HC insists on same rules for staff

In an order which is applicable to the Police Housing Corporations of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the Hyderabad High Court has ruled that having different norms for the same group of engineers working in the cadre of deputy executive engineer for the purpose of further promotion is arbitrary and violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitut-ion.

Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao said this while allowing two petitions, which challenged a resolution of the Police Housing Corporation board to prescribe a ratio of Diploma Holders (L.C.E) to Graduate Engineers (B.E. civil) for being promoted to the post of executive engineer.

A deputy executive engineer (DEE), with a qualification of diploma holder, is required to have 12 years of experience before they can be promoted to the post of executive engineer. On the other hand, DEEs, who have passed B.E. Civils, are required to have just seven years of experience to be made EE.

The petitioners contended that such a prescription confers an undue advantage on graduate engineers in the cadre and is intended to eliminate diploma holders.

After hearing the case and the provisions of the Constitution and the ratios laid down by the Supreme Court in similar cases, the judge ruled that no discrimination is permissible between graduates and non-graduates in the category of DEE, and prescribing any ratio between graduates and non-graduates is arbitrary and illegal.

The judge ruled that the prescription of 2:1 ratio between graduates and non-graduates in the cadre of DEEs for promotion to the post of EE is arbitrary and violates the Constitution.