Promotion eligibility must be based on fairness and non-arbitrariness, ensuring all eligible candidates are considered regardless of category.

JUDGMENT :

Heard learned counsels for the parties.

2. The instant writ application has been initially preferred by the writ petitioner, praying, inter-alia, for a direction upon the respondent authorities to consider the petitioner for promotion from the post of Junior Engineer to the post of Assistant Engineer. During the pendency of the writ petition, the petitioner was granted promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer, vide departmental notification dated 30.12.2023, the effect of which was given from the date of joining. Being aggrieved, the petitioner preferred one Interlocutory Application, being I.A. No.2818 of 2024, praying for an amendment in the prayer and pleading of the writ petition and prayer No.1(a) was sought to be added. The interlocutory application was allowed, vide order dated 29.04.2024. Thereafter, the petitioner has filed amended writ petition. The prayer allowed to be added, vide amendment application (interlocutory application), was to quash the decision of the DPC and further, to give retrospective effect to the promotion, notified by the department on 30.12.2023, from the post of Junior Engineer to the post of Assistant Engineer.

3. The brief facts of the case as per the pleadings are that there was vacancy in the cadre of Assistant Engineer in the department of Water Resources and the petitioner was eligible to be promoted. The petitioner was appointed to the post of Junior Engineer on 20.11.2007. He completed five years of regular service on 20.11.2012. On this date, he became eligible for consideration for promotion to the higher post of Assistant Engineer. At that point of time though there was vacancy in the cadre of Assistant Engineer in the department of Water Resources, and the petitioner was eligible to be promoted; but the petitioner was thereafter put to discharge his services in In-charge capacity.

Further fact of the case is that in the category of Schedule Caste, no promotion had taken place since the creation of State of Jharkhand and the first time, when such promotion had taken, was only on 30.12.2023. To substantiate this fact, the petitioner has brought on record Annexure-6, which is copy of the details relating to the petitioner which was placed before the DPC. The document clearly discloses that there has been no promotion in the SC category quota of the post of Assistant Engineer, after the creation of State of Jharkhand and these SC category posts, total 8 in number have remained vacant since then. During the pendency of this writ application the respondents have granted promotion to the petitioner in pursuance of notification dated 31.12.2023 with benefits from the date of joining and not from the time when petitioner ought to have been promoted. Hence the petitioner is before this Court.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the respondents have given promotion to the juniors, in the common gradation list, therefore, the petitioner is also entitled for promotion, at least from the date when they have been granted promotion. From perusal of para-29 and Annexure-8 annexed with it, a gradation list would come to force, in which it can be seen that the petitioner, who appears at seniority position No.2090, was not granted promotion; whereas, the juniors, who are in schedule tribe category, starting from seniority position No.2102 onwards, have been granted promotion.

He further submits that these promotions have been granted in pursuance to Annexure-9, i.e. departmental notification dated 20.11.2018. Therefore, it is clear that some of the candidates from the common gradation list, have been granted promotion to the higher post of Assistant Engineer.

5. Learned counsel contends that the employees, who have been granted promotion, are the candidates of ST category and the petitioner is a candidate of SC category, when the availability of vacancy in ST category pursued by the respondents to grant promotion to the above candidates (ST), then the petitioner who is in SC categ