IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT

CHANDIGARH

CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. ______ OF 2024

MEMO OF PARTIES

1. Anil Kumar, S/o Sh. Ramanand, Aged 54, R/o Village

and Post Office Beri, Ward No. 3, Pana Hindyan, District
Jhajjar, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. 3956-6820-7076, Mobile No. 80595-
76776.
2. Mukesh Kumar, S/o Sh. Ram Kumar, Aged __ Years,
R/o House No. 939 (477/1), Prem Nagar,
Chattargarhpatti, Chattargarh, Sirsa, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. 8260-7411-4951, Mobile No. ____.
3. Sonu Saini, S/o Sh. Lajja Ram, Aged ___ Years, R/o
Village Sultanpur, Near Paanch Pir, Ambala City,
Ambala, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. 4400-5679-3696, Mobile No. ____.
4. Sandeep Kumar, S/o Hira Singh, Aged ___ Years, R/o
Village and Post Office Palvi, Panihara, District
Mahendergarh, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. 2106-6250-5116, Mobile No. ____.
5. Nand Kishor, S/o Sh. Ramphal, Aged ___ Years, R/o
Village and Post Office Dewas, District Mahendergarh,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. 3116-7757-5341, Mobile No. ____.
6. Parminder Singh, S/o Sh. Arjun Singh, Aged ___ Years,
R/o House No. 6, Salarpur Road, Sabzi Mandi, Ward No.
20, Gobindgarh, Thanesar, District Kurukshetra,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. 94164-13206.
7. Shakti Raj, S/o Sh. Manphool Singh, Aged ___ Years,
R/o Village Neemli, District Bhiwani, Haryana.
 Aadhaar Card No. 5680-3587-9865, Mobile No. ____.
8. Kuldeep Singh, S/o Sh. Nirender Singh, Aged ___
Years, R/o House No. 585, Patel Nagar, Ward No. 10,
Narwana, District Jind, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. 6767-3079-1576, Mobile No. 94661-
55255.
9. Jatin Dhamija, S/o Sh. Subhash Dhamija, Aged ___
Years, R/o House No. 65, Sector-16, Near Community
Centre, Hisar, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
10. Ankit Mann, S/o Sh. Dalbir Singh, Aged ___ Years, R/o
House No. 2154, Sector-7, Urban Estate Karnal,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
11. Akshay Chhabra, S/o Sh. Surinder Kumar, Aged ___
Years, R/o House No. 1172/23, DLF Colony, Rohtak,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
12. Shikha Bansal, D/o Sh. Anil K. Bansal, Aged __ Years,
R/o House No. 993, Sector-21, Panchkula, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
13. Amit, S/o Sh. Ranbir Singh, Aged __ Years, R/o House
No. 2969, Urban Estate, Jind, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
14. Nitish Chandel, S/o Sh. Naresh Singh, Aged ___ Years,
R/o House No. 12-P, Sector-25, Panchkula, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
15. Mahender Singh, S/o Sh. Dharampal, Aged ___ Years,
R/o Village Chamar Khera, Tehsil Barwala, District
Hisar, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
16. Vivek Gupta, S/o Sh. Ramesh Kumar, Aged ___ Years,
R/o Anaj Mandi, Bhuna, District Fatehabad, Haryana.
 Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
17. Yogesh Kumar Sharan, S/o Sh. Deva Singh, Aged __
Years, R/o House No. 637/35, Janta Colony, Rohtak,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
18. Ankit, S/o Sh. Narender Singh, Aged __ Years, R/o
House No. 940, Sector-14, Sonepat, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
19. Piryawart, D/o Sh. Jaswant, Aged ___ Years, R/o Village
and Post Officer Ghillour Kalan, Rohtak, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
20. Ajay Ahlawat, S/o Sh. Dayanand, Aged ____ Years, R/o
House No. 42, Ward No. 8, Basant Vihar, Gannaur
Mandi, District Sonepat, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
21. Deepanshu, S/o Sh. Om Parkash, Aged ___ Years, R/o
House No. 137, DC Colony, Near Barnala Road, Sirsa,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
22. Ajay Dev, S/o Sh. Amar Dass, Aged __ Years, R/o House
No. 449, Subhash Colony, Ballabgarh, District
Faridabad, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
23. Satyendra, S/o Sh. Dharampal, Aged ___ Years, R/o
House No. 20, Anand Nagar, Ambala Cantt., Ambala,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
24. Anubhav Bhankur, S/o Sh. Ishwar Singh, Aged ___
