Holding

The State must grant promotion to all eligible Class II officers effective from 24 June 1984, with all consequential benefits, including to retired officers, and complete the exercise within two months.

Summary

The petitioners, Class II engineering officers of Haryana, sought promotion to Class I (Executive Engineer) after the Supreme Court struck down a state amendment that made an engineering degree mandatory for such promotion. The Court had earlier directed the state to consider all eligible officers and complete promotions within four months (later six months). The state delayed and finally issued promotion orders on 30‑December‑1987, which the petitioners argued did not comply with the earlier judicial directions. The Court held that the promotion order was not full compliance because the state could not rely on its illegal amendment and must back‑date promotions to 24‑June‑1984, the expiry of the four‑month period, and grant all consequential benefits, including to officers who had retired. The Court directed the state to implement these promotions within two months.

Issues considered

Whether the promotion order dated 30‑December‑1987 complied with the Supreme Court's directions of 17‑December‑1986.
From which date the promotions to Class I service should be deemed effective.
Whether officers who retired before the promotion order are entitled to the benefits of promotion.

Subjects

promotionservice rulesbackdated promotionclass II officersclass I servicecontempt petitionjudicial directionsretrospective amendmentretirement benefits

Judgment

,,

T.R. KAPOOR & ORS. A
v.
STATE OF HARYANA & ORS.

AUGUST 31, 1989

[S. NATARAJAN AND L.M. SHARMA, JJ.] B

Punjab EngineerinK Service-Class II Officers-Promoted· as

- I
class I Officers pursuant to this Court's Judgment and Order dated
17.12.86---Whether Courts order complied with in its full spirit-
Directions sought re: date ofpromotions.
c
This is an application filed by the Petitioners seeking directions of
the Court for implementation of this Court's order dated 17 .12.86 in its

•
l true spirit, in particular, praying that the promotion orders dated
30.12.87 be given effect from the back dates (deemed dates) or the dates
when their juniors were promoted. The circumstances that led to the
filing of this application may be stated thus. D

The Petitioners were members of the regularly constituted class II
Engg. service of the State with effect from 25.12.1970 and were working
as Sub-Divisional Officers. Further avenues of promotion to them were
barred because the State Government construed the service Rules to
me.an that without a degree in Engineering, a class II officer could not E
be promoted to class I service. The said interpretation of the State
Government was disapproved by this Court in the case of A.S. Parmar
v. State of Haryana, [1984] 2 SCR 476 as a consequence whereof a
degree in Engineering did not remain an essential pre-requisite for a
member of Class II service for being promoted to Class I service. After
the Judgment in Parmar's case, the Petitioners flied a Writ f'.~!ition in this F
Court seeking a direction to the St(lte Government to consider the case
of the Petitioners and others similarly situated for promotion to the post
·of Executive Engineers in Class I service. ,

On 24.2.84 au undertaking was given to the Court by the State,
that the State would consider the claims of all the eligible persons inc- G
luding the petitioners for regular appointment to Class I service within
four months •. Instead of granting promotions, the State· Government
amended the Rules with retrospective effect from 10.7.64 so as to make
a degree in Engineering as an indispensable qualification for an officer
in Class II service for being promoted as Class I officer. The Petitioners
thereupon amended their Writ Petition and challenged the validity of H

1079
1080 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989] 3 S.C.R.

A the amendment and the Court by its Judgment dated 17 .12.86 struck
down the amendment to the Rules as ultra vires the State Government.

In another case involving the same point viz., Ashok Gulati v;
B.S. Jain, [1987] 1 SCR 600 this Court directed the State Government
to consider the case!; of all eligible members of Class II service for
B promotion as Executive Engineers, within six months time. The State
having failed to comply with the Court's order aforesaid, a contempt
petition was filed, which was disposed of by the Court's order dated
30.12.87 by which time the State had reported to the Court that the
j>rolno!ionS to all concerned eligible officers had since beeit granted.
-
c since The Petitioners have now filed this application contending that
their placement in Class II service had been made effective with
effect from 25.12. 70 though the order therefor was issued on 27 .10.85,
they were entitled to be considered for promotion to Class I service as
and when they attained eligibility after 25.12. 70 especially in view of the
Court's Judgment in Parmar's case whereby the degree in Engineering
D was no longer a necessary qualification. The Petitioners therefore urge
that they be placed In their rightful position by giving promotion from
back dates or deemed dates; or, in any case, the date when persons
junior to them were given promotions. According to them promotions ,,>...
granted to them belatedly on 30.12.87 did not render true justice to
them and that the said order did not fully conij>ly with the Court's
E order. Further a grievance is also made that no benefit has been given
to those officers who retired from service during this period. On the
other hand the State contended that it has duly complied with the
Court's order by giving promotions w.e.f. 30.12.87. The State
supported its contention by saying that in approval of its action the
Court on 17.12.86 dropped further proceedings in contempt petition ·r
F which meanf that there has been due compliance with the Court's
order.

