SrinagarUnderling that a person to be given the charge of higher post must be eligible, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has quashed a government order on appointing three superintendent engineers as in-charge chief engineers in Public works department.
Referring to the government instructions regarding in-charge arrangements, a single bench of Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir said that the competent authorities have to ensure that only such officers are appointed who satisfy all the requirements for higher appointments and stand the scrutiny of the Departmental Promotion Committee, etc.
Two in-charge Superintendent Engineers, Jaffaer Hussain and another, had petitioned the court against 26 October this year by virtue of which three engineers were asked to look after the charge of the post of Chief Engineers in PWD.
They include Ghulam Qadir Bhat who was asked to look after the charge of post of Chief Engineer in JKSPDC against an available vacancy; Jitender Kumar Sharma asked to look after the charge of post of Chief Engineer Chenab Valley Power Projects against an available vacancy and Mir Shahnawaz who was asked to look after the charge of Chief Engineer I&FC, Kashmir. The petitioners had claimed that they being senior to respondents to them should have been asked to look after the charge of the post of Chief Engineers and finally they sought quashment of the government order (No.440-PW(Hyd) of 2017 dated 26.10.2017) with a further prayer to command the government to promote them as I/C Chief Engineers from the date their juniors have been placed as I/C Chief Engineers1 August 2017, being the senior most Superintending Engineers.
The court referred to government instructions which stated that was wrong in principle to appoint a Government servant to a higher post in his own cadre or line of promotion without observing the required formalities of clearance from DPC etc.
The court referred to rule 25 of CCA Rules (4) which states that where it is necessary in the public interest owing to an emergency which has arisen and could not have been foreseen, to fill immediately a vacancy by promotion from a lower category, and where promotion in accordance with these rules would involve undue delay or expenditure or cause administrative inconvenience, the appointing authority may promote a person otherwise than in accordance with these rules, but such temporary promotion shall in no case exceed three months on each occasion.
Unless and until petitioners and respondents (two engineers posted as incharge chief engineer) are not regularized at the level of Executive Engineers and then at the level of Superintending Engineers, they shall not be eligible to be incharge of the higher post. A thick line of demarcation, as per Government Instruction is that the person to be give the charge must be eligible, the high court said, and held that the arrangement made in pursuance to the 26-October order was not in consonance with CCA Rules and CSR and subsequently quashed it. The court left it open to the government to have recourse to rule 25 of CCA Rules or Regulation 85 of the CSR or any other enabling provision, rule or regulation for making stop-gap arrangements for the posts of Chief Engineers.
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