1. Petitioners, admittedly, are holding the post of "Girdawar" in the respon dent department, they have J&K Revenue Service Departmental Examination as notified by J&K Public Service Commission vide notification No. PSC/Exam/2011/134 dated 01.12.2011, as such, they became eligible for promotion to the post of Naib Tehsildar. Some of the Girdawars who could not qualify the said examination in the year 2001, have qualified as notified by J&K Public Service Commission vide its notification No. PSC/Exam/2012/40 dated 13.03.2012. 2. The process for promotion has been initiated vis-a-vis both petitioners who have qualified the Department Examination on 01.12.2011 and those who qualified the same later in point of time i.e. 13.03.2012. The grievance as projected is that the Girdawars who have passed the Departmental Examination later in point of time shall not be considered for promotion along with the petitioners entitled to be. 3. In the petition it has been prayed that the respondents shall be commanded to consider the petitioners for next higher promotion to the post of Naib Tehsildar from the date they have been declared eligible i.e. 01.12.2011 with a further com mand that they shall not undertake the process of promotion of those Girdawars who have been declared as eligible vide notification dated 13.3.2012. 4. Rule 5 of the Revenue (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules, 2009 provide that no person shall be eligible for appointment or promotion to any post in any class, category or grade in the service unless he/she possesses the qualifications as laid down in Schedule II and fulfils other requirements Of recruitment as provided in the rules and orders for the time being in force. In Schedule II, the mode and method for promotion to the posts which include the post of Naib Tehsildar as prescribed is as under:- Class 1 Category - Pay Scale 6500-10500 Designation 1. Naib Tehsilder 2. Asstt. Revenue Attorney 3. Reader to FC/Div. Commissioner 4. P.A. to (N.T) to D.C. 5. Instructor (Naib Tehsildar) Minimum Qualification for direct recruitment Graduate with knowledge of Urdu Method of recruitment i. 45% by direct recruitment. ii. 50% by promotion from Class II amongst persons having not qualified the prescribed departmental examination in order of seniority including those having worked in settlement. iii. 5% by promotion from class II on the basis of seniority from worked satisfactorily in survey team of settlement for at least 2 years subject to qualifying the departmental examination.
ii. 50% by promotion from Class II amongst persons having not qualified the prescribed departmental examination in order of seniority including those having worked in settlement. iii. 5% by promotion from class II on the basis of seniority from worked satisfactorily in survey team of settlement for at least 2 years subject to qualifying the departmental examination. The plain reading would suggest that the Girdawars' falling within Class II can be considered for promotion only after acquiring eligibility which includes qualifying the prescribed Departmental Examination. After acquiring qualification, promotion has to be made in order of seniority. 5. The petitioners have passed the prescribed Departmental Examination and were declared successful vide notification dated 01.12.2011 whereas some of the Girdawars, according to the petitioners, participated in the examination along with them but could not qualify the same but subsequently they have qualified as notified on 13.3.2012, therefore, petitioners are first to be considered for promotion having acquired eligibility prior in time. 6. The ground projected is without any substance because acquiring of eligi bility is a pre-condition for promotion. When the petitioners acquired requisite eligibility, no Departmental Promotion Committee was convened nor any, process for promotion was initiated. Now the process of promotion has been initiated so requisite information regarding all eligible Girdawars is being collected. The mode and method as prescribed and quoted above does not provide that if an employee has acquired eligibility from the amongst the colleagues earlier in point of time, he shall rank senior nor it is provided that on the basis of acquiring such eligibility, seniority is to be disturbed. Acquiring of eligibility does not determine the seniority. When it is so, all eligible candidates at the time when the process for promotion is initiated have a right of consideration in order of their seniority as Girdawars. 7. In case process of promotion would have been initiated earlier, the Girdawars who had acquired eligibility,, were only to be considered but now when the process is initiated, every Girdawar who satisfies the requirements and has acquired the eligibility i.e. has passed the Departmental Examination, has to be considered alike in order of seniority for promotion to the post of Naib Tehsildar. 8. A similar question has also been dealt with by this Court in the judgment rendered in SWP No. 312/1991 titled Kulwant Singh v. State.
8. A similar question has also been dealt with by this Court in the judgment rendered in SWP No. 312/1991 titled Kulwant Singh v. State. In para 6 it has been observed as under:- "It be seen that no rule has been pointed out which may indicate that a person passing a Departmental Examination prior to his seniors, has to steal a march over them. It may be possible for a particular employee who has passed the Departmental Examination to steal a march over others, if, at the time of consideration, the other employee is not qualified. If, however, at the time when the Departmental Promotion committee is constituted, all candidates are eligible, all candidates are eligible, then merely because one person has passed the Departmental Examination earlier to the other, would not be ground not to consider that person." 9. In the connected SWP No. 874/2012, in addition to the above determined question, another prayer has been made to issue a Writ of Certiorari so as to quash order No. FC(Adm)99 of 2010 dated 26.04.2012. In terms of the said order trans fer/adjustments of Naib Tehsildars/Girdawars has been ordered where-under respondents No. 5 to 23 (Girdawars) have been asked to look after the work of Naib Tehsildars. The said order dated 26.04.2012 is purely an adjustment so as to meet the exigencies, same in any manner cannot be termed to be a promotion. Adjust ment/arrangement as made pursuant to order dated 26.04.2012 vis-a-vis respon dents No. 5 to 23 shall be inconsequential and ignored while considering the case of the eligible Girdawars for promotion to the post of Naib Tehsildar. 10. For the stated reasons, both the two writ petitions are disposed of with the direction to the respondents that they shall complete the process as initiated for promotion of eligible Girdawars to the post of Naib Tehsildar strictly in accordance with rules with promptitude preferably within three months from today. 11. Disposed of as above along with connected CMP.