Years, R/o House No. 233, Sector-8, Part II, Karnal,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
25. Monika Singh, D/o Sh. Kapoor Singh, Aged __ Years,
R/o House No. A-2, Power House Colony, Mehrauli
 Road, Gurugram, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
26. Chander Mohan, S/o Sh. Ashwani Kumar, Aged ___
Years, R/o Village and Post Office Amin, Tehsil
Thanesar, District Kurukshetra, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
27. Vikas Sheel Bisyan, S/o Sh. Balbir Singh, Aged ___
Years, R/o House No. D-115, Ashok Vihar, Mayur Lane,
Gurugram, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
28. Abhishek Parocha, S/o Sh. Rajender Kumar, Aged ___
Years, R/o House No. 520, Sector-9, Panchkula,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
29. Himanshu Chalia, S/o Sh. Ranbir Singh, Aged ____
Years, R/o House No. 21/381, Barahi Road,
Bhadurgarh, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
30. Dharmender, S/o Sh. Gurmukh Singh, Aged ___ Years,
R/o Village Abupur, Post Office Kurali, Naraingarh,
District Ambala, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
31. Maninder Singh, S/o Sh. Kuldeep Singh, Aged ___
Years, R/o House No. 46, Sector-15, Panchkula,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
32. Saurabh, S/o Sh. Dharam Pal, Aged ___ Years, R/o
Surjewala Bhawan, Near Railway Road, Narwana,
District Jind, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
33. Alisha, D/o Sh. Karan Singh, Aged ___ Years, R/o House
No. 2784-P, Sector-21, Panchkula, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
34. Ashutosh Narwal, S/o Sh. Azad Singh Narwal, Aged __
Years, R/o Village and Post Office Rair Kalan, District
Panipat, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
35. Sandhir Kumar, S/o Sh. Raj Kumar, Aged ___ Years,
R/o House No. 1261-F, New Housing Board, Sector-19,
Panchkula, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
36. Sandeep, S/o Sh. Ram Kishan, Aged ____ Years, R/o
House No. 151, Shiv Block, Near Bharat Nagar, Bhiwani,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
37. Deepak Kumar, S/o Sh. Shyam Lal, Aged ___ Years,
R/o Village and Post Office Khungai, District Jhajjar,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
38. Parveen Kumar, S/o Sh. Girdhari Lal, Aged ___ Years,
R/o House No. 13/867, Gali Jandi Wali, Khairpur Colony,
Sirsa, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
39. Bhim Sain, S/o Sh. Sadhu Ram, Aged ___ Years, R/o
Village and Post Office Chakkan, Tehsil Rania, District
Sirsa, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
40. Manoj Verma, S/o Sh. Banwari Lal, Aged ___ Years, R/o
House No. 672/31, Laxman Vihar, Phase II, Gali No. 4,
Gurugram, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
41. Rakesh Kumar, S/o Sh. Satya Parkash, Aged ___ Years,
R/o House No. 101, Village Badodevi, Tehsil Brawala,
District Hisar, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
42. Vikas, S/o Sh. Mange Ram, Aged ___ Years, R/o House
 No. 114, G Block, Model Town Extension, Hisar,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
43. Ravinder Kumar, S/o Sh. Joginder Singh, Aged __
Years, R/o Village Ismailpur, Post Office Devdhar,
District Yamunanagar, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
44. Manish Yadav, S/o Sh. Yudhveer Singh, Aged ___
Years, R/o House No. 1941, Sector-4, Rewari, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
45. Riyaj Ahmed, S/o Sh. Akil Ahmed, Aged __ Years, R/o
Village Papra, Tehsil Punhana, District Nuh, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
46. Harbir Singh, S/o Sh. Rajbir Singh, Aged ___ Years, R/o
Ward No. 3, Pana Hindyan, Tehsil Beri, District Jhajjar,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
47. Satish Kumar, S/o Sh. Chandi Ram, Aged ____ Years,
R/o Village and Post Office Naina, District Kaithal,
Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
48. Suman Kumari, D/o Sh. Roshan Lal, Aged __ Years, R/o
House No. 121, Village and Post Office Gorchhi, District
Hisar, Haryana.
Aadhaar Card No. _____, Mobile No. ____.
.....Petitioners
Versus
1. State of Haryana, through Additional Chief Secretary to

