Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:66059-DB Court No. - 29 Case :- SPECIAL APPEAL No. - 964 of 2024 Appellant :- The Managing Director Up State Bridge Corporation Limited And 2 Others Respondent :- Raj Kumar And Another Counsel for Appellant :- Pranjal Mehrotra Counsel for Respondent :- Anil Kumar Srivastava Hon'ble Ashwani Kumar Mishra,J. Hon'ble Praveen Kumar Giri,J. 1. Learned Single Judge has allowed the writ petition filed by respondent petitioner and a direction has been issued to pass appropriate orders regarding promotion of respondent petitioner within 5% quota on the post of Junior Engineer (Mechanical) and to give notional benefits, accordingly. 2. Facts of the case have been noticed by learned Single Judge, as per which the petitioner was initially appointed to the post of Storekeeper Grade-2 in the pay scale of 3,050-4,590 in the services of the appellant. He was promoted to the post of Storekeeper Grade-1 in the pay scale of 4,000-6,000 on 31.12.2018. The petitioner has obtained qualification of diploma in mechanical engineer, which is the qualification required to be possessed for promotion to the post of Junior Engineer. The service rules contemplate that 5% post in the cadre of Junior Engineer is reserved for those substantively recruited Class-III employees, who has obtained qualification for the promoted post, while in service, with permission of the department. The writ petitioner had obtained diploma prior to his entry into service. Whether such category of persons also could be considered for promotion under 5% reservation fell for determination before Division Bench of this Court in Madhavendra Singh Vs. State of U.P. and others, 2016 (2) ADJ 259. The division bench held that obtaining of qualification for the promoted post prior to appointment in the feeding cadre shall not disentitle such employee to promotion. The claim of respondent petitioner for promotion, however, was not considered as he was not treated to be an employee in the feeding cadre of Class-C post. As per the appellant the post of Storekeeper is not a clerical cadre post, and therefore, the claim of promotion of respondent petitioner to the post of Junior Engineer was rightly rejected by the Corporation. 3. Learned Single Judge has examined the controversy after exchange of affidavits in the matter. It has been found that clerical cadre per se is not separately constituted and that various employees working on the post of Lab Assistant, Draftsman etc. have been granted promotion in 5% quota, who were placed in similar grade of pay. 4. Before this Court, argument is advanced by the counsel for appellant that post of Storekeeper is not a post falling in the clerical cadre. An affidavit has also been filed by the Manager (Personnel) of the Corporation to this effect. It is also suggested that minimum qualification in the clerical cadre is graduation and since such qualification is not specified for the post of Storekeeper, therefore, the direction issued by learned Single Judge to promote the writ petitioner treating him to be a clerical cadre employee is contrary to law. 5. The submission of the appellant is opposed by Sri Anil Kumar Srivastava, who has invited our attention to the counter affidavit filed before the learned Single Judge, wherein the stand of the appellant in para 8 and 9 is as under:- "8. That the person who has been appointed as Bhandarak and due to service rule, Bhandarpal Grade-1 (Storekeeper), they will be considered in 5% quota for the promotion of Junior Engineer (Mechanical). 9. That the petitioner Raj Kumar was appointed on the post of Bhandarpal Grade-II (Storekeeper) and he was promoted on 31.12.2018 on the post of Bhandarpal Grade-I (Storekeeper) and he has not fulfilled the criteria as required by the Corporation, therefore, he is not entitle for promotion of Junior Engineer (Mechanical)." 6. We have perused the service rules in which the service in the Corporation is segregated into technical services, accounts services and general services etc. There is no separate clerical cadre of Class-C posts. So far as the post of Storekeeper Grade-1 and Grade-2 are concerned, the service rules clearly indicate that the appointment to the post of Storekeeper Grade-2 is to be filled by direct recruitment for which qualification prescribed is Intermediate with two years experience. The post of Storekeeper Grade-1 can be filled by direct recruitment and also by promotion. For direct recruitment the minimum qualification is diploma in Mechanical Management. However, for promotion the requirement is 10 years working on the feeding cadre. It is with reference to the length of service in the feeding cadre of Storekeeper Grade-2 that promotion has been offered to the respondent petitioner to the post of Storekeeper Grade-1. The respondents in para 8 and 9 of their counter affidavit have clearly admitted that Storekeeper Grade-1 is entitled to be considered for promotion in 5% quota for Junior Engineer (Mechanical). We are not persuaded to entertain a contrary stand from the Corporation during the course of hearing of the present appeal. We cannot approve of shifting stand taken by the appellant. The post of Storekeeper and Bhandrapal is one and the same. In that view of the matter, we do not find any error in the view taken by learned Single Judge to allow the writ petition filed by the respondent petitioner. 7. Special appeal, consequently, fails and is dismissed. 8. We, however, modify the order of the learned Single Judge and provide that benefit of notional promotion would be granted to the respondent petitioner only from the date his junior has been granted such benefit. Actual benefit, however, will be admissible only from the date of promotion in terms of the order passed by learned Single Judge. Order Date :- 29.4.2025 Anil Digitally signed by :- ANIL KUMAR PATEL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad