers. The writ petition will stand disposed of in the above terms with no order as to costs.

S.R.

Petitions allowed.