Government of Haryana, Irrigation and Water

Resources Department, Haryana Civil Secretariat,

Chandigarh.
2. Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

3. Om Dutt, Sub Divisional Officer, through Engineer-in-

Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources Department,

Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5, Panchkula,

Haryana.

4. Naveen Kumar, Sub Divisional Officer, through

Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

5. Vinod Kumar, Sub Divisional Officer, through Engineer-

in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources Department,

Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5, Panchkula,

Haryana.

6. Devender Singh, Sub Divisional Officer, through

Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

7. Gopal, Sub Divisional Officer, through Engineer-in-

Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources Department,

Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5, Panchkula,

Haryana.

8. Jeet Ram, Sub Divisional Officer, through Engineer-in-

Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources Department,

 Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5, Panchkula,

Haryana.

9. Chandan Singh, Sub Divisional Officer, through

Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

10. Ashok Kumar, Sub Divisional Officer, through Engineer-

in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources Department,

Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5, Panchkula,

Haryana.

11. Rajesh Kumar, Sub Divisional Officer, through

Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

12. Sukhpal, Sub Divisional Officer, through Engineer-in-

Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources Department,

Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5, Panchkula,

Haryana.

13. Ramesh Kumar, Sub Divisional Officer, through

Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

14. Harsh Bhardwaj, Sub Divisional Officer, through

Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

 Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

15. Rajneesh Kumar, Sub Divisional Officer, through

Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

16. Jitender Singh, Sub Divisional Officer, through

Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

17. Arvind Sharma, Sub Divisional Officer, through

Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

18. Satish Kumar Singroha, Sub Divisional Officer, through

Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

19. Kuldeep Singh, Sub Divisional Officer, through

Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department, Haryana, Sinchai Bhawan, Sector-5,

Panchkula, Haryana.

…Respondents

CHANDIGARH (SUNIL K. NEHRA)

DATED: 25.09.2024 PH-225240
(RAHIL MAHAJAN) (MEGHNA NEHRA) (SEENA MAND) P-
1846/2017, PH-376/2021 & P-1373/2005
ADVOCATES
COUNSEL FOR THE PETITIONERS
Civil Writ Petition under Article 226/227 of

the Constitution of India for issuance of a

writ in the nature of Certiorari quashing the

impugned communication dated 05.09.2024

(Annexure P-3) to the extent vide which the

names of the private respondents have been

called for promotion to the post of Executive

Engineers as they do not have the essential

qualification required under the Haryana

Service of Engineers, Group A Irrigation

Department Act, 2010 (Annexure P-4) as

they have obtained the qualification through

distance education or from Institution which

is not a valid Institution.

AND

Issuance of a writ in the nature of Mandamus

directing the official respondents to make

promotion on the post of Executive Engineer

only from those Sub Divisional Officers who

possess either a regular full time degree or

possess degree of the Associate Membership

Examination of the Institutions of the

Engineers (India).

AND
Issuance of a writ in the nature of Mandamus

directing the official respondents to prepare

a final seniority list of those Sub Divisional

Officers for further promotion to the post of

Executive Engineer who have either a

regular full time degree or possess degree of

the Associate Membership Examination of

the Institutions of the Engineers (India) and

then further promotions be made on the post

of Executive Engineers.

AND

Issuance of a writ in the nature of Mandamus

directing the official respondents to remove

the names of private respondents from the

list of Sub Divisional Officers whose records

have been called vide the impugned

communication dated 05.09.2024

(Annexure P-3) for further promotion to the

post of Executive Engineer.

