IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN
BENCH AT JAIPUR
ORDER
IN
S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.5960/1996
{The Excise Departmental Committee, Jaipur Vs. State of Rajasthan through Excise Commissioner, Rajasthan, Udaipur}
Date of Order ::: 21.01.2010
Present
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Mohammad Rafiq
Shri Sanjay Pareek, Counsel for petitioner
Shri R.B. Mathur, Counsel for respondent
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By the Court:-
This writ petition has been filed by the Excise Departmental Committee through its Convener. The petitioner committee claims to represent the interest of ministerial staff of the Excise Department of the Government of Rajasthan.
The contention of Shri Sanjay Pareek, the learned counsel for the petitioner, is that according to Rule 6 of the Rajasthan Excise Subordinate Service (General Branch) Rules, 1974 (for short, ‘the Rules of 1974’), which provides methods of recruitment, 12½% of the posts of Inspector Grade II, are to be filled in by direct recruitment, and the same are exclusively reserved for the Ministerial Staff holding a post in the cadre substantively, subject to their being found otherwise eligible for such recruitment under the Rules. The reservation shall be carried forward only to the next succeeding year. It is submitted that if eligible persons are not available for appointment by the method of recruitment in a particular year and the appointing authority is satisfied in that regard then it shall, in consultation with the Commission where necessary, make the appointment by the other method in relaxations of the prescribed proportion in the same manner as specified in the said Rules.
The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that if suitable persons are not available for being appointed by the method of direct recruitment against 12½% reserved quota of the ministerial staff, said reserved quota should be offered to the ministerial staff by way of promotion. This exercise, in his submission, was undertaken by the respondent and the matter was forwarded to the Government but thereafter nothing was done in this connection. The learned counsel, in this regard, invited attention of the Court towards the document dated 16.05.1994 containing the proceedings of the meeting held on 04.05.1994 of the Excise Department and the Sale Tax Department for filling up the posts of Excise Inspectors Gr.II reserved for ministerial staff and the same has been placed on the record as Annexure-6.
Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents submitted that the proposal made in the meeting dated 04.05.1994 for filling up 12½% posts of quota reserved for the ministerial staff from the ministerial staff holding departmental examination, was forwarded to the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (for short, ‘the Commission’) for amendment in the Rules, to make it essential to conduct departmental-examination for inservice candidates, but that proposal was not agreed to by the Commission.
Learned counsel for the respondent further submitted that as and when the recruitment was held, the post belonging to quota reserved for the ministerial staff to the extent of 12½%, were determined and notified but the suitable candidates were not available to be appointed there against. The learned counsel for the respondents submitted that in future, in case the recruitment is held, efforts shall be made to notify the vacancies, which shall be available for appointment to the suitable candidates who are found otherwise eligible for recruitment under the Rules.
Having regard to the facts of the case, the present writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the respondents to initiate action to notify the vacancies pertaining to 12½% quota of ministerial staff for the post of Excise Inspector Gr.II, in accordance with the Rules, within a period of six months from the date a copy of this order is produced before them; if suitable candidates do not become available in examination, then efforts, in consultation with the Rajasthan Public Service Commission where necessary, for filling up unfilled posts by any other method in relaxation of the prescribed proportion in the Rules, shall be made.
The writ petition accordingly stands disposed of.
(Mohammad Rafiq) J.
//Jaiman//