The main legal point established in the judgment is that the promotion and seniority of the petitioner were correctly determined based on the BSF Rules 1969, maintaining seniority State/Frontier wise, and that the petitioner's claim for antedated promotion had been previously dismissed, and the issue had attained finality.

Deepa Sharma, J.

1. By way of this writ petition filed in the year 2012, the petitioner has made the following prayers:-

a. Issue a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to consider and promote the petitioner to the rank of Inspector w.e.f. 16th October, 1971 when his junior batch mates of the year 1968 batch Sub- Inspectors were so promoted without his knowledge and from the back of the Petitioner and pass an order with regard to his future promotion to respective posts on due date when similarly situated employees were considered and promoted and to fix properly at each stage of seniority in respective posts and grant all consequential benefits.

b. set aside the order dated 11th October, 2011 passed by the DIG, BSF.

2. At the outset it is pertinent to mention that this is the third round of litigation between the parties. The first writ petition no. 7639 /2001 was filed by petitioner on 19th December, 2001 and the second writ petition no. 15159/2006 filed on 27th September, 2006. He also filed Review Petition No. 223/2011 on 28th March, 2011 and then the contempt petition no. 791/2011 which was decided on 24th October, 2011.

3. The brief facts of the case are that the petitioner was enrolled in BSF as Sub-Inspector (Direct Entry) on 17 May, 1968 as a Scheduled Caste in the reserved category. After completion of basic training at BSF Academy Takanpur w.e.f 17th May, 1968 to 17th February, 1969, he was posted to 02 Bn BSF at Dartiwala, Gujarat then deployed at Rajasthan under Punjab Fontier till Oct 1970. Thereafter, he was posted to 103 Bn BSF, Hazaribagh (Bihar) at Training Centre and School and remained posted there till 18.10.1975. He was posted to 52 Bn BSF in Oct 1975 and further posted to 47 Bn BSF in 1976 under erstwhile North-Western Frontier, Srinagar.

4. The petitioner was considered for promotion as Inspector by DPC held in Srinagar Frontier on 09th October, 1975. The said DPC recorded following remarks against the name of the petitioner:-

“FAIL IN RECORDS AND IN AGGREGATE EVEN AFTER RELAXATION AS SCHEDULED CASTE.”

5. Thus he was not empanelled by the said DPC. Some Sub-Inspectors got promotion as Subedar against existing vacancies in the Frontier where they were posted.

6. The petitioner remained posted at the Training Institution from October 1970 till 1975 (103rd Bn. BSF) Hazirabagh, Bihar and was promoted as a Subedar thereafter with effect from 06th March, 1978 against the vacancies existing in the Frontier/Headquarter where he was posted at the time of DPC. Till 1975, the promotions were made on the basis of seniority at Frontier/State where the personnel were posted.

7. Later, when it was decided by BSF for centralization of promotion/seniority of Sub-Inspectors and above, in order to extend same benefits to the petitioner as given to Shri B.R. yadav, P.C. Sharma & D.S. Ahluwalia and a few others, a review DPC was convened and seniority of 357 persons including the petitioner in the rank of Inspector was revised vide order No. 17/49/94-Pers/BSF dated 09.11.1994. An attempt was made to hold review DPC’s to consider the petitioner and others for promotion to the rank of Assistant Commandant and above. However, in view of the order dated 06th April, 1995 passed in TP No. 41-55/1995 filed by Direct Recruit Assistant Commandants, the recommendation of said review DPC in respect of the petitioner and others could not be given effect.

8. A DPC held on 11/13th June, 1986 considered the petitioner for his promotion to the rank of Assistant Commandant in BSF treated him as general category candidate. He could not be promoted. On it being realised that the petitioner falls in the reserved category, his case was reviewed by Review DPC and he was given notional promotion as Assistant Commandant with effect from 01st April, 1987 i.e. from the date persons junior to him were promoted. By order No.C-17011/2001/CC/Pers/BSF dated 24th March, 2005 the petitioner was given arrear of pay and allowances for t