The Patna High Court dismissed a petition challenging the rule which incorporated a Direct Recruitment to the post of Assistant Accounts Officer.

The rule is in the Office Order of the Bihar State Food & Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd and the amendment introduced reads as under:- 

“Accountant Cadre (Recruitment, Promotion and Service Conditions) Rules- 2018-Approved with modification that 20 post of AAO shall be filled up by direct Recruitment and remaining 19 by promotion only” .

The counsel for the petitioner specifically pointed out that this is in contravention with the other provisions in the rule.   

The Division Bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Rajiv Roy specifically refer to Rule 5 which speaks of recruitment in the cadre. Rule 5 reads as under:-

“5. Recruitment in the cadre:- (1) The Post of Accountant shall be the basic post of entry in the Cadre, which shall be filled up by direct recruitment by adopting a merit based process of competitive examination. 

The Corporation will requisition category wise vacancies on the basis of reservation. Age qualification will be   requisitioned as on 1st January of the advertisement year. 

(2) The educational qualification and qualification for recruitment and the process of recruitment will be as per the provisions of Appendix-2. The Cadre Controlling authority may make amendment in provisions of the said appendix by issuing notification time to time.”

It is the submission of the counsel for the petitioners that when direct recruitment to the cadre can be made only to the post of Accountant, there cannot be a direct recruitment prescribed in the higher post of Assistant Accounts Officer to which the Accountants were to be promoted prior to the said amendment.   

The Court  first noted the trite principle that, reduction in chances of promotion cannot lead to a challenge to the rule. The provision for direct recruitment is for better administration which the employer is entitled to definitely bring in. 

As far as the contravention of the other provisions of the rule, the Court noted that as per Rule 5 it has only been stated that the post of Accountant shall be the basic post of entry in the cadre to which post, direct recruitment is stipulated. The Accountant is the first post of entry but this does not prohibit a direct recruitment in any of the higher posts. The amended rule according to the Court is perfectly valid and needs no interference.

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