1. S. A. MAHMOOD (CHAIRMAN).-This is an appeal by Messrs Muhammad Hafeez and Manzoor-ul- Haq, under section 4 of the Services (Appellate Tribunals) Ordinance, 1969, praying that Malik Manzoor Hussain, respondent No. 3---sseniority .may be fixed as on 14-10-55 in the list of Assistants, so as to ensure that he is assigned a place in that list with reference to the date of his continuous appointment in the grade, viz., 7-7-1954 and to declare him junior to the appellants in the rank of Assistant as on 14-10-1955. The appellants further pray that the seniority of respondent No. 3 fixed in the grade of Junior Superintendent and Senior Superintendent on the basis of his wrong and illegal integration in the grade of Assistants may also be declared to be illegal, null and void and inoperative qua the rights of the appel--lants. They contend that respondent No. 3 is not entitled to count his seniority as Junior Superintendent from a date earlier than 20th July 1966, the date on which he was promoted as Junior Superintendent. They thus praythat respondent No. 3 may be declared junior to the appellants as junior Superintendent as well.
2. Messrs Muhammad Hafeez and Manzoor-ul-Haq, appel--lants, are represented before us by Mr. Masud Riaz, Advocate. Malik Manzoor Hussain, respondent No. 3, is present in person. On behalf of the Deputy Director and the Director of Education, respondents Nos. 1 and 2, Mr. Muhammad Ramzan, Assistant in the Directorate of Education is present.
3. Mr. Muhammad Hafeez, appellant No. 1 joined in the office of D. P. I., Punjab on 28th August 1950 as Assistant in the grade of Rs. 150-10-250/15-370. The appellant No. 2 having joined the Education Department as Junior Clerk on 11-10-1944, was promoted as Senior Clerk in the office of D. P. 1., Punjab on 14-8-1947, and was further promoted as Assistant, w. e. f., 21st January 1951. On integration, the office of D. P. 1., Punjab, was abolished, to be replaced by offices of D. P. I., West Pakistan and Directorate bf Education Lahore Region, Lahore. While appellant No. 1, was posted in the office of D. P. I., West Pakistan from 14th October 1955, the appellant No. 2 was posted in the office of Director of Education, Lahore Region. They both' held the rank of Assistant at the time of integration. Appellant No.2 was promoted as Junior Superintendent on 1-1-1960, while appellant No. 1 was promoted as Junior Super--intendent on 11-6-1962. In the meantime, as a result of reorganisation, the offices of Directorate of Education, Lahore Region and D. P. I., West Pakistan, were abolished w. e. f. 31st May 1962 and instead Regional Directorates, one of which was Directorate of Education, Lahore Region,were created w. e. f., 1-6-1962. Both the appellants were posted as Junior Superintendents in the Directorate of Lahore Region on 1-6-1962. From 1-12-1963 to, 22-7-1967, appellant No. 1 was promoted as Senior Superintendent and posted in the Directorate of Education, Rawalpindi. He reverted to the Directorate of Lahore Region from 23rd July 1967 as Junior Superintendent. Thus the dates of promotion of appellants Nos. 1 and 2 as Assistants are 28th August 1950 and 21st January 1951, and their dates of promotion as Junior Superintendents are 11th Jute 1962 and 1st January 1960 respectively.
4. Malik Manzoor Hussain, respondent No. 3 is a Bahawalpur Officer, who joined the Bahawalpur Irrigation Department as Junior Clerk on 14-8-1942. He was promoted as Stenographer on 1-4-1943 and as Senior Scale Stenographer on 29th July 1951. On 7-7-1954 he was promoted as Assistant Superintendent in the office of D. P. I., Bahawalpur in the grade of 150-10-250/ 15-370, which vas a. grade equivalent to the grade of an Assistant in the former Punjab Province. Thus at the time of integration, he held the rank of Assistant Superintendent and on integration, he was posted in the office of Inspector of Schools, Bahawalpur, an office subordinate to that of D. P. 1, in his own pay scale, and in the rank of Assistant Superin--tendent. This respondent represented against his being posted in the office of Inspector of Schools, Bahawalpur, but as no heed was paid to his representation, he filed a civil suit on 27th May 1963 for a declaration and permanent injunction. His suit was decreed on 30th July 1963. The Government of West Pakistan appealed against the decree in October 1964, but that appeal was dismissed on 5th November 1964. The relief granted to the appellant in appeal was a declaration that he was entitled to be integrated in accordance with the in--tegration letter, dated 25th November 1955. The Government of West Pakistan filed a second appeal before the High Court, but the same was also dismissed. The finding of the civil Court was that the appellant was entitled to rank higher than an Assistant and below Head Assistant. There upon the Government directed that the services of Malik Manzoor Hussain, Assistant Superintendent of the office of D. P. I.former Bahawalpur State should be integrated with the staff of the office of the D. P. I., Punjab by fixing his seniority in the integrated seniority list, as it stood on 14- 10-1955 immediately below Head Assistant and above Assistant posted in the office of D. P. I., Punjab on 13-10-1955. The Government further desired that proposals be put up for the creation of a supernumerary post for upgrading of an existing, post from the date he was due his promotion in accordance with the above seniority to the date he is absorbed in the office.- This order is reflected in the order of the Director of Education, dated 27th July 1966, Annexure ---D---, dated 27th July 1966. It was further stated in this order chat Malik Manzoor Hussain is hereby promoted w. e. f. 10-7- 1966 as officiating Superintendent (junior) in the office of Director of Education, Lahore Region, Lahore in a vacancy created by the retirement of Mirza Muhammad Hussain, Senior Superintendent. It was further ordered that for the purposes of seniority among Junior Superintendents, he would rank next below Mr. Habibur Rahman and immediately above Mr. Muhamnlad Shafique. The appellants are aggrieved by this ranking in seniority fixed by the Director of Education.
