1 2025:CGHC:6390 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPS No.6532 of 2014 Judgment reserved on : 03.12.2024 Judgment delivered on : 04.02.2025 1 - Chhotu Lal Ratre S/o Bhaiyalal Ratre Aged About 45 Years R/o Patgawan, Post Patgawan P.S. Pendra Tehsil Pendra District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh Petitioner versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, Department Of Health And Family Welfare, Mahanadi Bhawan, Mantralaya Naya Raipur District Raipur C.G. 2 - The Joint Director Health Services, District - Bilaspur Chhattisgarh 3 - Block Medical Officer, Community Health Centre, Pendra District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh Respondent(s) For Petitioner : Ms. Ruchi Nagar, Advocate For Respondent-State : Ms. Nand Kumari Kashyap, PL Hon’ble Smt. Justice Rajani Dubey C A V Judgment Digitally signed by RAMAKANT NIRALA 2 1. The petitioner has preferred the present writ petition praying for the following reliefs:- “i. This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to issue an appropriate writ directing the respondents to produce all the relevant records pertaining to the case of petitioner, if the Hon'ble Court may so desire. ii. This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to quash the impugned order dated 09.10.2014 (Annexure-P/1) passed by the respondent Joint Director, (Divisional), Bilaspur (C.G.); iii. This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to quash the impugned order dated 07.08.2014 (Annexure-P/2) passed by the Respondent No.2; iv. This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the Respondent to restore the promotion order Dated 02.11.2012. v. Issue any other order or orders, writ or writs, direction or directions as this Hon'ble court may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of the case in favor of the petitioners, in the interest of justice. vi Cost of the petition may be allowed.” 2. Brief facts of the case are that the petitioner belongs to Scheduled Caste Category. Vide order Dated 26.03.1992 issued by the Deputy Collector, the petitioner was appointed on the post of Peon, but due to non-availability of the post of Peon, the petitioner vide an order vide dated 20.05.1992 issued by the Chief Medical & Health Officer, Bilaspur (C.G.) was appointed on the post of "Waterman" under the special recruitment for the Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribe. The petitioner appeared in the inter departmental examination for the post of Multipurpose Health Worker and cleared the same and order dated 15.12.2003, petitioner was promoted on the post of Multipurpose 3 Health Worker (M.P.W.). Vide an order Dated 04.11.2011 passed by the Respondent No.3, the petitioner was directed to discharge additional duties of Sector- Male Supervisor. The departmental promotion committee was convened for the purpose of promotion from the post of M.P.W. to the post of Male Supervisor, whereby the petitioner was promoted on the post of Male Supervisor by order vide dated 02.11.2012 and in pursuance of aforesaid promotion order, the petitioner joined at the posted place. The petitioner was discharging duty to the utmost satisfaction of the senior authorities, but unfortunately the Respondents issued a show cause notice dated 27.07.2014 to the petitioner stating that the promotion to the petitioner was wrongly given due to error in counting the period rendered by the petitioner in a feeder cadre. In pursuance of show cause notice Dated 24.07.2014, the petitioner submitted a reply on 03.08.2014, but the respondents arbitrarily without application mind passed the impugned order dated 07.08.2014, whereby withdrawn the promotion order dated 02.11.2012, upon which the petitioner preferred a Writ Petition bearing WPS No.4843/2014 before this Court, which was disposed of vide order Dated 15.09.2014 directing the Respondents to consider the representation of the petitioner, thereafter the Respondent No.2 passed the impugned order Dated 09.10.2014, whereby representation of the petitioner has been rejected, against which the present writ petition has been filed by the petitioner. 4 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the action initiated by the respondents is ill founded on both facts and laws. The petitioner is an eligible and qualified candidate to be promoted on the post of Male Supervisor. The Respondents cannot arbitrarily, illegally and wrongly take away right of promotion which was already accrued to the petitioner vide order Dated 02.11.2012. By the impugned order, the Respondents have arbitrarily and wrongly put back the position of the petitioner as M.P.W. even after passing of 24 years of service. The petitioner was initially appointed in year 1992 in the Respondent's department and it is apparent from the records that his service has been regularized from the initial date of appointment thus his seniority has to be considered and counted from the initial date of appointment and not from the appointment/ promotion on the post of M.P.W., therefore the arbitrary action of Respondents and order of withdrawal of promotion order is highly, illegal, incorrect, unjustified and against the Service Jurisprudence. The action of the respondent is also contrary to the Chhattisgarh Health and Family Welfare Development Non- Ministerial Para-Medical and Nursing (Directorate Health Services) Class-III Service Recruitment Rules, 2013, wherein it has been categorically provided under Scheduled -IV, Sl. No. 22 that "a candidate of M.P.W. will be promoted on the post of Male-Supervisor, possessing 5 years of experience on the post of M.P.W." Moreover the same has also been provided under the Madhya 5 Pradesh Public Health and Family Welfare Department Non Ministerial (related to the Directorate of Heath Services) Class-III Service Recruitment Rules, 1989. She furhter submits that the Hon'ble Supreme Court as well this Court in catena of cases has held that in cases of determination of seniority, it has to be considered from initial date of appointment. Therefore, the writ petition deserves to be allowed. Reliance has been placed on the judgments rendered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matters of T. Valsan D. through Lrs and others vs K. Kanagaraj and others, reported in (2023) 7 SCC 614 and Rashi Mani Mishra and others vs State of Uttar Pradesh and others, reported in (2021) 17 SCC 399. 