AND

It is further prayed that during the pendency

of the present writ petition, further

promotion to the post of Executive Engineer

be made of only those Sub Divisional Officer

 who have obtained either a degree through

regular mode or have the qualification of

degree of the Associate Membership

Examination of the Institutions of the

Engineers (India), in the interest of justice

and no further promotion be made of those

Sub Divisional Officers who have either the

equivalent qualification or the qualification

obtained through distance mode, in the

interest of justice.

AND/OR

Any other writ, order or direction which this

Hon’ble Court may deem fit and necessary in

the facts and circumstances of the case.

RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH: -

1. That the petitioners are resident of State of

Haryana and being citizen of India are entitled to invoke the

extra-ordinary writ jurisdiction of this Hon'ble Court under

Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India.

2. That the petitioners No. 1 to 8 have been

promoted on the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil)/Sub

Divisional Engineer. The date of promotion of the petitioner

No. 1 to 8 as Assistant Engineer (Civil)/Sub Divisional

Engineer is given in a tabulated form as under: -

 Sr. Petitioner No. Date of
No. promotion
1. Petitioner No. 1 21.09.2016
2. Petitioner No. 2 16.05.2016
3. Petitioner No. 3 14.07.2016
4. Petitioner No. 4 24.12.2017
5. Petitioner No. 5 22.12.2017
6. Petitioner No. 6 22.12.2017
7. Petitioner No. 7 31.12.2017
8. Petitioner No. 8 29.09.2017

3. That the petitioners No. 9 to 48 are directly

recruited Assistant Engineer (Civil)/Sub Divisional Engineer

and they were appointed in the respondent Department vide

order dated 17.03.2018.

4. That all petitioners have the qualification of B.Tech

(Civil) and have obtained the same through regular mode.

Petitioner No. 1 (Anil Kumar) had taken study leave and have

got the qualification of B.Tech (Civil) from MDU, Rohtak from

2014 to 2017 and the qualification has been entered in his

service book.

5. That the last seniority list of SDO (Civil) was

finalized by the Department of those Sub Divisional Officers

who had been promoted till 01.01.2018. A copy of the

seniority list of Sub Divisional Officers (Civil) which was

finalized by the department on 11.03.2020 is being annexed

herewith as Annexure P-1.

That after that no seniority list of Sub Divisional

Officer (Civil) has been prepared/finalized by the department

till date.
6. That a tentative gradation list of SDOs was issued

by the Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department on 13.02.2024. A copy of the tentative gradation

list of Assistant Engineers/Sub Divisional Engineers as on

01.01.2024 issued by the Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and

Water Resources Department on 13.02.2024 is being

annexed herewith as Annexure P-2.

7. That moreover, in this gradation list (Annexure P-

2) it has been mentioned that the gradation list is for

reference purpose and it is not a seniority list. No separate

seniority list of Assistant Engineer/SDOs has been prepared

till date by the respondent Department after 11.03.2020.

8. That now, vide the impugned communication

dated 05.09.2024 issued by the Engineer-in-Chief, Haryana

the no demand certificate and service records for promotion

of Sub Divisional Officers (Civil) to the rank of Executive

Engineer (Civil) has been called without preparing/finalizing

the seniority list of Sub Divisional Officers (Civil). A copy of

the impugned communication dated 05.09.2024 issued by

the Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation and Water Resources

Department is being annexed herewith as Annexure P-3.

9. That against this impugned communication dated

05.09.2024, petitioner No. 1 (Anil Kumar) has already

submitted objections through proper channel vide

Superintending Engineer letter No. 1743-44/2E dated

06.09.2024, which has not been decided till date.

10. That for the purpose of promotion to the post of

Executive Engineer, the State of Haryana has framed the

Haryana Service of Engineers, Group A, Irrigation

Department Act, 2010 known as Haryana Act No. 21 of

2010 in which it has been specifically provided that no

person shall be promoted on or after the date of publication

of this Act in the official Gazette unless he possesses one of

the degrees as a regular full time student from a University;

or possesses degree of the Associate Membership

Examination of the Institution of the Engineers (India) and

has rendered 8 years service as Sub Divisional Officer (Group

B Service) and passed the departmental examination of

Group B. A copy of the Haryana Service of Engineers, Group

A, Irrigation Department Act, 2010 is being annexed

herewith as Annexure P-4.

