The High Court of Karnataka has declared as unconstitutional the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Common Recruitment of Officers and Employees) Rules, 2011, which allows promotion filling up of 25% of the posts of Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil) by promotion even from the cadre of Junior Engineer (Civil).
The promotion to the post of Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) under KMC (CRO and E) Rules, 2011 can be granted only from the feeder cadre/lower cadre, that is from the post of Assistant Engineer (AE) only, the court made it clear.
Justice E.S. Indiresh passed the order while allowing the petitions filed by Rangaramu M.R and several other assistant engineers working in various urban local bodies. The petitioners had questioned the legality of change made in the rule in 2011 to fill up 25% the posts of AEE from the cadre of Junior Engineer (JE), who are a cadre lower than the cadre of AEs.
As the pay scales of the JE and the AE as per Rules, 2011 are different, the JE and AE cannot be equated while promoting to the post of AEE, the court said.
“In the event, 25% from the cadre of JEs, who have put in a service of not less than five years, are promoted to the post of AEE, bypassing the promotion of AEs, same would curtail/ deprive the legal right of such of 25% of the AEs, who are front runners for promotion, based on the educational qualification and pay scale,” the court observed.
Therefore, the court, said that the classification made under Rules, 2011, providing promotion to the post of AEE from the cadre of JE in an extent of 25% is contrary to law and Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.
The the feeder channel for promotion to the post of AEE is from the cadre of AE alone and not the from cadre of JE in view of different pay-scales, cadre and educational qualification attached to the posts of AE and JE, the Court said.
Meanwhile, the court also directed the government to fill of the vacancies in the post of AEE only from the post of AE within weeks.
