2026:JHHC:11398 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI W.P.(S) No. 2724 of 2023 ….….. Pintu Kumar, aged about 38 years, Son of Saryu Ram, resident of H.No. 133, Shiv Chabutara, Sultani, P.O. Palamau, P.S. Palamau, District-Palamau (Jharkhand). ..… Petitioner (s) Versus 1. The State of Jharkhand through Secretary, Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand, having its office at Project Bhawan, P.O Dhurwa P.S. Jagannathpur, Dist Ranchi. 2. Deputy Secretary, Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand, having its office at Project Bhawan, P.O Dhurwa P.S. Jagannathpur, Dist Ranchi. 3. Engineer-in-Chief, Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand, having its office at Project Bhawan, P.O Dhurwa P.S. Jagannathpur, Dist Ranchi. 4. Binay Kumar, father’s name not known, presently working as Assistant Engineer, having its office at Ranchi Municipal Corporation, Ranchi, P.O., G.P.O., P.S. Kutchery, District-Ranchi (Jharkhand). 5. Kapil Majhi, father’s name not known, presently working as Assistant Engineer, Department of Cabinet Secretariat and Vigilance, Government of Jharkhand, having its office at Project Bhawan, P.O Dhurwa P.S. Jagannathpur, Dist Ranchi. ..... Respondent(s) ….….. CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE DEEPAK ROSHAN ….… For the Petitioner(s) : Mr. Indrajit Sinha, Advocate Mr. Arpan Mishra, Advocate For the Resp.-State: Mr. Mithilesh Singh, G.A.-IV Mr. Vishal Kr. Rai, A.C. to G.A.-IV For the Resp. No.5 : Mr. P.P.N. Roy, Sr. Advocate ….….. C.A.V. ON 10/04/2026 PRONOUNCED ON:16/04/2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the parties. 2. The instant writ petition has been preferred by the 2026:JHHC:11398 2 petitioner for the following reliefs:- i. For issuance of writ(s), order(s) and / or direction(s) for quashing the part of the notification issued vide Memo No. 1422(S) dated 22.03.2023 (Annexure-5) issued by Deputy Secretary, Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand, wherein the juniors to the petitioner has been promoted to the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) and despite the petitioner being senior by virtue of gradation list, the petitioner has been left out without assigning any reason or in the alternative revise the notification by granting promotion to the petitioner as per their seniority provided In their gradation list; And ii. For issuance of writ(s), order(s) and / or direction(s) or in the writ in the nature of mandamus commanding upon the respondents to consider the final gradation list issued vide Memo No. 650(S) dated 23.02.2021 and grant regular promotion to the petitioner on the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil); 3. The brief facts of the case are that initially Jharkhand Public Service Commission (“JPSC” in short) conducted Combined Junior Engineer Recruitment Examination, 2012 in which the petitioner stood successful. Thereafter, JPSC recommended the name of the petitioner for appointment on the post of Junior Engineer (Civil). In terms of the recommendation of JPSC, the Engineer-in-Chief, Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi issued Office Order as contained in Memo No. 3671(S) dated 12.04.2013 appointing the petitioner on the post of Junior Engineer 2026:JHHC:11398 3 (Civil) under the cadre of Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand in the Pay Scale of P.B.II 9300- 34800, with Grade Pay of Rs. 4200/-. In terms of the Office Order issued by the Department, the petitioner submitted his joining. Thereafter, the Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi through its Under Secretary issued an Order publishing a consolidated seniority list of Junior Engineers, which is contained in Memo No. 5506(S) dated 13.11.2019, which was provisional. Thereafter, a final seniority list was published vide order dated 23.02.2021. Subsequently, the JPSC convened a Departmental Promotion Committee (“DPC” in short) meeting on 14.03.2023, wherein a recommendation was made for promotion of Junior Engineers to the post of Assistant Engineer. In terms of the said recommendation the Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand issued a Notification contained in Memo No. 1422 (S) dated 22.03.2023 which has been issued under the signature of the Deputy Secretary, Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand, whereby list of Junior Engineers were published who were promoted to the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) in the pay scale of P.B.-II Rs. 9300- 34800/- with Grade Pay of Rs. 5400/- (revised 2026:JHHC:11398 4 pay scale Pay Matrix Level-9). In the said Notification dated 22.03.2023, the juniors have been promoted to the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil). Being aggrieved by the same, the petitioner made representations to the Secretary, Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand vide letters dated 28.03.2023 and 20.04.2023. Submission of the petitioner. 