11. That in the impugned communication dated

05.09.2024 (Annexure P-3) the Engineer-in-Chief has called

the records of 45 SDOs (Civil). A perusal of the same would

show that though in the impugned communication dated

05.09.2024 it has been mentioned that the certificate after

checking from the service book that the concerned officer has

passed the degree as a regular full time student from an

University or possesses degree of AMIE of the Institutions of

the Engineers (India) who enrolled upto 31.05.2013 has been

mentioned, but by making reference to the qualification of

AMIE and by making reference to the date of enrolment upto

31.05.2013 raises a doubt that the department is

contemplating to consider those Sub Divisional Officers also

who have the qualification of AMICE (I) from Ludhiana.

12. That a perusal of the Haryana Act No. 21 of 2010

shows that only two qualifications can be considered i.e.

degree as a regular full-time student from a University or

degree of Associate Membership Examination of the

Institution of the Engineers (India). There is no equivalent

clause in the Section 6 of the Haryana Act No. 21 of 2010

and therefore, the qualification of AMICE (I) from Ludhiana

cannot be considered as a valid qualification for the purpose

of promotion to the post of Executive Engineer.

It is pertinent to mention here that this

qualification of AMICE (I) from Ludhiana, has been obtained

while in service and therefore, it is not a regular course and

no study leave was taken by the SDOs/JEs while acquiring

this qualification. As per the information of petitioners, no

prior permission was also taken by the SDOs/JEs for

acquiring this qualification.

That it is pertinent to mention here that the

Institute of Civil Engineer, Ludhiana is altogether a different

institution from Institute of Engineers, Calcutta.

13. That a table is being reproduced herein below to

show the requirement under the Act for promotion to the post

of Executive Engineer qua the qualifications possessed by the

candidates whose names have been mentioned in the

communication dated 05.09.2024: -

Sr. Requirement under Qualification possessed

No. the Act by the candidates.
1. Regular Degree as a Correspondence mode
full time student. while in service.
2. Associate Membership Associate Membership
Exam from Institute of Exam from Institute of
Engineers (India), Civil Engineers (Ludhiana)
Calcutta.

14. That perhaps the Department is considering the

qualification of AMICE (I) from Ludhiana as a valid

qualification in view of the letter dated 31.01.2020 issued by

the Chief Secretary to Government of Haryana. A copy of the

letter dated 31.01.2020 issued by the Chief Secretary to

Government of Haryana is being annexed herewith as

Annexure P-5.

That it is pertinent to mention here that the letter

dated 31.01.2020 issued by the Chief Secretary to

Government of Haryana cannot override the statutory Act.

15. That moreover, the Advocate General, Haryana

had already given an opinion on 02.03.2022 qua the same

qualification i.e. AMICE (I) from Ludhiana taking into

consideration the letter dated 31.01.2020 issued by the Chief

Secretary to Government of Haryana in which the Ld.

Advocate General, Haryana has given opinion that in the

letter dated 31.01.2020, it is nowhere mentioned that the

degree or diploma awarded by the Institution of Civil

Engineering, Ludhiana (Punjab) through distance education

mode has been recognized and have been held a valid

qualification. A copy of the opinion dated 02.03.2022 given

by the Ld. Advocate General Haryana is being annexed

herewith as Annexure P-6.

16. That in the certificate awarded by the Institution

of Civil Engineers (India), Ludhiana it has been mentioned

that the candidate has passed the Section A and B of the

Associate Membership Examination and it is equivalent to

degree in Civil Engineering. A copy of one such certificate

awarded by AMICE (I), Ludhiana is being annexed herewith

as Annexure P-7.

17. That once the equivalent clause is not mentioned

in the Act No. 21 of 2010, the qualification of AMICE (I) from

Ludhiana cannot be considered as a valid qualification. The

same issue has been considered by the Hon’ble High Court in

CWP No. 34886 of 2019 titled as “Naresh Kumar and

Another Vs. State of Haryana and Others” in which the

Hon’ble High Court has held by taking into account the

judgment passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Orissa

Lift Irrigation and the orders passed by the Hon’ble Supreme

Court in Contempt Petition i.e. Ashok Kumar and Others

(Supra) that no degree obtained through distance learning

would be acceptable for appointment to the Group A service.

