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TMI Blog1964 (1) TMI 47X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s in the former Hyderabad State, under s. 6 of the Hyderabad District Police Act (No. X of 1329 Fasli). Under r. 399 of the Hyderabad District Police Manual, issued by the Government of Hyderabad Linder s. 10 of the Hyderabad District Police Act, posts of circle inspectors were to be filled by promotion from the rank of sub-inspectors. The subsequent rules provided for the procedure for this purpose. The names of selected sub-inspectors who were considered fit for promotion were sent by the Deputy Inspectors General of Police and the Commissioner of City Police of Hyderabad to the Inspector General of Police. Thereafter a Board consisting of the Inspector General of Police and all the Deputy Inspectors General of Police, Commissioner of City Police, Hyderabad and Assistant Inspector General of Police interviewed the candidates and prepared an approved list of sub-inspectors fit for promotion. This approved list used to be called the eligibility list and promotions to the post of circle inspector used to be made from this list. The case of the petitioners in the High Court was that their names were included in the eligibility list published in the month of October 1956 before. the S ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... arose in the cadre of circle inspectors. It also appears that pending integration promotions were made from these eligibility lists ad hoc, or as they were called out of seniority , and continued to be so made pending integration. The petitioners were thus promoted ad hoc circle inspectors from the eligibility list received from the former Hyderabad State and continued to act for varying periods as such. It appears further that the petitioners were ordered to be reverted when certain confirmed circle inspectors who were on leave or on deputation outside the State returned to the new State. Thereupon the petitioners filed writs before the High Court in which they claimed that as they had been put in the eligibility list by the former Hyderabad State, they were entitled as of right to promotion as circle inspectors and to continue as such thereafter and the order of their reversion amounted to reduction in rank. They therefore prayed for a writ, order or direction quashing the orders dated September 6, 1962, ordering their reversion and directing the State Government to continue them as circle inspectors and to confirm them as such. Further during the course of arguments before the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he eligibility lists could be promoted as circle inspectors. But the fact that a sub-inspector's name was in the eligibility list did not confer any right on him to promotion in view of the Rules. Further it was contended that officiating circle inspectors could not claim confirmation as an automatic right after they had worked for a certain number of years as such and that they could only become confirmed circle inspectors when orders to that effect were expressly made by the Government. In the present cases the petitioners were never confirmed by the Government as inspectors. There was therefore no question of any reduction in rank. It is not in dispute that the petitioners were not reverted on account of any fault on their part; they had to be reverted only because of exigencies of service as senior inspectors had come back to the State from deputation or had returned from leave. It was urged that the reversion in the present case could not amount to reduction in rank and was in ordinary course due to exigencies of service. As to r. 2 (c) of the Seniority Rules, the case of the Government was that that rule governed the seniority of inspectors while they were acting as such ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is to be decided year by year and a report has to be made whether he has maintained his fitness for promotion or not. This obviously means that where a subinspector has not maintained his fitness his name can be removed from the eligibility list. It follows therefore that the mere fact that a subinspector's name is once put in the eligibility list does not give him an indefeasible right to promotion as a circle inspector. Then there is r. 486 which governs promotions generally. It lays down that promotion cannot be claimed as a matter of right, though officers and men of all ranks are entitled to expect promotion' if they have good records, and if they are smart and efficient and have a thorough knowledge of their duties. This again clearly shows that merely because a sub-inspector's name is put in the eligibility list, he cannot claim promotion as a matter of right. Rule 486 further provides that all officers who are promoted will be on probation for a period of two years. They may be reverted at any time during this period by the authority competent to promote them, if their conduct and work are not satisfactory, or if they are found unsuitable for the appointment to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s appointed expressly provide for such a result. Therefore even though a probationer may have continued to act in the post to which he is appointed on probation for more than the initial 'period of probation, he cannot become a permanent servant merely because of efflux of time, unless the Rules of service which govern him specifically lay down that the probationer will be automatically confirmed after the initial period of probation is over. It is contended on behalf of the petitioners before us that the part of r. 486 (which we have set out above) expressly provides for automatic confirmation after the period of probation is over. We are of opinion that there is no force in this contention. It is true that the words used in the sentence set out above are not that promoted officers will be eligible or qualified for promotion at the end of their probationary period which are the words to be often found in the rules in such cases; even so, though this part of r. 486 says that promoted officers will be confirmed at the end of their probationary period , it is qualified by the words if they have given satisfaction . Clearly therefore the rule does not contemplate automatic confi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ot entitled to take into account the provisional list of sub-inspectors and could only proceed to give promotions and to make transfers regionwise according to the eligibility lists of former States from which the territories came to the new State and if that was done the petitioners being senior in their region could not be reverted. We are of opinion that there is no force in this contention. It is true that for some time the State Government did proceed on this basis for there was no integrated list, whether provisional or final, available; but that does not mean that under the law it could not act on the provisional list once it was made till it was made final or that there was any estopped against the State Government in view of its having acted regionwise for sometime. We have already indicated that territories from four States came to the old State of Mysore to form the new State of Mysore and that necessarily raised difficult question of integration, and so the State Government made ad hoc promotions regionwise or out of seniority as was stated by it in various government orders. But the State is bound to be treated as one unit for purposes of administration. We may also re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... reverted, on the principle that junior-most officiating person must be reverted. Now r. 2(c) as it stands merely provides for seniority between persons officiating in a higher rank when they are officiating as such; it is not an express rule as to the manner in which reversion should be made where reversions are necessary on account of exigencies of service. The rule therefore cannot be held as expressly providing for the principle of last come first go with which one is familiar in industrial law. Strictly speaking therefore the petitioners cannot claim that r. 2 (c) has been violated by their reversion, for it does not provide for reversion and only provides for the seniority of officers who are officiating in a higher grade. Even so, it may be conceded that when reversion takes place on account of exigencies of public service, the usual principle is that the junior-most persons among those officiating in clear or long term vacancies are generally reverted to make room for the senior officers coming back from deputation or from leave etc. Further ordinarily as promotion on officiating basis is generally according to seniority, subject to fitness for promotion, the junior-mo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hoc and out of seniority. It was only when the provisional list was made that inter se seniority of officers coming from various States became prima facie known. Therefore when reversions had to be made de on account of exigencies of service in accordance with the provisional list it was bound to happen in view of the earlier ad hoc promotions that some officiating inspectors who had been promoted earlier had to be reverted in preference to others who had been promoted later in these circumstances. It cannot therefore be said in view of the special circumstances prevailing in the State consequent on the States Reorganisation Act that the departure from the normal method of reversion was unjustified after the making of the provisional list. The petitioners therefore cannot rely on r. 2(c) in the peculiar circumstances prevailing in the State after the reorganisation because promotions were made ad hoc without regard to inter se seniority of officers from different States. It is only because of this special circumstance that it appears as if r. 2(c) is being disregarded in the matter of reversion for the promotions were made without regard to integrated seniority and resulted in sub ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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