4. The case of the petitioner is that the juniors have been promoted and the petitioner has been discriminated. In the final Seniority List dated 23.02.2021, the petitioner was placed at serial number 1204 and the respondent number 4 and 5 were placed at serial number 1219 and 1221 respectively. The petitioner was much senior than the persons who were already promoted and the petitioner’s case was not considered for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil). Submission of the Respondent: 5. The case of the respondents is that the petitioner did not submit the full-service history and the property return details was not received from the petitioner and therefore, the petitioner’s case could not be considered for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil). 2026:JHHC:11398 5 6. The petitioner has filed Rejoinder and has submitted that the Departmental letter dated 29.08.2022 wherein all the Junior Engineers were directed to submit their property details and the petitioner has categorically stated at paragraph-10 of the Rejoinder that he had no knowledge of the said letter. The petitioner has duly submitted the required documents along with details of full-service history and property return which was duly acknowledged by the authorized representative of the respondents which is apparent from Annexure-4 of the writ petition. Further the Vigilance Clearance Report is to be acquired by the respondents and the petitioner has no role to play in acquisition of the same. The service history of the petitioner was already on record. 7. Similar issue fell for consideration before this Court in a writ petition bearing W.P.(S) No. 7659 of 2023. The impugned order dated 22.03.2023 which is subject matter of the present writ petition was also challenged in W.P.(S) No. 7659 of 2023. In W.P.(S) No. 7659 of 2023 the case of the petitioners were not considered for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) on the ground that the petitioners did not submit their service history and also details with regard to their properties and Character Report in spite of various reminders. 2026:JHHC:11398 6 8. The writ petition bearing W.P.(S) No. 7659 of 2023 was allowed vide order dated 06.12.2024 in the following terms:- “8. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and after going through the document annexed with the respective affidavit it appears that as per the recommendation of the D.P.C. meeting, the notification as contained in Memo No.1422(S) dated 22.3.2023 has been issued; which was the list of Junior engineers promoted to the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) in which several juniors to the petitioners have been promoted to the post of Assistant Engineer. It further transpires from the respective impugned reasoned orders while rejecting the petitioners’ representations, it has been stated that they did not submit their service history in the Department due to which vigilance clearance remained un- received from the Cabinet Secretariat and Vigilance Department (Vigilance), Government of Jharkhand. It is further stated that the petitioners also did not submit their respective details with regard to their properties (Asset declaration) and character report. Thus, for want of the aforesaid details, they were declared disqualified from consideration for promotion. 11. It further appears from the para 8 of the Writ application whereby it has been specifically contended that the petitioners in view of the anticipated exercise of promotion, duly submitted their respective service book, the details of movable and immovable properties in the prescribed proforma, character certificates and other required documents to the competent authority of the Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand which has not been specifically controverted by the respondent in their counter affidavit. It shows that petitioners have duly submitted the required documents to the department. 13. Having regard to the aforesaid discussions, the reasoned orders dated 18.09.2023 (as contained in Annexure-8 series) issued under the signature 6 of the Secretary, Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi, are hereby, quashed and set aside. Accordingly, the respondents are directed to grant promotion to the petitioners to the promotional post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) with Pay-scale PB-II, Rs.9,300- 34,800/-, Grade Pay of Rs.5,400/- (revised pay-scale Pay Matrix Level 9) under Jharkhand Engineering Services Category 2, since the date when similarly situated or juniors were granted promotion to the said post, with all consequential benefits, including monetary benefits. It is made clear that the formal order to this effect shall be issued as early as possible, but not beyond the period of ten weeks from the date of receipt/production of copy of this order. 