STATE OF U.P. & ORS. versus MAHESH NARAIN ETC

Citation: [2013] 4 S.C.R. 534 · Decided: 06-03-2013 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: T.S. THAKUR · Disposal: Dismissed

Cited by 2 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

A 
B 
[2013] 4 S.C.R. 534 
STATE OF U.P. & ORS. 
v. 
MAHESH NARAIN ETC. 
(Civil Appeal Nos. 2208-2209 of 2013) 
MARCH 06, 2013 
[T.S. THAKUR AND GYAN SUDHA MISRA, JJ.] 
Service Law -
Promotion -
Eligibility -
Held: 
Respondents were already holding the post of Scientific 
C Officer and hence eligible to the promoted quota of 25% posts 
of Assistant Director after completion of five years of service 
as Scientific Officers in terms of the Rules of 1987 -
Subsequent amendment of 1990 laying down to fill in all the 
posts of Assistant Director by direct recruitment could not be 
D applied in case of the respondents - If five years of service 
is counted from the date of initial promotion (to the post of 
Scientific Officer) until publication of amended Rules of 1990, 
the respondents had already completed five years of service 
on the post of Scientific Officer making them eligible for further 
E promotion of Assistant Director under the 25% promotion 
quota - Even if respondents had not completed five years of 
experience on the post of Scientific Officer for any reason, 
they had the statutory protection and benefit of the proviso to 
Rule 5 of the 1987 rules which provided that where permanent 
F scientific officers were not available for absorption under the 
25% quota, such temporary and officiating personnel were 
also to be considered for promotion to the said posts who were 
functioning on permanent basis on the next lower post- U.P. 
Forensic Science Laboratories Technical Officers Service 
G Rules, 1987 -
rr.5 and 16 -
U.P. Forensic Science 
Laboratories Technical Officers' Service (First Amendment) 
Rules 1990. 
Service Law - Service rules - Applicability - Effective 
date - Held: The rules cannot be made effective from the 
H 
534 
STATE OF U.P. & ORS. v. MAHESH NARAIN ETC. 
535 
date of its preparation but will attain legal sanctity and hence 
A 
capable of enforcement only when the rules are made 
effective - The date on which the rules is to be made effective 
would be the date when the rules are published vide the 
gazette notification. 
Writ petitions were filed by the appellant/State of U.P. 
against the judgment passed by the State Public 
Services Tribunal directing the State of U.P. to consider 
the case of the respondents for promotion on the post 
B 
of Assistant Director and grant them all consequential 
C 
benefits if found suitable. 
The High Court, by the impugned judgment, 
dismissed the writ petitions after recording a finding that 
the Rules of U.P. Forensic Science Laboratories 
Technical Officers' Service (First Amendment) Rules 1990 
D 
dated 15.9.1990 which were published in the U.P. 
Government Gazette on 20.10.1990 will be deemed to be 
enforced from the date when they were duly published 
in the U.P. Government Gazette and not from the date 
when the rules were prepared and passed by the 
E 
Government. As a consequence of this finding, it was 
held by the High Court that the Respondent/claimant-
officials were duly eligible and qualified for consideration 
of their claim for promotion on the posts of Assistant 
Director Forensic Science as they had acquired the 
F 
requisite years of experience for promotion by the time 
the rules were pubiished in the gazette. 
Dismissing the appeals, the Court 
HELD: 1.1. The respondents were promoted as 
G 
Scientific Officer on 16.9.1985 which they joined on 
20.9.1985. No doubt this promotion order indicated that 
the promotion was to remain effective only for a period 
of one year or until the U.P. Forensic Science 
Laboratories Technical Officers Service Rules, 1987 were 
H 
536 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
(2013] 4 S.C.R. 
A published but thereafter when the Rules of 1987 were 
finally published, it provided that 25% post of the total 
posts of promotion were to be filled in from amongst the 
permanent Scientific Officers having experience of five 
years of service. Hence if the five years of service is 
s counted from the date of initial promotion until 
publication of amended Rules of 1990, the respondents 
had already completed five years of service on the post 
of Scientific Officer making them eligible for further 
promotion of Assistant Director under the 25% 
C promotion quota to be filled by the departmental 
candidates possessing the required experience of five 
years. The rules cannot be held to be made effective from 
the date of its preparation but will attain legal sanctity and 
hence capable of enforcement only when the rules are 
0

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