BENGALURU: In a far-reaching order, the Karnataka High Court said the post of assistant engineer (AE) is a feeder cadre for promotion to the post of assistant executive engineer (AEE) and not the junior engineer (JE).
Holding that the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Common Recruitment of Officers and Employees) Rules, 2011 providing promotion for filling up 25 per cent of the post of AEE (Civil) from the cadre of JE (Civil) is unconstitutional and contrary to Articles 14 and 16 of the constitution, Justice ES Indiresh said the feeder channel for promotion to the post of AEE (Group-A) is AE (Group-B) alone and not the JE (Group-C), because of different pay scales, cadre and educational qualification.
Allowing a batch of petitions filed by Rangaramu MR and several others, the judge directed the state government to grant promotion to the post of AEE (Group-A) only from the feeder cadre/lower cadre which is from the post of AE (Group-B) and fill up AEE vacancies as per terms of the order within eight weeks from the date of receipt of the order.
“I am of the view that the experience cannot be a sole factor to be considered as a criterion to substitute the educational qualifications as well as pay scale equations, which are distinct. Therefore, the Legislative intent in Rule 2(t) of the Rules, 2011 is that, the promotion has to be made only to a higher post or higher grade and the said definition does not say about the educational criterion as the basis for promotional avenues. Therefore, in the event, 25 per cent of the cadre of JEs, who have put in service for not less than five years, are promoted to the post of AEE, bypassing the promotion of AE, the same would curtail/deprive the legal right of such of 25 per cent of the AEs, the frontrunners for promotion,” the judge said.
“I am also well aware of the fact that this court is not concerned with practicability or the wisdom of policies of the government, however, those aspects have to be microscopically considered under the realm of Article 14 of the Constitution. That is to say if such policies are only concerned with illegality,
under such circumstances, the court has to exercise its judicial review,” he said.