This single judge writ petition challenges a committee recommendation maintaining separate seniority for Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerks. Relying on a Division Bench judgment, the Court held that such staff do not belong to the ministerial cadre and there are no promotional avenues, thus upholding the separate seniority list.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
WPSS No. 1448 of 2014 Hon’ble Manoj K. Tiwari, J.
Mr. Mahavir S. Tyagi, Advocate for the petitioner.
Mr. Pradeep Hairiya, Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand/ respondents.
Heard learned counsel for the parties.
Petitioner was appointed as Urdu Translatorcum-Junior Clerk vide order dated 05.09.1995 passed by Additional District Magistrate (Administration), Dehradun. He was subsequently absorbed on the post of Copyist at Vikasnagar vide order dated 16.07.1998. Subsequently, petitioner and one Mr. Ratan Singh serving as Junior Clerk in district Haridwar requested for their mutual transfer, their request was acceded to and both of them were transferred in place of each other vide order dated 12.01.1999.
Petitioner is aggrieved by the recommendation dated 11.12.2012 by a Committee constituted by District Magistrate, Haridwar, wherein it is provided that seniority of persons appointed as Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerk shall be maintained separately from other ministerial employees. This, according to the petitioner, is arbitrary and illegal. According to him, petitioner was absorbed on the post of Copyist and subsequently he was transferred to Haridwar against a post of Junior Clerk with a condition that he would be placed at the bottom of seniority list amongst junior clerks of district Haridwar.
Per contra, Mr. Pradeep Hairiya, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State submits that Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerks were appointed under U.P. Urdu Translator-cum- Junior Clerks Service Rules, 1994. He further submits that Urdu Translators were not the member of ministerial
cadre and they had a separate cadre altogether, therefore, their seniority has to be maintained separately. He further submits that the contention made on behalf of the petitioner that his seniority should be reckoned with other ministerial employees of Collectorate establishment is unsustainable in the eyes of law.
A Division Bench of this Court in WPSB No. 202 of 2013 has held that Urdu Translator-cumJunior Clerk do not belong to the ministerial cadre and they cannot claim promotion to the cadre posts available to ministerial employees who are governed by U.P. Districts Officers (Collectorates) Ministerial Service Rules, 1980. Relevant extract of the judgment rendered by Division Bench of this Court is reproduced below:
“3. The fact remains that the private respondents were mere Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerks. Under the said 1980 Rules, the Governor of the State, at no point of time, created any such post. Because the posts of the private respondents also had the words “Junior Clerk”, they contended and it was held by the Tribunal by and under the judgment under challenge that the private respondents were Junior Clerks within the meaning of the said 1980 Rules. The fact remains that the private respondents were primarily Urdu Translators and, secondarily, they were Junior Clerks. Their main function was Urdu translation. They were recruited for that purpose. Their cadre was governed by the Uttar Pradesh Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerk Service Rules, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the “1994 Rules”). At no stage, there was any decision to merge the cadres created by these two Rules. Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerks, who were part of the cadre created by the 1994 Rules, could not ask for promotion to the cadre posts available in the cadre created by the 1980 Rules. However, the fact remains that the Rules creating the posts of Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerk had no promotional avenues. Be that as it may, the cadre of Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerk has been declared a dying cadre. In the meantime, the Government has also come up with a policy to grant Assured Career Progression facility to existing Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerks working in the Government establishments.
A bare perusal of the judgment rendered by Division Bench of this Court leaves no room for doubt that Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerks are not part of ministerial cadre of Collectorate establishment.
It is further revealed from perusal of the said judgment that no promotional avenues are available to Urdu Translators and they can only claim benefit of Assured Career Progression Scheme.
In such view of the matter, this Court finds no infirmity in the recommendation made by committee on 11.12.2012 to treat the Urdu Translator-cumJunior Clerk as separate cadre.
Therefore, there is no scope of interference. Writ Petition fails and is dismissed.
(Manoj K. Tiwari, J.) Navin 09.05.2019
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the recommendation to maintain separate seniority for Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerks from other ministerial employees is legal.
Whether Urdu Translator-cum-Junior Clerks belong to the ministerial cadre of the Collectorate establishment.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Division Bench of this CourtRelied on¶9
WPSB No. 202 of 2013
1 provisions across 1 enactments
Petitioner
State of Uttarakhand
Manoj K. Tiwari
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
