1980 PLP (C (PLC(CS))

4. The appellant pressed the following main grounds before us in support of his appeal:‑ (i) The post of M. D. WASA, was of Grade 21 and his having been selected in preference to the respondents 3 to 8 implied that he had superseded them. (ii) The selection for the post of M. D. was made by a High Powered Committee headed by the A. C. B. who, in accordance with the Rules of Business, tell within the definition of the term "Chief Secretary" and thus had the same status as the Provincial Selection Board. The recommendation of this selecting body was further approved by the Chief Minister and as such his selection and posting as M. D. was tantamount to his selection for promotion from Grade 19 to 20. (iii) The Notification dated 10‑7‑76 fixing his terms and conditions allow ed him pay in N. P. S. 20 plus deputation pay etc. According to the deputation policy of the Government of Punjab, deputation pay etc., is allowed over the basic pay of the officers in the parent Department and as such it was quite clearly implied that lie had already been promoted to N. S. P. 20 in his parent Department. (iv) In pursuance of the promulgation of the Punjab Civil Servants (Change in Nomenclature and Abolition of Classes) Rules, 1974, all separate service cadres had been abolished and unified grades were to be brought in. The S. & G. A. D. had vide its letter dated 11‑2‑75 to all Administrative Secretaries asked for the lists of officers in Grade 17 and above, for the preparation of the gradation list of officers of Punjab Grades. His promotion from Grade 19 to 20 could thus riot be restricted to the solitary post of Chief Engineer in the P. H. E. Department. He was therefore, clearly promoted to Grade 20 when appointed against the ex‑Cadre post.

5. The Respondents made the following main points against the asser tions of the appellant:‑ (i) The service cadres had not in fact been unified and the promotion of the various service groups were confined to the vacancies in their own line. (ii) Even if it may be considered for the sake of argument that all provincial cadres had been merged, the past of M. D. WASA was not a provincial service post. (iii) The selection of the appellant for the post of M. D. could not be considered as a selection for promotion from Grade 19 to Grade 20 because of the following reasons:‑ (a) The Sub‑Committee which made the selection was created for the purpose of finding a suitable person for appointment to a specified post of M. D. WASA. Mr. M. Fazal Qureshi was already a Chief Engineer in Grade 20 and his name having also been considered clearly shows that the matter before the Sub‑Committee was not that of promotion from Grades 19 to 20. (b) This Sub‑Committee could not be deemed to be Provincial Selection Board because besides the fact that it was designated as a "Sub Committee" its constitution also did not coincide with that of the Pro vincial Selection Board which was headed by Chief Minister and also included the Chief Secretary and the A. C. B., S. &. G. A. D. both as its Members. Some other members of the Provincial Selection Board were not included where as the Director‑General, L. D. A., who had nothing to do with the Provincial Selection Board was a member of this Sub‑Committee. (c) The criteria of "Project experience" merited consideration purely for appointment against the post of M. D. WASA, and not for a normal selection for promotion from Grade 19 to Grade

20. The Provincial Selection Board which met recently for promotion of some more officers of NPS 19 of PNE Department to Grade 20 did not even consider the name of the appellant (who has since been repatriated from W. A. S. A. L. D. A.) because he is quite low in the order of seniority. (v) The appellant was never premoted to NPS 20 in the Provincial Government and his posting on deputation to any higher post in an outside agency cannot be considered as promotion. (vi) The provision of pay in N. P. S. 20 given in the terms and conditions for his deputation to WASA relates only to his "deputation to W. A. S. A." His claim that this pay could only be his basic pay in the parent Department is unsupportable as the appointing authority had the powers under rule 15 of Punjab Civil Servants (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1974, to allow any terms and condi tions in consultation with the borrowing organization. There was no bar against the Government to allow any terms and conditions which may be at variance with the general policy. (vii) Since the post of M. D. was not a provincial post the appellant had never been a "civil servant" in Grade 20.

6. The learned Government Pleader also raised the issue of incompetence of the appeal on the ground that there had in fact been no such order of which the appellant could be aggrieved. According to him there was no seniority list of Grade 20 Officers from where the exclusion of the appellant's name could have been impugned and even otherwise if for the sake of arguments it may be considered that the appellant had been promoted to Grade 20, his name had to be continued to be shown in the seniority as long as he was not substantively absorbed in Grade 20.

7. With regard to a point raised by the Respondents that the promo tions were restricted to the posts within the various functional groups the appellant stated that during the pendency of this appeal, Mr. Mazhar ul Haq (respondent No. 4) after his appointment as D. M. WASA, vide notification dated 12‑8‑78 had now been promoted to Grade 20 vide notification dated 8‑2‑79 by the S&GAD. He further stated that respondent No. 5 Mr. Mazih Ullah Khan who is currently on deputation to Multan Develop ment Authority was also being promoted in spite of the fact that the only post of Chief Engineer, P. H. N. D. was occupied by respondent No.

3. He thus argued that promotion outside the cadre was also possible and he may be deemed to have been so promoted on his being posted as M. D. WASA.

8. We have heard detailed arguments of all the parties concerned. In our view the Sub‑Committee which selected the appellant for appointment as M. D. WASA could not be deemed to be the Provincial Selection Board which had quite a different constitution. Thus Sub‑Committee was entrusted with selecting a suitable person for a specific post and its proceed ings cannot be deemed to be a selection for a regular promotion of officers from Grade 19 to

20. The notification dated 10‑7‑76 by L G & S W Department on which the appellant relied heavily to prove that the basic pay was in N. P. S. 20 and as such he was already promoted to N. P. S. 20 in his parent department only lays down his terms and conditions for the duration he was on deputation as M. D. WASA in the L. D. A. and it could not be deemed to prove that he had been promoted to Grade 20 in his parent Department. The appellant has not been able to produce before us any order of the Government specifically promoting him from Grade 19 to

20. The post of M. D. was admittedly not only Ex‑Cadre post but was a post outside the sphere of the Provincial Services and as such could not be of any benefit to the appellant even if all separate provincial. cadres had in actual fact been abolished and merged into one. He cannot, therefore, be deemed to have been promoted to Grade 20 in an implied manner as claimed by him.

9. The reference to the promotion of Mr. Masharul Haq to Grade 20 vide Notification of 8‑2‑79 by the S&GAD in our view is not relevant to the merits of this case, nor do we feel called upon to comment on the promotion of Mr. Nashar‑ul‑Haq. Admittedly no such order was passed in favour of the appellant. It was common ground that no seniority list of Grade 20 officers had beer. issued. Argument of the Government Pleader that even if the appellant had been promoted to Grade 20 his name had to appear in the impugned seniority list of Grade 19 officers at his original seniority vis‑a‑vis the respondents till such time he was ultimately substantively absorbed in Grade 20 was also not rebutted.

10. Having found that the appellant had never been promoted by the provincial Government to N. P. S. 20, the appeal is dismissed. There will be no orders as to costs. Appeal dismissed.