Jageshwar Lal Sahu vs State Of Chhattisgarh

Amitendra Kishore Prasad, J

Since common question of law is involved in the present batch of cases, as such they are clubbed and heard together and decided by this common order.

All the petitioners while filing the present writ petitions have prayed for similar relief that they are working as contingency paid Class IV employees and their services are governed by the Chhattisgarh Irrigation Work Charged and Contingency Paid Employees Recruitment and Service Conditions Rules, 1977 (henceforth ‘the Rules of 1977’) and according to Rule 7(3) of the Rules of 1977 the work charged and contingency paid employees of the respondent department would be considered for promotion to the next post on the basis of seniority and merit. All the petitioners are working in the respondent department as Class IV employees and their next promotional post would be Class III as per their educational qualification. All the petitioners are working since long back in the respondent department. Most of the petitioners are working since 9.12.2004. They are working as Care Taker, Waterman, Watchman. They are having legitimate expectation that after completion of more than 10 years of service they would be considered for promotion to the next higher post, i.e., Class III post. Most of the petitioners are having requisite qualification also and as such their legitimate expectation cannot be said to be without any basis. In order to decide the lis, WPS No.1190 of 2022 is taken up as the lead case and the relief claimed in the lead case is being taken for adjudication of the present batch of cases. The relief is reproduced hereinbelow as under:

“10.1 That, the petitioner most humbly and respectfully prays to this Hon’ble Court to issue appropriate writ/ order/direction to respondent authorities to consider the case of the petitioner for promotion against Class-III post (Assistant Grade-III) in the respondent department.

10.2 Any other relief whatsoever, this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper may also be granted to the petitioner.”

In all the connected writ petitions, similar relief has been claimed by the petitioners. All the petitioners are working in the Water Resources Department. They are contingency paid employees and their services are governed by the Rules of 1977. It is the case of the petitioners that most of them are working since 2004. They have worked as Class IV employees as work charged and contingency paid employees and according to their service rules they are required to be promoted to the next higher post though on the basis of seniority and merit, but, in the Rules of 1977, there is no specific rule regarding channel of promotion though their promotion is mentioned. The petitioners being Class IV employees can only be promoted to Class III post. Several applications/representations have been made by the petitioners, however, the promotion has not been granted to the petitioners. As such, the present petitions have been filed.

Learned counsel appearing for all the petitioners submits that since in their service rules itself promotion of the petitioners is directed, as such the respondent department ought to have promoted to the petitioners from Class IV post to Class III post. The cause of the petitioners was also echoed by their association, i.e., Chhattisgarh Laghu Vetan Shaskiya Chaturtha Varg Karmachari Sangh, however, it has not been considered by the respondents authorities, as such the petitioners are entitled for grant of the relief.

The State has come up with a reply stating that though it cannot be said that the petitioners are contingency paid employees, but, they are temporary employees and they are Class IV employees, they are not having any right of promotion, but, it has been specifically admitted vide paragraph 10 of the return of the State that they have already initiated the matter for consideration for their promotion and are likely to come to a conclusion very shortly. Paragraph 10 of the reply of the State is reproduced hereunder:

“10. It is respectfully submitted          that the State of Chhattisgarh is a welfare State and is keen to protect the interest of its employees and upon the representation submitted by the Chhattisgarh Laghu Vetan Shaskiya Chaturtha Varg Karmachari Sangh for promotion of Class-IV employee (work charged) against the vacant posts of Class-III the State Government vide its order dated 28/09/2016 (Annexure P-4) directed the Engineer-in-Chief, Water Resources Department, Raipur (CG) to take appropriate action upon the same. The Office of the Engineer-in-Chief in turn directed the Chief Engineers of Mahanadi Godawari Kachar, Raipur; Mahanadi Project, Raipur ; Hasdeo Kachar, Bilaspur ; Hasdeo Ganga kachar Ambikapur and Minimata (Hasdeo) Bango Project, WRD, Bilaspur to initiate further necessary action accordingly and at present the matter is under consideration with the respondent authorities and appropriate directives will be accordingly issued.”

It was argued that the petitioners have accepted the terms and conditions of their order of appointment for the post of Chowkidar and other Class IV posts, as such, as a matter of right, they cannot claim promotion.

I have heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the record with utmost circumspection.

After considering the submissions made by learned counsel for the parties especially taking into consideration paragraph 10 of the return filed by the State in which they have categorically stated that they are going to consider the case of the petitioners for grant of promotion from Class IV posts to Class III posts, which is a legitimate expectation of the petitioners, as such, being the welfare State, it is expected from the State Government to consider the case of the petitioners for grant of promotion to Class III post in a pragmatic manner and according to the rules governing the said field. The State Government is obliged to pass necessary orders in respect of promotion of the petitioners.

Accordingly, the writ petitions filed by the petitioners are hereby allowed. The respondents authorities are directed to consider the case of each of the petitioners for grant of promotion from Class IV posts to Class III post and to give them all consequential benefits arising out of their promotion. This exercise be completed by the respondents authorities within a period of three months from the date of production of a copy of this order.

No order as to costs.