Promotion to Deputy Registrar requires a minimum of 13 years’ service as Assistant Registrar, including 5 years in Senior Scale as per UGC regulations; retrospective claims on promotion are barred by res-judicata.

JUDGMENT

Satish Chandra Sharma, C.J. The present Appeal is arising out of judgment dated 17.08.2021 passed by Learned Single Judge in W.P.(C.) No. 8516/2021 titled Ravi Kant Sinha Vs. Jawaharlal Nehru University Through:Registrar.

2. The facts of the case reveal that the Appellant before this Court was an employee of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and was appointed as Assistant Registrar on 22.05.2008 in Pay Band-3 with Grade Pay of Rs.5400/- (Pre-Revised).

3. The Appellant after eight years of service was placed in a Grade Pay of Rs.6600/- with effect from 22.05.2016.

4. He came up before this Court claiming Ad-hoc promotion to the post of Deputy Registrar with effect from 05.06.2018 along with consequential benefits. The Petitioner in the Writ Petition stated, on 21.11.2015 the University had invited applications for recruitment of to Deputy Registrar (Pay Band-3 Grade Pay 7600/-) on Deputation/Short term contract basis. However, he was not recommended for promotion to Deputation/Short term contract basis.

5. The Petitioner has further stated that again on 09.12.2017, applications were invited for recruitment to Deputy Registrar (Pay Band-3 Grade pay 7600/-) on Deputation/Short term contract basis, and Dr. Jwala Prasad and Sh. P. Ajai Babu were appointed on 05.06.2018 and 11.06.2018 vide order dated 14.06.2018 and 15.06.2018 respectively.

6. The Petitioner has further stated that again two more candidates, namely, Sh. Gagandeep Singh and Sh. Sanjeev Kumar were appointed on Deputation/Short term contract basis vide order dated 27.08.2018 and 24.09.2018. However, Respondent once again ignored the claim of the present Appellant.

7. The Respondent JNU again issued an Advertisement on 24.11.2018 for recruitment of one Deputy Registrar on Deputation/Short term basis, and the Appellant preferred a Writ Petition i.e. W.P.(C.) No. 13715/2018 being aggrieved by the Advertisement dated 24.11.2018. He preferred another Writ Petition i.e. W.P.(C.) No. 1018/2019 challenging the Deputation Order in respect of Sh. P. Ajai Babu and Sh. Gagandeep Singh.

8. The Petitioner who has now been promoted to the post of Deputy Registrar with effect from April 2021, preferred a third Writ Petition i.e. W.P.(C.) No. 8516/2021 claiming Ad-hoc promotion with effect from 05.06.2018 from the date from which other persons were granted Ad-hoc promotion/appointed on Deputation to the post of Deputy Registrar, and the following reliefs were prayed by the Petitioner.

"a. To issue a writ of mandamus or pass any other direction to the Respondent University to give effect to the ad hoc promotion from 05.06.2018 and accordingly give all the consequential benefits to the Petitioner including pay fixation and annual increments; AND/OR

b. To issue a writ of mandamus directing the Respondent University to pay the Petitioner all the arrears due to him on account of higher grade pay which he would have received had his promotion taken place on 05.06.2018; AND/OR

c. To issue any appropriate writ or direction to Respondent University in the interest of justice"

9. The Learned Single Judge has dismissed the Writ Petition and Paragraph 2 to Paragraph 9 of the order passed by the Learned Single Judge reads as under:

"2. In effect, the prayer of the petitioner is that he should be given ad-hoc promotion to the post of Deputy Registrar w.e.f. June 05, 2018.

3. This petition is a third round of litigation by the petitioner, inasmuch as he had earlier filed writ petitions being W.P.(C) No. 13715/2018 and W.P.(C) 1018/2