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J U D G M E N T CONTEMPT PETITION (C) NO.248 OF 2007 IN I.A. NO. 16 IN CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4339 OF 1995 V.S. SIRPUKAR, J

1. This is a Contempt Petition field by Promotee Telecom Engineers Forum and others. They complain that the Department of Telecommunications has flouted the judgment and directions dated 28.9.2006. The observations on which the petitioners rely are as follows:

The question then arises as to whether the applicants can claim the protection of their seniority and consequent promotion on the basis of observations and the clarification contained in the judgment of this Court reported in (2000) 9 SCC 71. Having considered all aspects of the matter, we are satisfied that those whose cases stand on the same footing as that of Parmanand Lal cannot now be adversely affected by re-determination of their seniority to their disadvantage relying on the later judgment of this Court in C.A. No. 4339 of 1995 reported in (1997) 10 SCC 226 (supra) as affirmed by this Court in its judgment reported in (2000) 9 SCC 71 (supra).
This Court has clearly clarified the position in its aforesaid judgment. The observations made by this Court while disposing of the appeal of Parmanand Lal are also pertinent. This Court clearly laid down the principle that the seniority fixed on the basis of the directions of this Court which had attained finality is not liable to be altered by virtue of a different interpretation being given for fixation of seniority by different benches of Tribunal. Consequently, the promotions already effected on the basis of seniority determined in accordance with the principles laid down in the judgment of the Allahabad High Court cannot be altered.
5. In their petition, the petitioners have made the reference to the rules called Telegraph Engineering Service Class-II Recruitment Rules, 1966 framed in exercise of powers conferred by the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India and to the instructions contained in paragraph 206 of the Post and Telegraph Manual (P&T Manual), Volume IV. It is then asserted that as per these rules, those who had passed the departmental qualifying examination earlier were ranked senior as a group to those who passed the examination subsequently. The change brought in by 1966 Rules was also referred to. A reference is then made to the writ petition filed by one Parmanand Lal of 1966 batch and Brij Mohan of 1965 batch who had qualified in the examinations held in 1974 complaining against their placing in the eligibility list below the last man who qualified the examination in 1975. It is then stated that the High Court of Allahabad allowed the writ petition granting relief to Parmanand Lal and Brij Mohan.

7. The petitioners then refer to the judgment delivered by this Court on 26.4.2000 in Union of India vs. Madras Telephone SC & ST Social Welfare Association reported in 2000(9) SCC 71 wherein this Court had taken a view whereby this Court did not approve of the view of the Allahabad High Court and held that the statutory rules alone would govern the preparation of eligibility lists and the instructions in paragraph 206 of the P&T Manual would be of no consequence. The petitioners, however, assert that this Court was pleased to protect those persons like the petitioners herein who had already obtained the judgments in their favour and which judgments had obtained finality. The petitioners then assert that in the year 2001 when the seniority lists were revised, the department protected the seniority of Parmanand Lal by placing him above Shri Biswanath Pradhan who had passed the examination after Shri Parmanand Lal. They, however, further complain that the same principle was not applied and all the petitioners were superseded by various persons including Shri M.R. Belani, Shri B.C. Biradar and Shri A.V. Kulkarni who had passed the examination after the petitioners.