14. As a result, the instant writ application is allowed in the manner indicated hereinabove. Pending I.A., if any, is also closed. However, there is no order as to cost.” 9. The order dated 06.12.2024 passed in W.P.(S) No. 7659 of 2023 was challenged by the State Government in 2026:JHHC:11398 7 L.P.A. No. 314 of 2025 and the said Letters Patent Appeal was dismissed vide order dated 09.03.2026 in the following terms:- “We have considered the rival contentions, and we are satisfied that no case is made out to admit this appeal. The reasons for this conclusion are set out briefly hereafter. 9. This is admittedly not a case where the original petitioners were ineligible for promotion for lack of any qualifications, experience, etc. 10. By a letter dated 29th August, 2022, issued by the Joint Secretary to the departmental head, the departmental head was required to call upon the original petitioners and other employees to furnish certain details/documents regarding their service history, character report, list of assets, etc. The record shows that this letter, dated 29th August, 2022 or the request contained therein, was never communicated to the original petitioners. There is a finding of fact to this effect in paragraph no.10 of the learned Single Judge’s impugned order. Even the pleadings to this effect were never denied by the appellants in their counter-affidavit. 11. Insofar as the public advertisement is concerned, the learned Single Judge has referred to the principles under Order V Rule 20 of the CPC and ruled that substituted service through paper publication cannot be resorted to in the very first instance and that too, by a department against its own employees working in the department. Even the principle of fairness required the respondents to be given an adequate opportunity to produce documents/information in their possession, assuming that such documents/information were a necessary precondition for their consideration for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil). 12. Ultimately, it was found that the original petitioners were not only eligible but also fulfilled the standards necessary for promotion even after the furnishing of the details/information. Thus, for hyper-technical considerations, for which the original petitioners were really not to be blamed, they were denied their right to be considered for promotion. It was in the above peculiar circumstances that the learned Single Judge directed their promotion effective from the date on which their juniors were considered and granted promotion, along with all consequential benefits. 13. The decision in Dr. Amal Sathpati (Supra) will not apply to a situation of the present nature. This decision relies upon Bihar State Electricity Board vs. Dharamdeo Das, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1768 at paragraph no.19, which is the paragraph relied upon by the learned counsel for the appellants- State. 14. Dharamdeo Das (Supra) holds that promotion is effective from the date it is granted, not from the date a vacancy occurs in the subject post or the post itself is created. Here, the original petitioners are not claiming promotion from either the date of the vacancy or the date the promotional post was created. They have claimed and are now granted promotion only from the date on which their juniors were considered and granted promotion. 15. Further, this is a case where the learned Single Judge’s 2026:JHHC:11398 8 impugned order has already been complied with by the appellants-State, no doubt, subject to the outcome of this L.P.A. The order dated 19th February, 2026, now produced before us, shows that the original petitioners were not directly granted promotion; their cases were placed before the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC). The DPC considered the matter and, upon doing so, found that the original petitioners are entitled to be promoted from the date their juniors were promoted. This is also not a case where the principle of no work, no pay would apply, because the original petitioners were always willing to work, but for reasons the learned Single Judge correctly found arbitrary, they were denied such promotion. 16. For all the above reasons, we are satisfied that there is no merit in this appeal and, consequently, we dismiss the same without any order for costs.” 10. The order dated 06.12.2024 passed in W.P.(S) No. 7659 of 2023 was implemented by the State Government and the petitioners in W.P.(S) No. 7659 of 2023 have been granted promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) with retrospective effect by Notification as contained in Memo No. 3995(S) dated 16.10.2025 issued by the Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand. Further, the monetary benefits have also been granted by Resolution bearing Memo No. 723(S) dated 19.02.2026. 