A copy of the judgment passed by the Hon’ble High Court in

the case of “Naresh Kumar and Another Vs. State of Haryana

and Others” decided on 27.05.2022 is being annexed

herewith as Annexure P-8.

That in this case, the respondent had been

promoted on the post of Executive Engineer (Civil) and he

had the degree in Engineering through distance education

from JRN, Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University and he had

cleared the test conducted by UGC-AICTE but still the Hon’ble

Court came to the conclusion that no degree through

correspondence can be considered for promotion to the post

of Executive Engineer and had set-aside his promotion as

Executive Engineer.

18. That moreover, the Hon’ble High Court by taking

into account the Rules had refused to consider the

qualification of a candidate from AMICE (I) Ludhiana by

holding that the Rules do not provide for any equivalent

course to be accepted in lieu of the degree of the Engineering.

A copy of the judgment passed by the Hon’ble High Court in

case titled as “Jagtar Singh Vs. State of Punjab” reported

as 2011 (2) SCT 134 is being annexed herewith as

Annexure P-9.

19. That moreover, the Hon’ble Court in “Vikas

Sharma Vs. State of Haryana and Others” reported as

2014 (11) SCT 274 has held that when the equivalence

clause is not mentioned in the Rules, the same cannot be

considered when the statutory rules do not permit so. A copy

of the judgment passed by the Hon’ble High Court is being

annexed herewith as Annexure P-10.

20. That the department without doing the exercise

as to which of the SDOs have the qualification from AMICE

(I) from Ludhiana or who have obtained the qualification from

Distance Education have straightway called the names for

promotion to the post of Executive Engineer.

21. That in the impugned communication dated

05.09.2024 (Annexure P-3), the names of the private

respondents have been mentioned at Sr. No. 23, 24, 26, 31

and 45 who have the qualification of AMICE (I) from Ludhiana

and therefore, they cannot be promoted on the post of

Executive Engineer (Civil) but still the Engineer-in-Chief,

Haryana have called for their records vide the impugned

communication dated 05.09.2024.

22. That also in the gradation list of Sub Divisional

Officers issued on 13.02.2024 (Annexure P-2) the names of

private respondents have been mentioned at Sr. No. 56, 57,

60, 63, 86, 87 and 133 who have the qualification of the

AMICE (I) from Ludhiana. Therefore, their names are also

required to be removed from the list to be prepared by the

department of those SDOs who are eligible as per the

Haryana Act No. 21 of 2010 for promotion to the post of

Executive Engineers.

23. That also in the gradation list of SDOs issued on

13.02.2024 (Annexure P-2), the names of private

respondents No. 15 to 18 have been mentioned at Sr. No.

55, 66, 85 and 111. Private respondent No. 15 has obtained

the degree through correspondence mode from IGNOU,

private respondent No. 16 has obtained Degree from JRN,

Vidyapeeth through correspondence mode and private

respondent No. 17 and 18 have obtained the degree through

part time which is not a valid qualification. Therefore, their

names are also required to be removed from the from the list

to be prepared by the department of those SDOs who are

eligible as per the Haryana Act No. 21 of 2010 for promotion

to the post of Executive Engineers.

24. That moreover, Kuldeep Singh (Private

respondent No. 19) has obtained the B.Tech degree from

DCRUST, Murthal by way of weekend course and that

qualification has already been held to be not a valid

qualification in CWP No. 15209 of 2021 titled as “Arun

Kumar Vs. State of Haryana and Others”. Instructions

dated 17.08.2023 has been issued by the Chief Secretary to

Government of Haryana in which it has been mentioned that

in view of the judgment passed by the Hon’ble High Court in

CWP No. 15209 of 2021, the State Government has decided

to suspend the operation of the earlier instructions and till

then, no service benefits will be granted on the basis of

weekend/part-time degrees in various Engineering

disciplines awarded by DCRUST, Murthal. A copy of the

instructions dated 17.08.2023 issued by the Chief Secretary,

Haryana are being annexed herewith as Annexure P-11.

