IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI.
W.P. (S) No. 4964 of 2005
...
M. Kumar Swamy ... ... Petitioner
-V e r s u s-
The Ranchi University, Ranchi & Others ... Respondents.
...
CORAM: - HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D.G.R. PATNAIK.
...
For the Petitioner : - M/s. Ritu Kumar & Ratna Prabha.
For the Respondents : - Mr. Anoop Kumar Mehta.
...
7/29.07.2009
Heard Ms. Ratna Prabha, J.C. to Mrs. Ritu Kumar, learned counsel
for the petitioner and J.C. to Mr. Anoop Kumar Mehta, learned counsel for the
Respondent-University.
The petitioner’s grievance as expressed in this writ application, is
that after having served as a Class III employee of the Jamshedpur Cooperative
College which is affiliated to the Ranchi University for more than 40 years, yet by
the impugned order the Respondents had reverted him to the post of the Class IV
employee and that too without any prior notice issued to him or giving any
opportunity of being heard against the proposed reversion.
The petitioner was initially appointed on the post of the Office
Attendant way back in the year 1955 and just after two years later, in 1957, he
was posted as Lab. Assistant. At that time, the Jamshedpur Cooperative College
was affiliated to the Bihar University.
Subsequently on 01st November, 1975, the petitioner was promoted
to the post of the Accounts Assistant in Grade III Cadre and till the date of
passing of the impugned order on 04.07.1995, he continued to remain in Class III
post.
Counter affidavit alongwith a supplementary thereof, has been
filed on behalf of the Respondent-University. It has been explained that the
Jamshedpur Cooperative College was initially an affiliated College of the Bihar
University, Muzaffarpur and the service Rules of the Bihar University, was also
applicable to the employees of the Jamshedpur Cooperative College. These Rules
were later on, adopted in toto by the Ranchi University and to which the
Jamshedpur Cooperative College came to be affiliated on and from 1970.
Under the original Rules of the Bihar Universities,
promotion of the Class IV employees to the Class III post could certainly be made
but on certain conditions relating to the eligibility criteria, one of which was that
the employee should be a matriculate and should have seven years of working
experience in Class IV post. The petitioner being a non-matriculate could not
possibly have been promoted to the Class III post and it was subsequently
detected that the purported promotion granted to the petitioner was, in fact,
against the Rules, and therefore illegal and void and ab initio. Accordingly, by the
impugned Notification, a modification of the petitioner’s post was declared under
which he was shown as an employee in the Class IV post.
Learned counsel for the petitioner would argue that even though
the petitioner did not possess the requisite qualification of matriculate but
considering his longstanding experience, the Principal of the College had granted
him promotion to the Class III post and the petitioner’s long tenure in service
ought to have been considered by the concerned authorities of the Respondents. In
any case, the petitioner ought to have been given an opportunity of being heard.
These submissions of the learned counsel do not appeal to reason.
Undisputedly, the petitioner was a non-matriculate even on the date when the
impugned notification was issued and earlier, when the purported order of his
promotion to the Class III post was passed by the Principal of the College. Such
promotion, being contrary to the Rules, cannot be considered as valid and as
submitted by the learned counsel for the Respondents, such promotion has to be
deemed as totally illegal and void and ab initio.
In the light of the aforesaid facts, petitioner cannot raise any
grievance merely because he was not given any prior notice against the purported
reversion of his Grade in view of the fact that admittedly, he was a non-
matriculate on the relevant date.
In the facts and circumstances, I do not find any merit in this writ
application. Accordingly, this writ application is dismissed.
(D.G.R. Patnaik, J.)
APK