Disposing of the application with directions this Court,

HELD: The combined effect of the striking down of the amend-
G meut to the Rules by the Government and the direction issued to the
Government in Ashok Gulati's case to consider for promotion the
names of all the eligible Class II officers would entitle the petitioners to -:{
seek the benefit of promotion from 24.6.84 when the time limit of four
months sought for by the State Government to make the promotions
came to expire. But for the unsustainable amendment made to the
H Rules, the Government could not have postponed the promotions of the
T.R. KAPOOR v. STAIB OF HARYANA [NATARAJAN, J.] 1081
,l Petitioners and other Class II officers similar to them beyond the time
A
limit of four months which expired on 24.6.84. It would therefore follow
that the order of promotion made by the State Government on 30.12.87
will not amount to due compliance of the Court's directions dated
17.12.86. The Government cannot take advantage of its own error in
'>( making an illegal amendment to the Rules with retrospective effect and
postpone the benefit of promotion to Class II officers. [I087G-10888] B

-
~I

""
The Government cannot also take umbrage for its action .in giving
promotion to the petitioners and other eligible Class II officers with
effectfrom 30.12.87 either because the directions given on 17.12.86 did
not set out the date from when promotions should be given or because
the Court passed orders on 4.1.1989, dropping further proceedings in
c
~ the contempt petition. [1088C]

The State Government was directed to give promotionS to all
eligible Class II officers with effect from 24.6.84 and to give them all the
consequential benefits arising therefrom. The court further directed
t that the benefit of promotion and consequential benefits should also be D
given to all those officers who were eligible for promotidn on 24.6.84
but who have retired since then. [10898]

'
'I ~
1988.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: C.M.P. No. 17238 of

IN
E
--"'l

Writ Petition Nos. 630-632 of 1984.
. .,,., (Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India) . I
I
F
Shanti Bhushan and P .D. Sharma for the Petitioner.

G.L. Sanghi, Mahabir Singh, Rana Ranjit Singh, Srinivas
Choudhary, S.K. Mehta and G .K. Bansal for the Respondents.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by G
.,._
NAT ARAJAN, J. This Civil Miscellaneous Petition has been
filed with a prayer for appropriate directions being issued to the State
of Haryana as under:

(a) Issue appropriate directions to the respondents No. 1 and 2 H
1082 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989] 3 S.C.R.

to implement the judgment and order dated 17. U.86 and carry
A
out the directions issued by way of writ of mandamus as prayed
to this Hon'ble Court in its full spirit giving effect to the promo-
tion orders dated 30.12.87, from back dates (deemed dates) or
the dates when their juniors were promoted.

B (b) Further issue suitable directions to the Respondents
No. I and 2 to allow other consequential benefits viz. fixation of

-
pay from deemed dates, payment of arrears, pension and
gratuity benefits to all officers figuring in list dated 27.10.85
irrespective of their retirement prior to the order of promotions
dated 30.12.87 pronouncement.
c (c) Give effective relief to the petitioner Shri Mohinder
Singh Kundu in full, irrespective of his retirement.

(d) Any other suitable orders or directions as this Hon'ble
Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances set
D out in the present petition.

To understand the grievance of the petitioners, it is neces-
sary to set out the back ground material and the pronouncements ).-
made in T.R. Kapoor v. State of Haryana, (1987] 1 SCR 584 and
Ashok Gulati v. B~S. Jain, (1987] 1 SCR 603 in favour of the
E petitioners.

