Punjab-Haryana High Court
R.S.Rana And Others vs The Financial Commissioner And ... on 23 April, 2012
Author: Augustine George Masih
Bench: Augustine George Masih
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH.
CWP No. 1742 of 2011
Date of Decision : April 23, 2012
R.S.Rana and others
.... PETITIONERS
Vs.
The Financial Commissioner and Secretary to Govt. of Haryana and
others
..... RESPONDENTS
CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH
Present : Mr. Raj Mohan Singh, Advocate,
for the petitioners.
AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, J. (ORAL)
Petitioners have approached this Court praying for a writ of mandamus directing respondents to fix seniority of petitioners on the post of Assistant Excise and Taxation officers from the date the post of District Ministerial Staff Cadre became available and to revise further seniority of the petitioners on the post of Excise and Taxation Officers with all deemed benefits of promotion etc. w.e.f. the date of revision.
It is the contention of the counsel for the petitioners that vide order dated 10.09.2004 (Annexure P-2), after the circulation of CWP No. 1742 of 2011 -2- the tentative seniority list of the post of Excise and Taxation Officers, the objections raised by the petitioners were considered and decided. In this very order, it has been observed that there has been violation of the quota but as a consequence thereof, the benefits, which the petitioners were entitled to, have not been granted to them and the seniority list has been wrongly prepared. Petitioners have not been granted their due benefits and thus, the seniority list being in violation of the statutory Rule and the admitted position on the part of the respondents, the same cannot sustain. Counsel contends that the petitioners were not aware of this fact and it is in the year 2010 when information under the Right to Information Act was sought by the petitioners that irregularity and illegality came to the notice of the petitioners, which led to the filing of the present writ petition.
I have considered the submissions made by the counsel for the petitioners.
It is not in dispute that tentative seniority list was circulated by the department, against which the petitioners filed objections, which were duly considered by the competent authority and the final seniority list, after considering the objections of the petitioners, was prepared and circulated vide order dated 10.09.2004. Petitioners, if aggrieved against the said fixation of seniority, should have agitated the same at that moment. They slept over the matter and now explanation for delay put forth by the petitioners is that they have sought CWP No. 1742 of 2011 -3- information under the Right to Information Act and that too, in the year 2010 when some of the persons, who the petitioners allege have been shown junior to them, stand promoted to the post of Excise and Taxation Officers. There is no explanation to the delay in approaching the Court by way of the present writ petition except that they have sought information in the year 2010 and on obtaining the same, have filed the present writ petition. This contention of the counsel for the petitioners cannot be accepted as by now, it is a settled proposition of law that the remedy should be availed of at the time when the cause of action accrued. In any case, the petitioners have now woken up from slumber only after when the persons, who have been placed senior to them in the seniority list, have been promoted to the post of Excise and Taxation Officers. This itself shows that the petitioners have accepted order dated 10.09.2004 fixing their seniority. At this belated stage, settled matters cannot be raked up and delay in approaching the Court in itself extinguishes their claim as delay kills the cause of action itself being stale.
Dismissed.
(AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH )
April 23, 2012 JUDGE