TMI Blog2002 (5) TMI 866X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he benefit provided under the Government Order No.3868-F dated 31.3.1984. In the said Government Order it was ordered, inter alia, that members of the Lower Division Clerical cadre will be entitled to promotion to the Upper Division Clerical cadre on the ratio of 1:1 and the order was applicable to Lower Division Clerks/Assistants in all Government Departments and Directorates including the Directorate of Dairy Development. The further grievance of the writ petitioners was that they were denied the benefit of promotion and consequent financial benefits envisaged under the aforementioned Government order merely for the reason that designation of the posts held by them was clerk-cum-cash collector and not Lower Division Clerk/Assistant. It was the case of the petitioners that the duties discharged by them are similar to those of the Lower Division Assistants and in addition to such duties they also do the work of collection of cash. Therefore, there was no justification, to deny them the benefits of the aforementioned Government order. The petitioners sought the following reliefs in the writ petition: a) A writ in the nature of Mandamus do issue directing the respondents and each ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r to those performed by Lower Division Assistants, and therefore, they were not entitled to the benefits of promotion and consequential financial benefits as envisaged in the Government order No.3868-F dated 31.3.1984. A learned single Judge of the High Court by the judgment dated 15th May, 1986 disposed of the writ petition holding, inter alia, that : Channel of promotion, method of recruitment, and the nature of duties and mode of creation of the Clerk-cum-Cash Collectors being different from Lower Division Clerks, the ratio of 1:1 in the matters of promotion could not be conferred upon the Clerk-cum-Cash Collectors. In the writ appeal filed by the writ petitioners assailing the judgment of the single Judge, a Division Bench of the High Court by judgment rendered on 29.2.1988 set aside the judgment and ordered that the petitioners should be given the benefits due in terms of the order being order No.3868-F dated 31.3.1984. The operative portion of the judgment runs as follows: Thus on the basis of the ratio of the judgments of the Supreme Court or the observations as made, we are inclined to hold that in this case, the said petitioners have been deprived of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nter alia that the respondents in the writ petition have failed to comply with the judgment/order of the High Court in its entirety and in its letter and spirit. The petitioners made the following prayers in the petition : a) Rule NISI do issue calling upon the respondents to show cause as to why they should not be committed to prison or to suitably be dealt with for committing the acts of contempt as enumerated in paragraph 7 in the foregoing petition; b) If the respondents fail to show adequate cause the Rule NISI be made absolute; c) Order be passed directing the respondents and each one of them to act in terms of the order passed by this Hon ble Court on 29th February, 1988 in Appeal from Original order being No.561 of 1987 and to prepare a common gradation list of Lower Division Clerical Cadre taking into account the post of Clerk-cum-Cash Collector and to give due benefits to the petitioners in terms of the order being order No.3868 F dated 31st March 1984. d) Ad-interim order in terms of prayers (b); e) Costs. Considering the application filed by the writ petitioners the Division Bench of the High Court passed the judgment/order dated 11.11.1992, the o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the learned counsel that not only the ordering portion of the judgment but also in the entire judgment the question of common gradation list has neither been discussed nor any finding recorded. In the absence of any adjudication on the question and any order or direction to that effect in the judgment the appellants could not have been held to have acted in a contumacious manner in not treating the writ petitioners as members of the cadre of Lower Division Assistant and in not preparing a common gradation list. Shri Gobind Das, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents supporting the judgment/order under challenge strenuously contended that preparation of a common seniority list was specifically prayed for in the writ petition and when the Division Bench allowed the appeal and granted the reliefs sought by the writ petitioners it followed as a necessary consequence that the respondents in the writ petition were mandated to treat the writ petitioners and other Clerk-cum-Cash Collectors as part of the cadre of Lower Division Assistants and give them promotional benefits of 1:1 ratio and other consequential financial benefits. The purpose of contempt juri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sms which are sometimes leveled against the courts exercising contempt of court jurisdiction that it has exceeded its powers in granting substantive relief and issuing a direction regarding the same without proper adjudication of the dispute in its entirety can be avoided. This will also avoid multiplicity of proceedings because the party which is prejudicially affected by the judgment or order passed in the contempt proceeding and granting relief and issuing fresh directions is likely to challenge that order and that may give rise to another round of litigation arising from a proceeding which is intended to maintain the majesty and image of courts. Judging the case in hand on the touchstone of the principles noted above, we find that the directions issued by the Division Bench in the impugned judgment in effect granted substantive reliefs not covered by the judgment/order passed in the original proceeding. In the judgment no direction was issued by the High Court that the writ petitioners will be admitted to the cadre of Upper Division Clerks/Assistants in the Directorate. As noted earlier, they have all along been holding the posts of Clerkcum-Cash Collector which are ex-cad ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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