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2005 DIGILAW 1099 (RAJ)

Om Prakash Rakhecha v. State of Rajasthan

2005-04-11

R.P.VYAS

body2005
Judgment R.P. Vyas, J.-The instant petition has been filed by the petitioners with the prayer that the order dated 22.03.2003 (Annexure 2)) and order dated 28.06.2003 (Annexure 4) may be quashed and set aside and the respondents may be directed to grant the benefit of selection grades to the petitioners while counting their services from the date of initial appointment. 2. The brief facts of the case are that the petitioners are working on the post of Senior Draftsman, Junior Draftsman, Tracer and Ferrowman in the respondent-Department. The details of each of the petitioner is contained in Schedule-A annexed with the writ petition. 3. Further case of the petitioners is that the State Government issued a notification dated 25.01.1992 providing for grant of selection grade to the Government employees on completion of 9, 18, and 27 years of service. 4. It has been averred in the petition that although the petitioners were entitled for grant of selection grades while calculating the service period from the date of their initial appointment, but the Superintending Engineer (Admn.) issued an order dated 22.03.2003 (Annexure 2) stating that for the purpose of granting selection grades to the technical employees, the service tenure shall be counted from the date of regular appointment and the service rendered on adhoc basis shall not be counted for the purpose of granting selection grades. 5. The petitioners filed representations for grant of selection grade from the date of initial appointment, but all in vain. 6. Again vide order dated 28.06.2003 (Annexure 4), the Chief Engineer, IGNP directed all the subordinate officers to grant selection grades to the technical employees from the date of regular appointment. 7. The learned Counsel for the respondents has submitted that as per order dated 22.03.2003 (Annexure 2) and order dated 28.06.2003 (Annexure 4), the petitioners are entitled to get selection grades from the date of their regular appointment and not from the date of their initial appointment. 8. Heard the learned Counsel for the parties and scanned the entire material available on record. 9. During the course of hearing, the learned Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the controversy involved in the instant petition regarding grant of selection grade was set at rest by the larger bench of this Court in the case of State of Rajasthan vs. Farooq Ahmed & Ors., reported in 2005(1) WLC (Raj) 1. 9. During the course of hearing, the learned Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the controversy involved in the instant petition regarding grant of selection grade was set at rest by the larger bench of this Court in the case of State of Rajasthan vs. Farooq Ahmed & Ors., reported in 2005(1) WLC (Raj) 1. In the case of State of Rajasthan vs. Farooq Ahmed (Supra), the larger Bench of this Court has observed that where a person is appointed on adhoc/temporary basis in accordance with rules and in time-scale, period of ad hoc/temporary services rendered by him before his regularisation should be counted for the purpose of grant of selection grade on completion 9,18 and 27 years of service. 10. The larger Bench while dealing with the fact of that case also interpreted "Regular Appointment" and observed as under: "…….to mean an appointment in accordance with the relevant recruitment rules to the post. In other words, if the appointment was in accordance with the rules, it was to be counted for the purpose of grant of Selection Grade. Thus "Regular appointment whether temporary/adhoc or of any nature, in order to be rules." 11. This fact has not been controverted by the learned Counsel for the respondents. 12. Since the controversy involved in the instant petition is squarely, covered by the decision of this Court in the case of State of Rajasthan vs. Farooq Ahmed (Supra) therefore, the present writ petition deserves to be allowed in light of the observations made by this Court in the case of State of Rajasthan vs. Farooq Ahmed (Supra). 13. Accordingly, the present writ petition is allowed in light of the observations made by this Court in the case of State of Rajasthan vs. Farooq Ahemed (Supra). The orders dated 22.03.2003 (Annexure 2) and order dated 28.06.2003 (Annexure 4) are quashed and set aside and the respondents are directed to grant the benefit of selection grades to the petitioners while counting their services from the date of their initial appointment, with all consequential benefits.