Neel Kamal Garg S/o R. S. D. Garg, Aged About 57 Years Working As v. 1 – State of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, Department Of Agricult
Case Details
Page No.1 of 7 IN WPS-870-2017 SAIFAN KHAN Digitally signed by SAIFAN KHAN Date: 2025.05.13 10:40:35 +0530 HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR 2025:CGHC:21967 NAFR Writ Petition (Service) No.870 of 2017 Neel Kamal Garg S/o R. S. D. Garg, Aged About 57 Years Working As Agriculture Development Officer At The Office Of Assistant Appointment Examination Officer, Torwa, P S Torwa, Bilaspur, Residential Address C/o Jai Agrawal, Ward No.3, Lingiyadih, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh, Chhattisgarh ... Petitioner Versus 1 – State of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, Department Of Agriculture, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhavan, Naya Raipur, District Raipur, Chhattisgarh, Chhattisgarh 2 - The Director Agriculture, Directorate Of Agriculture, Chhattisgarh, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh 3 - The Deputy Director Agriculture, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 4 - State of Madhya Prakesh, Through The Secretary, Department Of Farmer Welfare And Agriculture, Vallabh Bhawan, Bhopal Madhya Pradesh , District : Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 5 - The Director, Director Of Agriculture, Bhopal, District Bhopal Madhya Pradesh ., District : Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 6 - The Deputy Director Agriculture , Department Of Farmer Welfare And Agriculture, Directorate Of Agriculture, Sagar, District Sagar Madhya Pradesh ., District : Sagar, Madhya Pradesh ... Respondents [Cause-title taken from Case Information System (CIS)] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Petitioner For Respondents No.1 to 3 : For Respondents No.4 to 6 : ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legal Reasoning
Petitioner in person appeared before this Court in support of Page No.3 of 7 IN WPS-870-2017 his contentions and further submits that similarly situated person/employee, namely, Ramesh Kumar Vyas has been granted the benefit of 02 advance increments on successfully obtaining the PhD degree and, for which, the Government has also issued circulars from time to time. As such, the present petition be allowed. 5. Per-contra, learned State counsel opposed the submissions made on behalf of the petitioner and submits that no permission has been granted to the petitioner by the competent authority to pursue PhD course, as the permission order dated 10.08.1985 (Annexure-P/01) has been passed by the Deputy Director (Agriculture), who was not the competent authority. Therefore, the present writ petition deserves to be dismissed. 6. I have heard learned counsel for the parties, considered their rival submissions made hereinabove and went through the record with utmost circumspection. 7. In order to answer the plea raised at the bar, it would be appropriate to notice relevant circulars issued by the Government in this regard from time to time. Circular dated 8th July, 1975 (Annexure-R/1), has been brought to the notice of this Court by the respondents-State, which has also been followed in Circular date 22nd September, 1961 (Annexure-R/2), reads as under: “GOVERNMENT OF MADHYA PRADESH GENERAL ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT Memorandum Page No.4 of 7 IN WPS-870-2017 No. 9019-5116-I Bhopal, the 8th July 1957 To, All Commissioners of Divisions, All Heads of Departments, All Deputy Commissioners/Collectors, Madhya Pradesh. Subject. Opportunities for Government Servants to improve their educational qualifications. Government have examined the orders in force in the integrating units governing grant of permission to Government. servants to attend classes and/or to appear for higher examinations, in order to improve their educational qualifications and are pleased to issue the following orders, in supersession of those in force hitherto :- (1) Permission to attend classes and/or appear for an examination, should be granted only in so far as it is consistent with public interest. It cannot be claimed as of right. (2) Such permission should be granted only if the following conditions are fulfilled :- (i) the Government servant concerned shold have put in at least a year's service; (this condition does not apply in the case of typewriting and shorthand examinations). (ii) the amount of leave granted for prepration for or for appearing at an examination will not exceed the earned leave at the credit of the Government servant; (iii) the Head of the Office should determine how many officials belonging to his office could be permitted to attend classes and/or appear for examinations without detriment to office work; as a rule the number should not exceed 10 per cent of the staff in his office; if the number of applicants exceeds this figure, preperence should be given to those who have put in longer service and to those who have secured 1st or 2nd division in previous examinations; and (iv) the work and conduct of the official should have been satisfactory. These instructions will come into force with immediate effect. By order of the Governor, Madhya Pradesh SignJ- Page No.5 of 7 IN WPS-870-2017 (L. B. SARJE). Deputy Secretary to Government, Madhya Pradesh, General Administration Department.” 