S.K. Sood v. M/S Indraprastha Power Generation Co. Ltd.

1. By this writ petition filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, petitioner, an employee of the respondent Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) (now M/s Indraprastha Power Generation Co. Ltd.), seeks the benefit of promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer-AE (Electronics) w.e.f 31.10.1994. Petitioner claims promotion on the ground that the feeder cadre for the post of AE (Electronics) is Foreman (Electronics) and petitioner’s post of Supervisor (Electronics) was 2015:DHC:2276 designated as the post of Foreman (Electronics) vide orders dated 31.10.1994 and 16.11.1994 filed as Annexures P-4 and P-5 to the writ petition.

2. The defence of the respondent is simple and which is that the orders which the petitioner relies upon as Annexures P-4 and P-5 were only internal office orders and these orders never got concurrence of the requisite authorities by notification of these orders in the Official Gazette. The relevant averments made by the respondent in the counter-affidavit read as under:- “Grounds (b) to (j) are wrong and denied. This has already been clarified in the earlier paragraphs as mentioned earlier that the rules and orders have not been gazetted and the UPSC concurrence has also not been received as such the allegation of the petitioner is wrong. The petitioner has no claim to the post of A.E./AXEN (M/E) till the amendments by the Board are approved by the UPSC and notified in the official gazette by the Govt. of N.C.T. of Delhi. xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx

4. That as provided under Section 79(c) read with (k) of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948, the Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, make regulations in respect of ………duties of officers and other employees of the Board and their salaries, allowances and other conditions of service……any other mater arisen out of the Board’s functions, under this Act, for which it is necessary and expedient to make regulations.”

3. Counsel for the petitioner has not been able to show to me that the orders Annexures P-4 and P-5 have been duly notified as required under the provisions of Section 79(c) read with (k) of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948, and as per which provisions, the rules become applicable only by their notification in the Official Gazette. The Electricity Board functioning under the Electricity (Supply) Act, is bound by the provisions of the Act and once the Act requires that notifications have to be issued in the Official Gazette for making of regulations, unless the rules/regulations are gazetted, the same would not have the force of law.

4. In view of the above, since the relevant orders have not been notified, petitioner cannot claim equivalence of the post of Supervisor (Electronics) to the post of Foreman (Electronics), and therefore, since the applicable rules for the appointment to the post of AE (Electronics) required persons to have a degree in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering and petitioner did not have this degree but only had a degree in Electronics, petitioner cannot be considered for promotion to the post of AE (Electronics).

5. It may be noted that it is even not the case of the petitioner that the orders Annexures P-4 and P-5 have been implemented by notifying the same and other persons have got benefits of the orders but the petitioner has not got the benefit of promotion. Once no one has been given benefit of the un-notified and unapproved orders Annexures P-4 and P-5, petitioner is also not entitled to the benefits of these orders including of promotion.

6. Dismissed.

MARCH 09, 2015 VALMIKI J. MEHTA, J. ib