4. Learned counsel for the respondents opposes the submission made by the petitioner’s counsel and submits that he promotion of the petitioner has rightly been cancelled from the post of Multipurpose Health Supervisor to the post of Multipurpose Health Worker because, as inadvertently his promotion order was issued by the Department considering his first appointment from 20.05.1992 as Multipurpose Health Worker, whereas the present petitioner was appointed on the post of Waterman by the order dated 20.05.1992. Initially, the present petitioner was appointed to the post of Waterman vide order dated 26.03.1992, subsequently he was promoted to the post of Multipurpose Health Worker by vide order dated 15.12.2003. She further submits that in the Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh Public Health 6 and Family Welfare Department Non-Ministerial (Related to the Directorate of Health Services) Class III Service Recruitment Rules, 1989, it has categorically been mentioned that the Multipurpose Male Worker will be promoted to the post of Multipurpose Male Supervisor having at least 5 years experience of the Male Worker Cadre and the benefit of promotion on the vacant posts to 20 percent employees of all posts will be included in the Multipurpose Male Worker cadre upto the year 1992, however, the present petitioner has been working as Multipurpose Health Worker since the year 2003, but inadvertently he was considered for promotion from the post of Multipurpose Health Worker to the post of Multipurpose Health Supervisor considering his appointment to the post of Multipurpose Health Worker since the year 1992, therefore, the said promotion of the present petitioner has duly been cancelled. Therefore, the petition is liable to be dismissed. 5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. 6. It is an admitted position in this case that the petitioner was appointed in the respondent Department as Waterman as per order dated 20.05.1992 (Annexure-P/5) and thereafter he was promoted on the post of Multi Purpose Health Worker vide order dated 15.12.2003 (Annexure-P/6). It is also not disputed that the gradation list was issued on 01.04.2012 (Annexure-P/7) and he 7 was promoted on the post of Male Supervisor vide order dated 02.11.2012 vide Annexure-P/9 and the respondents issued show cause notice on 27.07.2014 and after that by order dated 07.08.2014 withdrawn the promotion order dated 02.11.2012 on the ground that the petitioner was posted on the post of MPW in the year 2003, thus falls behind in the seniority list and is not entitled for promotion on the post of male supervisor. The petitioner filed writ petition bearing WPS No.4843/2013 before this Court and this Court directed the respondents by order dated 15.09.2014 to consider and decide the representation of the petitioner and by order dated 09.10.2014 (Annexure-P/1) his representation has been rejected. 7. In the previous writ petition bearing WPS No.4843/2014, this Court vide order dated 15.09.2014 observed as under:- “However, other aspect of the matter specially reservation policy is required to be considered The respondent authorities shall examine whether requirement of reservation has been fulfilled and whether petitioner could be promoted even if he was substantively appointed as M.P.W. in the year 2003. The petitioner has already submitted representation. The respondent No.2 shall consider this aspect of reservation and take appropriate decision within a period of six weeks from the receipt of copy of this order, and if it is found that petitioner is entitled, the appropriate order shall be passed by the respondent authorities.” 8. The respondents have filed the Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh Public Health and Family Welfare Department Non-Ministerial (Related to the Directorate of Health Services) Class III Service 8 Recruitment Rules, 1989, wherein it has categorically been mentioned that the Multipurpose Male Worker will be promoted to the post of Multipurpose Male Supervisor having at least 5 years experience of the Male Worker Cadre and the benefit of promotion on the vacant posts to 20 percent employees of all posts will be included in the Multipurpose Male Worker cadre upto the year 1992. 9. The petitioner has also filed gradation list dated 01.04.2012 (Annexure-P/7), in which the petitioner’s name appears at Sr. No.267 and though in the gradation list, the initial appointment of the petitioner is shown as MPW, but as per order dated 20.05.1992 (Annexure-P/4) filed by the petitioner himself, he was initially appointed as waterman and not on the post of MPW and due to wrongly being treated as MPW, he was wrongly promoted on the post of Male Supervisor but subsequently he was demoted by the respondent authorities. 10. It is clear from Annexure-R/1 that the benefit of promotion on the vacant post of 20% employees of all posts was included in the multi purpose male worker cadre up to the year 1992 and as per petitioner himself, his first appointment/posting was as waterman, which is evident from Annexure-P/4 and in the year 2003, he was promoted as MPW and as per Annexure-P/1 the respondent authorities considered the case of the petitioner as per direction of this Court and found that his previous promotion order dated 9 02.11.2012 was issued on this ground that he was treated to be appointed as MPW in the year 1992 and as per petitioner himself he was posted as MPW on 27.12.2003 and not on 25.05.1992 so it is clear that the respondent authorities rightly considered the case of the petitioner and cancelled the promotion of the petitioner as per rules (Annexure-R/1), as such this Court does not find any illegality or irregularity in the same. 11. The writ petition is without any merit. It deserves to be and is hereby dismissed accordingly. 12. The citations filed by the petitioner are distinguishable on the facts of the present case, as such the same are of no use to the petitioner. Sd/- Rajani Dubey Judge Nirala