Summary
Under Rule 2(g) of the Indian Forest Service (Recruitment) Rules, 1966 the Central Government's approval relates to a State service connected with forestry whose members hold gazetted status, not to individual posts. Forest Range Officers in Class A of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Service are therefore members of the State Forest Service and eligible for promotion to the Indian Forest Service; but the appellant, who raised his grievance only in 2021, gets no relief for past selection exercises.
Issues
- Whether, under Rule 2(g)(i) of the Indian Forest Service (Recruitment) Rules, 1966, the approval of the Central Government in consultation with the State Government is required in respect of a service connected with forestry having gazetted members, or in respect of each post in the State Forest Service.
- If approval relates to the service and not the post, what relief the appellant Forest Range Officer is entitled to on the facts.
Provisions considered
- Rule 2(g), Indian Forest Service (Recruitment) Rules, 1966On a plain reading after omission of clause (ii), any service in a State connected with forestry whose members have gazetted status constitutes the State Forest Service, subject to approval by the Central Government in consultation with the State Government for the purpose of the Rules. The approval relates to the service, not the post, as the Union did not dispute. The decision in Gopal Singh construed the omitted clause (ii) and was not relied on. (¶¶ 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13)
- Rules 3 and 4(2)(b), Indian Forest Service (Recruitment) Rules, 1966Recruitment to the Indian Forest Service includes promotion of substantive members of the State Forest Service; members of Class A of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Service, if substantively appointed, are eligible for such promotion. (¶¶ 6, 13)
- Rule 2, Andhra Pradesh Forest Service Rules, 1997The Andhra Pradesh Forest Service consists of categories of posts in Classes A, B and C; Assistant Conservator of Forests and Range Officer fall in Class A categories 2 and 3, and it was not disputed that Class A posts carry gazetted status. (¶¶ 9, 10)
- Regulation 5(2), Indian Forest Service (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations, 1966The committee considers members of the State Forest Service in order of seniority, up to three times the number of vacancies, and only those who are substantive and have completed at least eight years' continuous service on 1 January of the select-list year. With seven Forest Range Officers senior to him, the appellant could not be considered ahead of them. (¶¶ 16, 20)
- Section 19, Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985The appellant's original application under this provision was allowed by the Tribunal, whose order was reversed by the High Court in the writ petition under challenge. (¶¶ 1, 2)
Held
- The approval of the Central Government referred to in Rule 2(g) of the Recruitment Rules relates to a service and not to a post. Members of Class A of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Service, including Forest Range Officers in category 3, are members of the State Forest Service if substantively appointed and are eligible for promotion to the Indian Forest Service in accordance with the Recruitment Rules. (¶¶ 8, 10, 11, 13)
- No document showed a specific Central Government approval of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Service; the Union's position was that an implied approval could be inferred from the course of events over the years, and the Court proceeded on that footing. (¶¶ 12, 13)
- Applying the caution in P.S. Sadasivaswamy against stale claims, an officer whose cause of action arose on completing eight years of continuous substantive service but who first represented in January 2021 cannot be granted relief in respect of past promotion exercises or be considered by side-stepping seven seniors merely because he obtained the declaration on interpretation. (¶¶ 18, 19, 20)
- Limited relief: whenever the exercise to fill Indian Forest Service vacancies is initiated afresh, the respondents must follow the recruitment rules and consider Forest Range Officers eligible for appointment by promotion, treating the Andhra Pradesh Forest Service as the State Forest Service under Rule 2(g). (¶ 21)
Result
Appeal disposed of; High Court's order set aside; respondents directed to treat the Andhra Pradesh Forest Service as the State Forest Service and consider Forest Range Officers for promotion to the Indian Forest Service in future exercises; no relief for past exercises; no order as to costs.