5. On 14th December 1966, Government decided that it was not necessary to create a supernumerary post in order to enable Malik Manzoor Hussain to draw pay in the higher post but his seniority should be corrected by showing him actually pro--moted on the due date. Though the promotion shall not involve any payment of arrears, correction of pay, should be fixed w. e. f. the due date namely 14-10-1955. It should be remembered that this order was made in continuation of the Government's direction contained in the order dated 11th July 1966. In accordance with the Government's decision, the Director of Education, Lahore Region, ordered promotion of Malik Manzoor Hussain as Junior Superintendent w. e. f. 14-10-1955 against an available clear post. This order is being challenged on behalf of the two appellants as an order, which is not backed by any formal order of the Government. The appellants feel aggrieved by this order because if the date of continuous promotion of Malik Manzoor Hussain as Junior Superintendent being 14-10-1955, he becomes senior to the appellants, who were promoted as Junior Superintendents from 11-6-1962 and 1-1-1960. The validity of promotion of Malik Manzoor Hussain is also challenged on the ground that the rules did not permit of his promotion from the rank of Assistant Superintendent, which he held.
6. In connection with the date of promotion of Malik Manzoor Hussain as Junior Superintendent from 14-10-1955, we have been referred to the written statement, filed on behalf of the Government. We are satisfied, however, that his promotion as Junior Superintendent w. e. f. 14-10-1955 on the basis of seniority, which he- was able to establish through the civil Court, was ordered as is reflected in the order of the Director of Education, dated 16th May 1967, Annexure 'G'. Since Malik Manzoor Hussain was able to establish that he was entitled to rank senior to all the Assistants, it is not unreasonable or unnatural to expect that he should get promotion from 14-10-1955, the date of integration on the basis of seniority, established by him as a result of civil suit filet by him. We are not inclined to give effect to the contention that there is no formal order to back the order of Director of Education, dated the 16th May 1967.
7. We are also not impressed with the contention that Malik Manzoor Hussain respondent is not entitled to rank senior to the appellant as Superintendent as the rules do not permit his promotion.
8. Moreover, his promotion was ordered w. e. f. 14-10-1955, and having been in existence for over 15 years is no longer open to any challenge. According to the appendix of the West Pakistan Education Department Ministerial Sub--ordinate Service Rules, 1963, the post of Superintendent has to be filled by promotion from among members of the service, in the region where the vacancy, occurs, who are holding any one of the posts, including Senior Accountant/Head Clerk/Divisional Auditor. As he was placed above all the Assistants as a result of integration, he remained as Assistant and was, therefore, entitled to promotion under the Rules of 1963. His promotion cannot be said to be invalid.
9. The learned council for the appellants further contends that the integration of the appellants above Assistants vas not valid, not being in accordance with the integration letter, dated 25th November 1955. We are not inclined to give effect to this con--tention for the reason that the integration of respondent No. 3 took place in pursuance of a decree of a civil Court, by which the Provincial Government was bound. The order having become final is no longer capable of being challenged.
10. We may mention that the seniority of Malik Manzoor Hussain, respondent was also challenged before us in case No. 342/146 of 1970 by Mr. Bashir Ahmed Bhatti. We dismissed his appeal by our order-dated 2nd November 1970.
11. Not finding any - force in any of the grounds raised by the appellants, we dismiss this appeal leaving the parties to bear their own costs.