Service rendered in equivalent rank during deputation recognized for promotion eligibility under recruitment rules, starting eligibility period based on actual service rather than mere absorption date.

JUDGMENT

Rajiv Shakdher, J.:

Table of Contents

Preface:-

1. These are writ petitions directed against the order dated 07.01.2021, passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal [in short "the Tribunal"] in O.A. No. 2273/2017.

2. For the sake of convenience, Jasveer Singh [i.e., the original applicant], who is the petitioner in W.P.(C.) 6686/2021, will be hereafter referred to as the petitioner. Likewise, the Union of India (UOI) and others i.e., the Director General, National Investigation Agency (NIA), in effect, NIA and the Secretary, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension, Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), in effect, DoPT, will be collectively described as the respondents, unless the context requires otherwise.

3. The principal grievance of the petitioner is that the respondents have not given him the benefit of the service rendered by him in his parent department i.e., the Border Security Force (BSF), prior to his absorption in NIA.

3.1. According to the petitioner, the failure to recognise the service rendered by the petitioner in BSF in a post which was the equivalent to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police (in short "DSP") in NIA, marred his opportunity for being considered for promotion to the post of Additional Superintendent of Police [in short "ASP"] in the vacancy year 2017-2018.

4. The position of the NIA is rooted in Ministry of Home Affairs [in short `MHA'] communication, dated 13.02.2017 which, in turn, is based on the opinion of the DoPT in the communication dated 08.02.2017; which was rendered in the context of promotion to the post of Head Constable, the feeder post for which was, Constable.

4.1. The DoPT, via its communication dated 08.02.2017 addressed to respondent no.1/UOI, in effect, MHA, had taken the position qua the eligibility criterion in the Recruitment Rules [in short "RRs"] which provided that for promotion to the post of Head Constable, the concerned person should have rendered five years of regular service in the feeder post [i.e., the post of Constable], and that the period of five years would commence from the date of absorption. As indicated above, this opinion was rendered qua NIA to MHA in the context of promotion from the post of Constable to Head Constable.

4.2. Given this position, the respondents took the same stand in respect of the petitioner, and thus, via communication dated 20.04.2017 informed the petitioner that, he would attain the eligibility criteria for being considered for the post of ASP only on 04.05.2020 for the year 2021-2022.

4.3. In other words, according to the respondents, the eligibility criteria given in the Recruitment Rules i.e., five years of regular service in NIA would be counted from the date of absorption in the NIA, and therefore, the petitioner would become eligible only on 04.05.2020, having been absorbed in NIA on 05.05.2015.

4.4. Therefore, as indicated above, as per the stand of the respondents, the petitioner could be considered for promotion to the post of ASP only in 2021-2022.

5. It is in this backdrop that the petitioner approached the Tribunal by way of an original application i.e., O.A. No.2273/2017. The petitioner, thus, assailed the order of the DoPT dated 08.02.2017, the communication of MHA dated 13.02.2017 and the communicatio