11. The petitioner case was not considered for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) on the ground that the service history of the petitioner was not submitted by the petitioner due to which Vigilance Clearance remained un-received from the Cabinet Secretariat and Vigilance Department, Government of Jharkhand. 12. The State Government has relied upon 2026:JHHC:11398 9 newspaper publication dated 07.10.2020 as well as newspaper publication dated 24.12.2020; whereby the Junior Engineers were directed to submit their complete service history and property returns in prescribed format in the Department. 13. Whether the State Government was justified by treating the paper publication as valid notice to the petitioner or not is one of the questions to be decided by this Court. 14. In this regard it would be profitable here to refer to Order V Rule 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure: “20. Substituted service.—(1) Where the Court is satisfied that there is reason to believe that the defendant is keeping out of the way for the purpose of avoiding service, or that for any other reason the summons cannot be served in the ordinary way, the Court shall order the summons to be served by affixing a copy thereof in some conspicuous place in the Court House, and also upon some conspicuous part of the house (if any) in which the defendant is known to have last resided or carried on 11 business or personally worked for gain, or in such other manner as the Court thinks fit. [(1-A) Where the Court acting under sub-rule (1) orders service by an advertisement in a newspaper, the newspaper shall be a daily newspaper circulating in the locality in which the defendant is last known to have actually and voluntarily resided, carried on business or personally worked for gain.]…………” 15. From bare perusal of the aforesaid rule, it is clear when the summons cannot be served in the ordinary way, then the advertisement in newspaper can be given. In the instant case, instead of directly communicating with the petitioner, the State Government has given notice through the newspaper. It is unexpected and not humanly possible 2026:JHHC:11398 10 that the employees would keep looking at the notice column for there being any notice from their department, that too when the employees are working in the organization and drawing regular salary and other service benefit; as such, this Court finds that the State Government was not justified by giving communication to the petitioner through the newspaper. 16. Learned counsel for the State Government has further relied upon the letter dated 29.08.2022 issued by the Joint Secretary to Departmental Head to inform all the Junior Engineers to update their service history and property statement which has been specifically denied by the petitioner in paragraph 10 of the rejoinder. It further appears from the paragraph 9 of the Writ Petition and paragraph 11 of the rejoinder; whereby it has been specifically contended that the petitioner has duly submitted their respective service book, the details of movable and immovable properties in the prescribed proforma, character certificates and other required documents to the competent authority of the Road Construction Department, Government of Jharkhand which has not been specifically controverted by the respondent in their counter affidavit. 2026:JHHC:11398 11 It shows that petitioner has duly submitted the required documents to the department. Findings: 17. In view of the aforesaid facts and the order dated 06.12.2024 passed in W.P.(S) No. 7659 of 2023 read with order dated 09.03.2026 passed in L.P.A. No. 314 of 2025, the reasons for not considering the case of the petitioner for promotion on the post of Assistant Engineer cannot be sustained. The issue is squarely covered by the order dated 06.12.2024 passed in W.P.(S) No. 7659 of 2023 read with order dated 09.03.2026 passed in L.P.A. No. 314 of 2025 arising out of the same Notification, denial of promotion to the petitioner on the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) would be ex-facie discriminatory and unsustainable. 18. Accordingly, the respondents –State Government are directed to grant promotion to the petitioner to the promotional post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) with pay scale P.B.-II, Rs. 9300-34800/- with Grade Pay of Rs. 5400/- (revised Pay Scale Pay Matrix Level-9) under Jharkhand Engineering Services Category-2, since the date when the similarly situated or juniors were granted promotion to the said post, with all consequential benefits, including monetary benefits. 2026:JHHC:11398 12 19. It is made clear that the formal order to this effect shall be issued as early as possible but not beyond the period of eight weeks from the date of receipt/production of copy of this order. 20. Accordingly, the instant writ application stands allowed. Pending IAs, if any, are closed. (Deepak Roshan, J.) Dated16/04/2026 Amardeep/ A.F.R Uploaded on 20.04.2026