The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal in accordance with the Kerala State and Subordinate Services Rules of 1958, which challenged an order confirming the seniority of the respondents with retroactive effect. The court determined that the appellant unquestionably falls within the category of Graduate Engineers.
A civil appeal was lodged against the Division Bench of the High Court's decision, which set-aside the judgment of the Single Judge. This appeal sought to contest the order issued by the Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Administration in Thiruvananthapuram, where the respondents were granted seniority with retroactive effect.
Justices Hima Kohli and Rajesh Bindal, constituting a two-Judge Bench, determined that, "The appellant submitted the 2010 Rules as evidence along with IA No. 02 of 2017, in which distinct quotas were specified for Degree Holders and Diploma Holders in an 8:2 ratio. It is indisputable that the appellant belongs to the category of Graduate Engineer, whereas the private respondents belong to the category of Diploma Holders. These two categories represent different academic streams with separate allotments."
Case Brief -
The appellant, who initially secured a position as Overseer Grade-III within the Irrigation Department on compassionate grounds due to his engineering graduate status, sought a promotion to the role of Assistant Engineer (Mechanical) by appealing to the government. His request for promotion was denied, prompting him to file an application to challenge the rejection of his appeal. He requested that he be appointed as Assistant Engineer retroactively, starting from the date of his initial appointment as Overseer Grade-III.
In response to the appellant's plea, the High Court issued a judgment directing the authorities to appoint the appellant as an Assistant Engineer instead of maintaining his position as Overseer Grade-III, with the effect dating back to his initial appointment. The State contested this judgment through an intra-court appeal, which ultimately resulted in a directive for the government to appoint the appellant as an Assistant Engineer either to the existing vacancy or the next available one.
Following the High Court's ruling, the appellant was duly appointed as an Assistant Engineer (Mechanical) in the Irrigation Department, and the private respondents, who had originally joined the service as Overseer Grade-I, were promoted to the position of Assistant Engineer (Mechanical). Subsequently, the cases of Assistant Engineers, categorized as Graduate Engineers, Diploma Holders, and Certificate Holders, were considered for further promotion as Assistant Executive Engineers.
Before the reassignment of promotion dates for the private respondents, which adversely impacted the appellant's promotion prospects, he was not given an opportunity to present his case before the Chief Engineer. In response to this, the appellant filed a writ petition with the High Court, challenging the aforementioned order. The Single Judge of the High Court ruled in favor of the appellant. However, the Division Bench subsequently overturned the Single Judge's decision, leading the appellant to appeal to the Supreme Court, seeking redress.
The Supreme Court in view of the facts and circumstances of the case observed, “In our view, if the impugned order is examined on the principles laid down by this Court regarding a challenge laid to a seniority list, the same may not be legally sustainable. The judgment of this Court in R.M. Ramual’s case (supra) will not be applicable as it was a case on its own facts where this Court found that there was no unreasonable delay in challenging the seniority. In the said case, though the seniority list was prepared in 1971, however, on acceptance of the representation made by some of the employees later on, it was changed, as a consequence of which cause of action arose in favour of the appellant therein and reckoned from that date onwards, there was no unreasonable delay.”
Accordingly, the Apex Court dismissed the appeal.
Case Title- C. Anil Chandran v. M.K. Raghavan and Other
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