25. That since the department has not framed the

seniority list of SDOs till date, the department is required to

frame the final list of SDOs by taking into account the quota

position which was existing at the time when the promotions

were made, the degrees/qualifications of the SDOs, their

date of passing the AICTE-UGC examination in pursuance to

the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and then

frame the seniority list accordingly.

26. That in the gradation list of SDOs at Sr. No. 34,

39, 50, 53, 54, 58, 61, 62, 64, 77, 79, 80, 118 and 134, the

names of those SDOs have been mentioned who have

obtained the qualification from DCRUST, Murthal through

weekend course which has already been held to be invalid by

the Hon’ble High Court and in this regard instructions have

also been issued by the office of Chief Secretary, Haryana.

Therefore, while preparing the list for sending the names for

promotion to the post of SDO, their names are required to be

removed from the list as they are not eligible for promotion

to the post of Executive Engineer.

27. That at Sr. No. 52, 56, 60, 63, 86, 87 and 133 of

the gradation list, the names of those SDOs have been

mentioned who have obtained the qualification of AMICE (I)

Ludhiana which is not a valid qualification for promotion to

the post of Executive Engineer in view of the Haryana Act No.

21 of 2010. Therefore, while preparing the list for sending

the names for promotion to the post of SDO, their names are

required to be removed from the list as they are not eligible

for promotion to the post of Executive Engineer.

28. That petitioners have come to know of the

illegality committed by the Department when the gradation

list was issued for the post of SDO and then it transpired that

many SDOs were promoted even when the posts were not

available in their quota and the promotions were made in

violation of the statutory Rules.

29. That in the gradation list of SDOs, the name of

three persons Suresh Kumar (Sr. No. 26), Sanjay Kumar (Sr.

No. 27) and Shamsher Singh (Sr. No. 28) is mentioned above

petitioner No. 1 (Anil Kumar) whereas, they had joined the

department as SDO in December, 2016 and petitioner No. 1

(Anil Kumar) had joined in September, 2016. Therefore, they

are required to be placed below petitioner No. 1 (Anil Kumar)

as their date of joining is later than Anil Kumar. Moreover,

they had cleared the departmental exam in 2018 only.

30. That the department is required to frame a

separate seniority list of eligible SDOs for the purpose of

promotion to the post of Executive Engineer in view of the

Act No. 21 of 2010 and is required to remove the names of

all those SDOs who have the qualification of AMICE (I) from

Ludhiana, the correspondence degree obtained by the SDOs

from various Universities like JRN, Vidyapeeth, IGNOU etc.

and is required to prepare a list of only those SDOs who have

the degree through regular mode or from Associate

Membership Examination of the Institutions of the Engineers

(India), Calcutta and then the further promotion be made on

the basis of seniority-cum-merit to the post of Executive

Engineer.

31. That till the exercise as mentioned above is not

done by the Department, no further promotion be made on

the post of Executive Engineer or the promotions be made

only of those Sub Divisional Officers who have obtained the

degree through regular mode or from Associate Membership

Examination of the Institutions of the Engineers (India),

Calcutta.

32. That in a similar case i.e. CWP No. 13844 of 2022

titled as “Vivek Singh Vs. State of Haryana and Others” the

Hon’ble Court by taking into account the statutory Rules have

passed an interim order that the respondents may carry out

promotion to the post of Chief Engineer out of Superintending

Engineers, who have obtained degrees in Civil, Mechanical or

Electrical Engineering from an Institution recognized by the

State Government, but those who have obtained the

degrees, which have been considered equivalent to the afore-

noted degrees or from distant mode, would not be promoted

to the post of Chief Engineer till the next date of hearing. A

copy of the order dated 01.12.2022 passed by the Hon’ble

High Court is being annexed herewith as Annexure P-12.

Now the above mentioned case is fixed for

11.11.2024.

34. That the petitioners have sent a detailed legal

notice through their counsel to the official respondents on

19.09.2024 which is being annexed herewith as Annexure

P-13.