The petitioners who are Diploma holders initially joined
the Class III Engineering Service of the Punjab State in the early
fifties and were promoted to Class II service as officiating
S.D.Os in the middle sixties and in the case of some of them the
F said temporary promotion was even earlier. By a Notification
dated 27.10.1985 the petitioners and other similarly situated
persons were regularly constituted as Class II service officers with
effect from ·25.12.1970. Further avenues of promotion to them
were barred because the State Government construed the
Service Rules to mean that without a degree in Engineering, a
G Class II officer cannot be promoted to Class I service. The said
interpretation of the Service Rules was disapproved by this
Court in A.S. Parmar v. State of Haryana, (1984] 2 SCR 476. By
reason of that judgment, it followed that a degree in Engineering
was not an essential pre-requisite for a member of Class II
service being promoted to t!ie Class I service. -
H
T.R. KAPOOR v. STATE OF HARYANA [NATARAJAN, J.] 1083

After the judgment in A.S. Parmar's case (supra) was A
rendered, the petitioners filed Writ Petitions under Article 32 of
the Constitution seeking writs of mandamus to the State Govern-
ment to consider the case ofthe petitioners and the like of them
for promotion to the posts of Executive Engineers in Class I
service. On 24.2. 1984 an undertaking was given to the Court that
the State would consider the claims of all the eligible persons B
including the petitioners for regular appointment to Class I
service and that the exercise would be completed within four
months time. However, two days before the expiry of the said
period of four months, the State Government brought an amend-
ment to the Rules with retrospective effect from 10.7.64 so as to
make a degree in Engineering an indispensable qualification for
an officer in Class II service being promoted to Class I service.
c
Dismayed by the action of the State Government, the petitioners
amended their writ petitions suitably and challenged the validity
of the amendment to the Rules. After considering the matter in
detail, this Court delivered judgment on 17 .12.1986 striking
down the impugned amendment to the rules as ultra vires the D
State Government and in a connected appeal C.A. No. 149 of
1981 Ashok Gulati (supra) this Court directed the State Govern·
ment to consider the cases of all eligible members of Class II
service for promotion to the post of Executive Engineer in Class
I service in accordance with law and to complete the process of
appointment within six months' time. E

As the State Government failed to give effect to the said
directions within the allotted time of six months, the petitioners
filed a contempt petition C.M.P. No. 15430 of 1988 against the
State. In reply to the contempt petition, the State Government
stated that the delay in the implementation of the Court's order F
. was due to the stupendous nature of the work involved in the
fixation of seniority of more than four hundred officers, their
promotions, reversion, claims, and counter-claims and their
deemed promotions etc. After taking note of the said explana- '
tion, this Court directed the State to expedite the matter and to
complete the process of promotion of Class II officers to class I G
service within a period of two mo;.,ths and ordered the contempt
petitions to be listed in the first week of January 1988. When the
contempt petition came up before Court on 4.1.1988, it was rep-
resented on behalf of the State Government that the Court's
directions have been complied with and orders of promotion
have been issued to the petitioners on 30.12.87 itself. Acting on H
1084 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989] 3 S.C.R.

the said representation, this Court passed the following order
A
and discharged the notice in the contempt petition:

"In view of this Court's order dated 17th December,
1986 and the order dated 12th0ctober,1987, the of-
ficers concerned have been promoted by an order
B dated 30th December, 1987 and we presume that they
will now be posted in consequence of that promotion.
We hope and trust that the State of Haryana will pass
posting orders expeditiously. The Civil Miscellaneous
Petition is disposed of accordingly".

