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2002 DIGILAW 176 (GAU)

Swapan Kanti Bhattacharjee v. State of Tripura

2002-04-23

B.B.DEB

body2002
B.B. DEB, J.— Heard Mr C.S. Sinha, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr U.B. Saha, learned senior Govt. Advocate being assisted by Mr. J. Majumder, learned counsel for the respondents. 2. By this writ petition, the petitioner challenged the impugned communication bearing No. PF-ARHS (104)-DSE/01 dated 22.2.2002 by which the appointing authority asked the petitioner to confirm as to whether he was willing to go on deputation as prayed for by him, without keeping lien. 3. The petitioner entered in service as an Assistant Teacher under the Directorate of School Education, Government of Tripura and is yet to be confirmed to the said post. In response to an open advertisement issued by the Project Director, District Rural Development Agency (in short DRDA) Kailashahar dated 17.10.2001 for the post of, among others, R.D. Officer on deputation basis having a higher pay scale of Rs.5500-10,700/-, the petitioner offered his candidature through proper channel and that was forwarded by the authority concerned. The petitioner faced interview and was selected. While the petitioner was offered with the aforesaid post of R,D. Officer on deputation basis by the Project Director, DRDA, Kailashahar, the petitioner made an application to the Director of School Education, Government of Tripura urging for his release keeping lien in his substantive post of Assistant Teacher. The authority vide the impugned order asked the petitioner to confirm whether he was agreeable to go on deputation without keeping lien. The petitioner challenged it. 4. Mr C.S. Sinha, learned counsel for the petitioner referred a memorandum issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Government of India bearing No. 18011/l/86-Estt(D) dated 28.3.1988. The said memorandum contains the prescription! regarding confirmation in service, keeping of lien, declaration of quasi-permanency under the CCS (Temporary Service) Rules, Pension and other matters. The; aforesaid memorandum of the Government of India was adopted by the Government of Tripura vide Memorandum No. F.12(l)i GA/88 dated 21.8.1989. Regarding lien the office memorandum contains the same under Para 4.3 which is reproduced below:- "4.3 LIEN. The concept of lien as the title of a Government servant to hold substantively a permanent post will undergo a change. Lien will now represent only the right/title of a Government servant to hold a regular post, whether permanent or temporary, either immediately or on the termination of the periods of absence. The concept of lien as the title of a Government servant to hold substantively a permanent post will undergo a change. Lien will now represent only the right/title of a Government servant to hold a regular post, whether permanent or temporary, either immediately or on the termination of the periods of absence. The benefits of having a lien in a grade will thus be enjoyed by all officers who are confirmed in the grade of entry or who have been prompted to a higher post declared as having completed the probation where it is prescribed, or those who have been promoted on regular basis to a higher post where no probation is prescribed under the rules, as the case may be. The above right/title will, however, be subject to the condition that the junior most person in the grade will be liable to be reverted to the lower grade, if at any time the number of persons so entitled is more than the posts available in that grade. For example, if a person who is confirmed or whose probation in a higher post has been declared as having been completed or one who is holding a higher post for which there is no probation on a regular basis, reverts from deputation or foreign service and if there is no vacancy in that grade to accommodate him, the junior most person will be reverted. If however, this officer himself is the junior most, he will be reverted to the next lower grade from which he was earlier promoted," 5. From the afore quoted provision, it appears that confirmation in the entry grade in a service is enough and repeated confirmations in every promotional grade has been done away with. So far lien is concerned, it remains same as before. According to the office memorandum, once an employee is confirmed in the entry grade of his service, he acquired a right of lien to the said post and on the basis of the right, he may be allowed to go on deputation in any other services subject to fulfilment of other conditions and unless one is confirmed in his entry grade, he cannot claim to keep the lien in his service and as such he cannot insist upon the authority to keep his lien while he proceeds on deputation in any other services. 6. 6. The petitioner entered in the service in the post of Assistant Teacher and unless he is confirmed to that post, he acquired no right of lien and thus the impugned order suffers from no illegality. 7. That being the position, I am constrained to hold that the writ petition is not maintainable as the petitioner has yet to earn the eligibility regarding keeping of lien. Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed with no order as to costs. 8. While I am dictating the order, Mr C.S. Sinha, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that he is not pressing the petition. He argued yesterday and today and as such his conduct does not reflect that he is not pressing the petition. Interim order passed earlier stands vacated.