Mere promotion of junior does not confer right upon senior for elevation, says HC

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 6

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that mere promotion of a junior, that too in violation of the statutory rules, will not confer a right upon a senior for being promoted to the same promotional post on that ground alone.

The Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Ashok Kumar Verma asserted it was required to be seen whether such a senior was firstly eligible for promotion under the statutory rules.

“If yes, then is there any other person senior to him eligible for consideration for promotion and thereafter is there a vacancy available after considering the eligible senior to him, against which he can be considered for promotion,” the Bench asserted.

The matter was brought to the notice of the High Court after Kiran Parkash filed an appeal against the state of Punjab and other respondents. The Bench was told that colleague Jagtar Singh was promoted as a Junior Engineer on June 24, 2009, without considering appellant Kiran Parkash. He was also a part of the feeder cadre and senior to respondent Jagtar Singh. Kiran Parkash then filed a writ petition, claiming promotion to a Junior Engineer’s post from the date his junior was promoted.

His counsel told the court that the official respondents admitted the appellant was senior to the respondent. They also acknowledged erroneous act in promoting Jagtar Singh and reverted him to the surveyor’s post.

He added that the Single Judge should have proceeded to grant him the benefit of promotion from the date his junior was promoted, once the respondents acknowledged that a person junior to the appellant had been promoted.

The Bench asserted it was an acknowledged fact on the respondents’ part that the appellant was eligible for consideration for promotion and fulfilled the requisite qualifications and experience. The star question for the court’s consideration was whether a vacancy was available against which the appellant could be considered after taking into account other eligible persons senior to the appellant.

“Unfortunately, the appellant has not been able to demonstrate or prove from the pleadings that there was a vacancy available against which he could be considered for promotion or that there was none eligible senior to him for such promotion,” the Bench added.