It is thereafter the petitioners have come forward with this appli-
c cation for directions. The contention of the petitioners is that since
their placement in Class II service had been made effective with effect
from 25.12.1970, though the order therefor was issued on 27.10.1985,
they were entitled to be considered for promotion to Class I service as
and when they attained eligibility after 25 .12.1970 especially in view of
D the judgment in A.S. Parmar's case (supra) which held that a degree in
Engineering was not an essential pre-requisite for members of Class II
service being promoted to posts in Class I service. It is, therefore,
stated by the petitioners that in all fairness they must be placed in their
rightful position by being given promotion ··tram back dates or
deemed dates or, in any case, the dates when persons junior to them
E were promoted." According to the petitioners their juniors were given
promotions in the years 1963, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1976 and 1978.
The petitioners blame the State Government for their non-promotion
because of the delay in preparing the seniority list of Class II officers
till 1985 and for closing the doors of promotion to them by wrong
interpretation of the Rules and thereafter by making a wrohgful
F amendment to the rules till judgments were rendered in T.R. Kapoor's
case (supra) and Ashok Gulati's case (supra) on 17.12.1986. The
petitioners would therefore contend that the promotions given to them
belatedly on 30.12 ..1987 do not render full justice to them and the said
order is also not fully in compliance with the directions given by this
Court in the judgments rendered in the two cases on 17.12.86. Yet
G another grievance put forth is that the Government has not given relief
to thoie Class II officers who have retired from serVke prior to
30.12.1987. The petitioners therefore seek further directions being
issued to the State Government to give them and other similarly placed
officers besides those who have already retired fro'm service the
benefit of promotion with effect from back dates or deemed dates as
H per their entitlement or atleast from the dates when persons junior to
-++:<: .. ~~-~
''
•
l T.R. KAPOOR v. STATE OF HARYANA [NATARAJAN, J.] 1085

>. them were promoted together with all the consequential benefits aris-
ing therefrom.
A

In reply to the petition for directions, three counter-affidavits
have been filed on behalf of the State of Haryana, one by Shri H.D.
I Bansal, Financial Commissioner and Secretary to Government, Irriga-
'( lion & Power Department and the second by Shri H.K. Khosla, B
Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation Department. Irilvth the counter-affi-
davits it has been stated that the State has fu ly complied with the

- '!'
directions of the Court by giving promotion to all the petitioners by
order dated 30.12.87 and that the Court, in approval of the action of
the . Government as proper compliance to the directions given on
17.12.1986, dropped further proceedings in the contempt petition and
as such there is no basis for the petitioners. to seek further directions c
'7-·
from the Court.

The third counter-affidavit dated 14.10.88 has been filed by Shri
Raj Rup Fuliya, Deputy Secretary to Government of Haryana, Irriga-
lion and Power Department. Therein the stand taken is that since the D
petitioners had acquiesced in the interpretation of the Service Rules by
the Government till they filed the writ petitions, the petitioners are not
entitled to claim promotional benefits with reference to their service in
.J
~- Class II posts from 1970. It is further stated that in the judgments
rendered in T.R. Kapoor v. State of Haryana, (supra) and Ashok
Gulati v. B.S. Jain; (supra), this Court had not directed that promo-

-
E
tions should be given to the petitioners from back dates or deemed
dates or from the dates their juniors were promoted to Class I Service.
Likewise, it is stated that the Court had not directed the State to give
the benefit of promotion to persons who have already retired from
.,,,. service .
F
The petitioners have controverted the averments in the counter-
affidavits by means of a rejoinder and have reiterated their claim for
promotion from anterior dates. In tum Shri Raj Rup Fuliya, Deputy
Secretary to the Government has filed a supplemental counter-affi-
davit to the rejoinder filed by the petitioners.
G
In the light of the conflicting stands taken by the parties, it falls
>- for consideration whether the petitioners are entitled to the benefit of
promotion from anterior dates i.e. from deemed dates of promotion or
from the dates their juniors were promoted as claimed by them or
whether the promotions given to them on 30.12.87 by the Government
amounts to grant of full relief to the petitioners as per this Court's H
judgments dated 17 .12.86.
T.R. KAPOOR v. STATE OF HARYANA [NATARAJAN, J.] 1087

~- for further promotion ·as Executive Engineers in Class I
A
service. In view of the clear formulation of law interpreting
r. 6(b) of the Class I Rules holding that a degree in En-
gineering was not an essential° qualification for promotion
of Class II Officers to the cadre of Executive Engineers in
' Class I service, there was no occasion for the State Govern-
i : men! to issue the impugned notification unless it was with
the object of nullifying the decision of this Court in A.S.
B

Parmar's case".

