JUDGEMENT
Lalit, J. -
(1.)These two petitions concern a cadre of the Telephone Operators and some of the parties involved in the two petitions are identical. The question involved in these two matters are of a common nature and with the consent of the advocates appearing on behalf of the parties in these two petitions, these two petitions were heard together. The learned Advocates also agreed that the pleadings and the documents in these two petitions be read together. In Special Civil Application No. 141 of 1970. the petitioner is one V. K. Sule. His allegation is that a competitive examination was held by the Post Master General, Central Circle. Nagpur , for the recruitment of Telephone Operators. That examination was held in 1951. He was selected for appointment as a Telephone Operator and by a letter dated May 20, 1952, he was informed that on occurrence of a vacancy , how would receive a call from the Divisional Engineer. Telephones, Indore. For some time no vacancy was available and the Divisional Engineer. Telephone (hereinafter described as the D.E.T.) Indore, wrote a letter to the petitioner on July 30. 1952. Whereby he was informed that his employment in the Indore Division was likely to take a very long time, and the petitioner was asked whether he was willing to be transferred to the list of the approved candidates for the unit at Jaipur Division. On August 4 1952, the petitioner sent a letter expressing his willingness to be posted in Jaipur Division and requested that his name be transferred to the list of the approved candidates of Jaipur Division. In October 1953, by an office order No. E-63/521. an order of appointment was issued in favour of nine persons including the petitioner and the petitioner was appointed with effect from October 10. 1953. It is the allegation of the petitioner that when his appointment was made in the Central Circle, there were four divisions, viz., Ajmer, Jaipur, Indore and Nagpur . The recruiting authority under the Central Circle for the post of a Telephone Operator was the Post Master General, Nagpur, whereas the appointing authority for the post of a telephone operator was the Divisional Engineer of each Division. In 19453, for the purposes of administration,. Rajasthan Circle came to be formed and the erstwhile Jaipur Division from the Central Circle was allotted to Rajasthan Circle.
(2.)The Director Posts and Telegraphs, Jaipur, who was then the head of the Rajasthan Circle, issued a memo dated June 21,1954. Under this memo dated June 21, 1954. Under this memo dated June 21, 1954. Under this memo the employees, who earlier belonged to the Central Circle and were at the material time working at Jaipur were asked to give options as to whether they would opt for the Nagpur Division of the Central Circle, or whether they would like to continue in the newly formed Rajasthan Circle in its Jaipur Division. The petitioner says that he opted for the Nagpur Division of the Central Circle. The further allegation in the petition is that on December 1 , 1955, the D.E.T. Jaipur by his order transferred 10 Telephone Operators working in the Jaipur Division to the Nagpur Division of the Central Circle and in that order was being made " in the interest of service". The petitioner's grievance is that except one Shri V.K. Gaware who was at serial No. 1 in this order of December 1, 1955, all the other nine persons were junior to him, in the cadre of the Telephone operators. Respondents 6 to 13 are the employees who were amongst the ten persons transferred under the order of December 1 , 1955. The case of the petitioner in respect of respondents 6 to 13 is that they were juniors to him both in the appointment and in confirmation.
(3.)The further grievance of the petitioner is that though he had opted for a transfer in the Nagpur Division and though he was senior to respondents 6 to 13. his transfer was made after the transfer in favour of respondents 6 to 13 . The petitioner was actually transferred to the Nagpur Division of the Central Circle on February 6, 1957, and in pursuance of this transfer, he was posted in the Telephone Exchange at Amraoti, which is in the Nagpur Division of the Central Circle.
Click here to view full judgement.
Copyright © Regent Computronics Pvt.Ltd.