The main legal point established in the judgment is the requirement of fulfilling the mandatory duty battalion tenure for promotion to the rank of Commandant in the Border Security Force, and the necessity of waiving mandatory tenure to enable eligibility for promotion.

T. Vaiphei, J.

1. In this writ petition, the Petitioner is seeking the interference of this Court for issuing a writ in the nature of Quo Warranto for directing the Respondents to consider his case for promotion to the rank of Commandant in the Border Security Force (BSF). Shorn of unnecessary details, his case is that he joined the BSF as Sub-Inspector (General Duty) on 29.11.1971 and was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commandant in the year 1989 and thence to the rank of Deputy Commandant in June, 1995 where after he took over the charge of Joint Assistant Director (G) at the F.H.Q., C.G.O. Complex, New Delhi. From 1999 to 15.4.2004, he was transferred on deputation to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). He has admittedly been awarded various rewards such as Police Medal for Meritorious Service, three D.G.'s Commendation Roles, three Commendations by the Joint Director, IB, two Commendations by the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs for exemplary performance. In the year 2001, the recruitment rules was replaced by a new set of rules called the Border Security Force (General Duty Officers) Recruitment Rules, 2001 ("the Recruitment Rules" for short), which came into force on 30.6.2001 after its publication in the Gazette of India. Under the new rules, one of the eligibility criteria for promotion from the rank of Deputy Commandant to the rank of Second-in-Command is two years' service as Second-in-Command Duty Battalion. According to the Petitioner, it was only in the year 2003 that his name came to be listed in the panel of eight officers in service in a duty Battalion for promotion to the rank of Second-in-Command. Though the Petitioner was repatriated to the BSF on 15.4.2004 and rejoined the same on 2.5.2004 and had, therefore, became eligible for promotion to the post of Second-in-Command, his case was withheld, while his juniors were promoted. When he brought this anomaly to the notice of the Respondent No. 1 on 11.2.2005, the Respondent No. 2 was directed to promote the Petitioner to the rank of Second-in-Command with retrospective effect from June, 2004 without financial benefit for the period between June, 2004 and June, 2006.

2. It is the further case of the Petitioner that despite such direction, his promotion order was issued only on 19.6.2006 by giving him notional seniority in the rank of Second-in-Command with effect from 29.6.2004, which delayed his promotion by two years. It is admitted by the Petitioner that he did not fulfill the criteria relating to mandatory two years' service as Second-in-Command Duty Battalion, but he claims that he was not responsible for this deficiency and that this tenure shortfall came about due to the failure of the Respondent authorities to consider his case for promotion in time. His representation dated 12.10.2006 to the Respondent No. 1 for waiving the mandatory battalion tenure for two years in the post of Second-in-Command, was rejected by the letter dated 23.7.2007. It is contended by the Petitioner that the refusal on the part of the Respondents to count the period of his notional promotion with effect from June, 2004 for the purpose of promotion has rendered the entire exercise of granting him notional seniority an exercise in futility, thereby adversely affecting his promotional career vis-a-vis others. It is pointed out by the Petitioner that while this anomaly was yet to be removed, his junior, namely, Shri I.R. Siddique, was promoted to the rank of Commandant. It is submitted by the Petitioner that it is an established principle of service jurisprudence that the period of service rendered on deputation is to be treated as on duty in the parent cadre and the service condition of an employee cannot be construed in a manner disadvantageous to him. The Petitioner has come to learn that the promotion process for the rank of Commandant has started, for which the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) is being consti