However, no action have been taken by the official

respondents on the legal notice sent by the counsel for the

petitioners.

35. That the Hon’ble Uttarakhand High Court in case

titled as “Brijesh Kumar Chaudhary Vs. Union of India and

Others“ decided on 11.06.2019 by taking into account the

qualification of AMICE (I) from Ludhiana and the statutory

Rules has held that the Rules requires the candidate to be a

qualified Associate Member of the Institutions of Engineers

(India) and not the Institution of Civil Engineers (India) and

therefore, it is not a qualification prescribed under the Rules.

A copy of the judgment passed by the Hon’ble Uttarakhand

High Court is being annexed herewith as Annexure P-14.

36. That therefore, the petitioners are approaching

this Hon’ble Court with the prayer that the impugned

communication dated 05.09.2024 (Annexure P-3) be

quashed to the extent the names of the private respondents

have been called for promotion to the post of Executive

Engineer who do not have the qualification prescribed under

the Haryana Act No. 21 of 2010. Further prayer is being made

that promotions be made only of those Sub Divisional Officers

who have the qualifications prescribed under the Act i.e.

either a regular degree or degree of the Associate

Membership Examination of the Institution of the Engineers

(India).

37. That the following law points are involved in the

present writ petition for kind consideration of this Hon’ble

Court:-

(i) Whether the action of the respondents is illegal

and arbitrary?

(ii) Whether the action of the respondents is contrary

to Haryana Act No. 21 of 2010?

(iii) Whether the qualification of AMICE (I) from

Ludhiana is a valid qualification for promotion to

the post of Executive Engineer?

(iv) Whether the private respondents who do not have

the qualification prescribed under the Act can be

promoted on the post of Executive Engineer?

38. That the petitioners have no other statutory

remedy of appeal or revision except to approach this Hon’ble

court by way of present Civil Writ Petition.

39. That the petitioners have not filed any such or

similar petition either in this Hon’ble High Court or before the

Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.

On the facts stated and submissions made above

and others to be made later, if necessary, it is respectfully

prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to:-

i. Issue a writ in the nature of Certiorari quashing the

impugned communication dated 05.09.2024

(Annexure P-3) to the extent vide which the names

of the private respondents have been called for

promotion to the post of Executive Engineers as they

do not have the essential qualification required under

the Haryana Service of Engineers, Group A Irrigation

Department Act, 2010 (Annexure P-4) as they have

obtained the qualification through distance education

or from Institution which is not a valid Institution.

ii. Issue a writ in the nature of Mandamus directing the

official respondents to make promotion on the post

 of Executive Engineer only from those Sub Divisional

Officers who possess either a regular full time degree

or possess degree of the Associate Membership

Examination of the Institutions of the Engineers

(India).

iii. Issue a writ in the nature of Mandamus directing the

official respondents to prepare a final seniority list of

those Sub Divisional Officers for further promotion to

the post of Executive Engineer who have either a

regular full time degree or possess degree of the

Associate Membership Examination of the

Institutions of the Engineers (India) and then further

promotions be made on the post of Executive

Engineers.

iv. Issue a writ in the nature of Mandamus directing the

official respondents to remove the names of private

respondents from the list of Sub Divisional Officers

whose records have been called vide the impugned

communication dated 05.09.2024 (Annexure P-3) for

further promotion to the post of Executive Engineer.

v. It is further prayed that during the pendency of the

present writ petition, further promotion to the post

of Executive Engineer be made of only those Sub

Divisional Officer who have obtained either a degree

through regular mode or have the qualification of

 degree of the Associate Membership Examination of

the Institutions of the Engineers (India), in the

interest of justice and no further promotion be made

of those Sub Divisional Officers who have either the

equivalent qualification or the qualification obtained

through distance mode, in the interest of justice.

vi. Any other appropriate order or direction which this

Hon’ble Court may deem fit in the peculiar facts and

circumstances of the present case;

vii. Filing of certified/Typed copies of annexures may

kindly be exempted,

viii. Costs of the writ petition may be awarded to the

petitioners.