8. A careful perusal of the above-quoted circular would show that the head of the office or department in which the government servant is working, has been vested with the power to grant prior permission to government servant if he/she wanted to attend any classes or to appear at higher examination. It has also been made clear in the said circular that such permission cannot be claimed as a matter of right. Thereafter, circular dated 13th July, 1972 was issued, in which, it has clearly been stated that prior permission of the Government would be necessary and it has also been made specifically that in absence of prior permission the government servant will be liable to be proceeded under the Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1965. The relevant portion of the said circular dated 13th July, 1972 is reproduced hereinbelow, which reads as under: सामान्य ्ቚशासन वि(cid:10)भाग ्ቛारा तारीख 22 सिसतंबर, 1961 “ विकये गये अपन ्ቅमांक 2412/1270/1 (3) विक मध्य्ቚቖኔेश सिसवि(cid:10)ल से(cid:10)ा (आचरण) विनयम, 1965 के शासकीय से(cid:10)को को अपनी शैवि)क योग्यता बढ़ाने के पाने तथा उ्ሴ परी्ቌांश में सቜኌ2मलिलत होने के करना आहे । को जरी में यह स्ቖ विनቖኔ श विቖኔये गये है विनयम 16 के अंतग’त लिलये कालेज में ्ቚ(cid:10)ेश लिलये शासन की पू(cid:10)’ अनुमतित ्ቚा् उपयु ’्ሹ आቖኔेशों के (cid:10)ा(cid:10)जूቖኔ यह धान में आया है विक शासकीय से(cid:10)क, 2/- विቖኔना शासन की अनुमतित के , शै्ቌणिणक संस्थाओं में ्ቚ(cid:10)ेश पा लेते हैं तया उ्ሴ लिलये परी्ቌाओं में भी स2मलिलत होते हैं । यह भी मालूम उपातिध ्ቚा् करने के हुआ है विक ऐसे मामलों में संቖኔतिधत कम’चारिरयों को एक (cid:10)ेतन (cid:10)ृतिC रोकने जैसा मामूली ቖኔंड भी विቖኔया गया है। मामले में पूण’ वि(cid:10)चार करा(cid:10) शासन ्ቛारा अቖኔह ’्ሹ आቖኔेश का विनण’य लिलया गया है विक भवि(cid:10)ष्य में शासकीय से(cid:10)कों ्ቛारा उपयु Page No.6 of 7 IN WPS-870-2017 यविቖኔ उ्ቤंघन विकया जाता है जो संबंतिधत कम’चारिरयों के सिसवि(cid:10)ल से(cid:10)ा ( (cid:10)गHकरण विनयं्ቔण ए(cid:10)ं अपील) जाकर कड़ा ቖኔंड विቖኔया जाये । ऐसे मामलों में detorrent आ(cid:10)श्यक है, ” सिजससे अन्य व्यवि्ሹयों पर भी इसका असर हो । विनयम 1966 free मध्य ्ቚቖኔेश के अंतग’त की शाቜኌस्त ቖኔेना 9. Coming to the facts of the present case in light of the above- quoted circulars, it appears that vide order dated 10.08.1985 (Annexure-P/01) the petitioner was granted prior permission by the Deputy Director (Agriculture) for pursuing Bachelor of Law (LLB), Post-Graduation in Hindi and also for Higher Education. As such, it cannot be said the prior permission has been granted to the petitioner by the competent authority for the reason that the same has been granted by the Deputy Director (Agriculture), whereas according to the aforementioned circulars issued by the Government it is the head of the office or department or the appropriate government, who has been vested with the power to grant prior permission to the government servant, who wanted to attend any classes or to appear at higher examination. Moreover, as per petitioner’s letter of appointment dated 05.08.1985, it is the Joint Director, who is the head of the department or office, where the petitioner was working and posted and not the Deputy Director. Even otherwise, in the case of the petitioner, according to circular dated 13th July, 1972, the Director (Agriculture) would be the competent authority being the head of the department to grant permission, but the petitioner has been granted permission by the Deputy Director and not by the Director or by the Joint Director. In Page No.7 of 7 IN WPS-870-2017 addition to it, it also transpires from order dated 10.08.1985 (Annexure-P/01) that in one go the petitioner has been granted to pursue 03 courses i.e. (i) Bachelor of Law (LLB), (ii) Post-Graduation in Hindi and (iii) Higher Education. As such, no permission has been granted to the petitioner specifically to pursue PhD degree, indeed, it has been granted to pursue Bachelor of Law (LLB), Post- Graduation in Hindi and also for Higher Education that too by an incompetent authority. Consequently, I am of the considered opinion that the petitioner is not entitled for grant of 02 advance increments for obtaining PhD degree. 10. In that view of the matter, the present writ petition deserves to be and is hereby dismissed being bereft of any merit. s@if Sd/- (Sanjay K. Agrawal) Judge
Arguments
Mr. Sharad Mishra, Panel Lawyer Ms. Shailja Shukla, Advocate : Mr. Neel Kamal Garg, Petitioner in Person Single Bench: Hon'ble Shri Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal (Order on Board) Page No.2 of 7 IN WPS-870-2017 08.05.2025 1. In this writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner is seeking a direction to the respondents/authorities to consider his case for grant of 02 advance increments for obtaining Ph.D. degree. 2. According to the case of the petitioner, he was appointed on the post of Rural Agriculture Extension Officer at Baikunthpur, District Surguja (erstwhile State of Madhya Pradesh) on 14.02.1983. Thereafter, pursuant to the permission/sanction granted to him by the Deputy Director (Agriculture) on 10.08.1985, the petitioner pursued Doctorate in Philosophy and obtained PhD degree in the said filed on 03/04.11.1993. Thereafter, on 07.10.1995, he made application for grant of two advance increments, which he is entitled for obtaining PhD degree, but the same has not been granted to him till date. Aggrieved at which, the petitioner filed the present writ petition seeking appropriate direction to the respondents- authorities. 3. On the other hand, the respondent-State has filed its return, inter-alia, stating that the alleged permission/sanction which the petitioner was granted to pursue educational qualification was granted by an incompetent authority. Infact, no permission has been granted for pursuing PhD course and, therefore, the petitioner is not entitled for 02 advance increments. 4.