After thus disapproving the Government's action, this Court gave
', !
directions to the State Government in the connected appeal Ashok
·Gulati v. B.S. Jain, (supra) to consider the claims of all the eligible
-...,.._, Class II officers for promotion to Class I service without reference to c
their possessing a degree in Engineering. It is bearing in mind these
factors the question whether the promotions granted to the petitioners
with effect from 30.12.1987 amounts to sufficient compliance of the
directions of the Court dated 17 .12.1986 has got to be examined.
D
Inasmuch as the petitioners had not asked for mandamus being
issued for promotion them to Class I posts from anterior dates on
deemed basis or with reference to the promotions given to junior
persons, and since even if such a prayer had been made, the relief
. '""" would not have been given for the reasons set out above, this Court
appropriately called upon the Government to consider the case of all E
eligible members of Class II service for promotion to the post of
( Executive Engineer in Class I service in accordance with law and to
complete the process of appointment within six months time. The
direction therefore enjoined the Government to give promotion to all
Class II officers who were eligible for promotion to Class I service
-~
after Rule was issued in the writ petitions. Even before the direction F
was issued, the Government had conceded the position and that was
why the Government had asked for four months time through its
counsel to consider the case of all eligible Class II officers and give
them promotion.

The combined effect of the striking down of the amendment to G
the Rules by the Government and the direction issued to the Govern-
·~· men! in Ashok Gulati's case (supra) to consider for promotion the
names of all the eligible Class II officers would entitle the petitioners
· to se.ek the benefit of promotion from 24.6.1984 when the time limit of
four months sought for by the State Government to make the promo-
tions came to expire. But for the unsustainable amendment made to H
1088 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989] 3 S.C.R.

A
the Rules, the Government could not have postponed the promotion --'\
of the petitioners and other Class II officers similar to them beyond the
time limit of four months which expired 24.6.1984. It would therefore
follow that the order of promotion made by the State Government on
30.12.1987 will not amount to due compliance of the Court's directions
dated 17.12.1986. The Government cannot take advantage of its own
B error in making an illegal amendment to the Rules with retrospective 'r
effect and postpone the benefit of promotion to Class II officers.

The Government cannot also take umbrage for its action in giv-
ing promotion to the petitioners and other eligible Class II officers .
with effect from 30. 12.1987 either because the directions given on ...
17.12.1986 did not set out the date from when promotions should be
c given or because the Court passed orders on 4.1.1989 dropping further
proceedings in the contempt petition. As regards the directions issued
<
on 17 .12.1986 to the State Government to give promotions to the Class
II officers in accordance with law, they must be construed with refer-
ence to the observations made in T.R. Kapoor's case (supra) that the
D amendment to the Rule with retrospective effect by the Government
"was with the object of nullifying the decision of this Court in A.S.
Parmar's case''. Viewed thus, the Government's action in giving
promotions to the petitioners and others belatedly on 30.12.1987 can-
not be construed as due compliance of the Court's directions. Once )-.
that conclusion is reached the question would then be as to from which
E date the Government should have given promotions to the petitioners
and others in accordance with the directions of the Court. The latest
point of time in which the Government could not and should have
'
)o
given promotions would be the date on which the four months' time
prayed for by the Government on 24.2.1984 to give promotions to the
eligible Class II officers came to an end. The said period on 24.6.1984 ~·
F and the Government cannot escape its obligation to give promotions to
the officers in question with effect from that date.

In so far as the order passed in the contempt application on
4.1.1988 is concerned, it is needless to say that this Court did not go
into the question on that day as to whether the order of promotion
G passed on 30.12.1987 was in full compliance or only in partial
compliance of the Court's order dated 17.12.1986. In fact it is the
grievance of the petitioners that the State Government did not com- ~
municate to them the orders passed on 30.12.1987 and therefore they
had no opportunity to state before Court on 4.1.1988 that the Govern-
ment had acted mala fide in granting them promotion only with effect
H from 30.12.1987 and that the said order had been passed only to escape
T.R. KAPOOR v. STATE OF HARYANA (NATARAJAN, J.] 1089

the consequences of the contempt petition and not for fulfilling the A
directions given by the Court on 17.12.1986 to promote all eligible
persons in accordance with law. · -

We,.tb.erefore, direct the State Government to give promdtion to
all eligible Class II officers with effect from 24.6.-1984 and to give them B
all the consequential benefits arising therefrom. The benefits of
promotion and consequential benefits should iilso be given to all those
officers who were eligible for promotion on 24.6.1984 but who· have
retired since then The Government shall complete the exercise in two I
months' time from today.

To this extent the petition for directions will stand ordered. No .C
costs.

Y.Lal

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