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The Judgments of the Court was delivered by KASLIWAL, J. Special leave granted in all the above cases.

All the above appeals are disposed of by a common order, as identical questions of law are involved in these cases. For the purpose of understanding the controversy raised in all these cases, we are stating the facts of appeal arising out of special leave petition No. 2507 of 1992. The appellants and the private respondents were Sub- Engineers in Public Health Engineering Department of Government of Madhya Pradesh. They are governed by Madhya Pradesh Public Health Engineering (Gazetted) Service Rules 1980 (hereinafter referred to as `the Rules'). Under Schedule IV of the Rules, the next higher post for promotion from the post of Sub-Engineers in Civil or Mechanical is the post of Assistant Engineers. The minimum period for Sub- Engineer to qualify for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer is 12 years for diploma-holders and 8 years for such Sub-Engineers who obtain degree of graduation in the course of service. Earlier 60 per cent quota for the posts of Assistant Engineers was fixed by direct recruitment and 40 percent by promotion from the Sub-Engineers, Draftsman and Head Draftsman. By and executive order dated 7.2.1989, quota of direct recruitment was reduced to 50 percent and the quota by promotion increased to 50 per cent. This 50 per cent quota by promotion with which we are concerned in the above cases has been sub-divided in the following manner:-

(i) Diploma holder Sub-Engineers completing 12 years of service 35%
(ii) Draftsman & Head Draftsman completing 12 years of service 5%
(iii) Graduate Sub-Engineers completing 8 years of service 10% In the above cases we are now concerned with the third category of cases which deal with the promotion of Graduate Sub-Engineers Completing 8 years of service.

The State Government had been applying the principle of counting the seniority of Graduate Sub-Engineers from the date of their continuous officiation irrespective of the date on which such diploma-holder Sub-Engineer acquired degree of graduation in engineering. On this basis, the Departmental promotion Committee took into consideration 30 Graduate Sub-Engineers for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineers. The D.P.C. by order dated 4.12.1989 prepared a panel of 18 Graduate Sub-Engineers found suitable for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer. The Government by order dated 6.12.1989 promoted M.B. Joshi and six others as Assistant Engineer who are appellants in appeal arising out of special leave petition No. 2507 of 1992. The private respondents in this appeal filed application No. 140/90 in Madhya Pradesh Administrative Tribunal, Jabalpur challenging the aforesaid orders dated 4.12.1989 and 6.12.1989. The contention of these persons before the Tribunal was that the seniority for the purpose of promotion to the post of Assistant Engineers in 10 per cent quota of Graduate Sub-Engineers completing 8 years of service ought to have been considered from the date of attaining the Graduate degree of engineering and not from the date of appointment as sub-Engineer. The Tribunal placing reliance on its earlier decision in T.A. No. 771/88 Sanaulla Sunzani v. State of M.P. & 5 others, held that the seniority of diploma-holder Sub-Engineers acquiring the degrees of graduation in engineering for inclusion in the gradation list of Sub-Engineers should be counted from the dates of acquisition of graduation in engineering or of any other equivalent degree and not from the dates of their initial entries as Sub-Engineers. Applying to aforesaid principle laid down in Sanaulla's case, the Tribunal held that the applicants (private respondents in the appeal) having secured the degrees in engineering prior to respondents 3 to 9 (the appellants in the appeal) will rank higher in the gradation list of Graduate Sub-Engineers. The Tribunal as such allowed the petition filed before them and directed the State Government and Engineer-in-Chief, Public Health Engineering Department to convene a special D.P.C. to consider applicants for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineers as on 4.12.1989 and if found suitable for promotion, promote them and give them seniority over respondents 3 to 9 within 4 months of the date of receipt of the order.

Mr. S.S. Ray, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants contended that so far as the post of Sub-Engineers is concerned, the minimum qualification prescribed is diploma-holder. Initially, in the Public Health Engineering Department till 1980, fresh degree- holders used to get job directly as Assistant Engineers and the diploma-holders used to be appointed as Sub-Engineers. Thereafter on account of unemployment, the degree-holders also started seeking appointments as Sub-Engineers. However, so far as the post of sub-Engineer was concerned, the seniority was determined on the basis of the date of appointment on the post of Sub-Engineer irrespective of the fact that the person joining such post was a degree-holder or a diploma-holder. The scale of pay was similar and the diploma-holder and degree-holder Sub-Engineers stood on the same footing and their gradation list was prepared on the basis of length of service in the cadre of Sub-Engineers. The next higher post for promotion from the post of Sub- Engineer is the post of Assistant Engineer. Every diploma- holder sub-Engineer became eligible for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer after having completed 12 years of service. The Government however, considered it proper to reduce this period of 12 years to 8 years in case of such diploma-holder Sub-Engineers who obtained a degree of engineering during the continuance of their service as Sub- Engineer as a sort of incentive to improve the qualification while continuing in service. It was thus, submitted by Mr. Ray that it is a well-settled principle of service jurisprudence that where the rules are silent, the seniority is always determined on the basis of length of service amongst the employees appointed on a similar post in the same cadre. It was thus, submitted that obtaining a degree during the continuation of service as Sub-Engineer simply accelerated the entitlement to promotion for the post of Assistant Engineer from 12 years to 8 years but it did not in any manner disturb the seniority which was already settled on the basis of length of service on the post of Sub-Engineer. It was submitted that the D.P.C. rightly prepared the panel of selection and the Government took a correct decision in issuing the order dated 6.12.1989.
"1. Section Officers possessing a recognised Degree in Civil Engineering or equivalent with three years' service in the grade failing which Section Officers holding Diploma in Civil Engineering with six years' service in the grade-50 percent.
2. Section Officers possessing a recognised Diploma in Civil Engineering with six years' service in the grade-50 per cent."

The dispute in the above case was whether a diploma- holder Junior Engineer who obtains a degree while in service becomes eligible for appointment as Assistant Engineer by promotion on completion of three Years' service including therein the period of service prior to obtaining the degree or the three years' service including therein the period of service prior to obtaining the degree or the three years' service as a degree-holder for this purpose is to be reckoned from the date he obtains the degree. The Central Administrative Tribunal held that the applicants diploma- holders were entitled to be considered for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer on par with the other degree- holder Junior Engineers taking due note of their total length other degree-holder junior Engineers taking due note of their total length of service rendered in the grade of Junior Engineers taking due note of their total length of service rendered in the grade of grade of junior of Junior Engineer. Such a consideration should be alongside other Junior Engineers who might have acquired the necessary degree qualification earlier than the applicants, while holding the post of Junior Engineer. This Court allowed the appeal and set aside the above order of the Tribunal. While allowing the appeal, this Court held as under: