Promotion is not a matter of right and should be based on fair consideration according to established principles. There is no specific legislation for reservation in promotion, and the consideration for promotion is subject to relevant guidelines and eligibility.

The brief facts of the case are as follows:-

The petitioner, viz., All India Insurance SC/ST and OBC Employees Action Committee represented by its President G.Ganesan has filed this writ petition against the respondents to call for the records on the file of the third respondent herein/The Chairman-cum-Managing Director, New India Insurance Company Limited, Mumbai, in Ref.No.R.O.Personnel dated 10.09.1999 for the posts of promotional vacancies for Supervisory, Clerical Subordinate Staff (Other than A/O Cadre)-1999 and Ref.No.H.R.M./PROMOTION/SMP/99 dated 04.05.1999 for the posts of promotional vacancies for supervisory, clerical and subordinate staff promotion to the cadre of Assistant Administrative Officers under para 30, 30A and 31 of the promotion policy (Departmental and Competitive) and to quash the same and direct the respondents to implement the reservation policy in accordance to the Department of personnel O.M.No.27/2/71 Estt (SCT) dated 27.11.1972 and O.M.No.36021/7/75 Estt 9 SCT) dated 25.02.1976 and as per Judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court in Indrasahaney Vs. Union of India and pass orders.

2. The petitioner stated that the petitioner's organization is registered under the Societies Act in the year 1989. It has been affiliated to prominent and leading to All India Federation of SC/ST, BC and Minorities Employees Welfare Association, Delhi Schedule Caste Welfare Association and India National Trade Union Congress. The General Insurance Corporation of India is a Public Sector Undertaking of Government of India and since it is an instrumental of State under Article 12 of Constitution of India and the Corporation ought to have followed all the guidelines and instructions issued by the Government of India from time to time in the matter of reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes.

3. The petitioner further stated that in spite of repeated directions and the instructions from the Government of India to the respondents to follow the reservation policy in accordance with law, the respondents time and again are deliberately ignoring such directions and instructions, thereby causing hardship and inconvenience to the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes Employees and one such instance was in the year 1991. This petitioner also had filed a writ petition No.13614 of 1991 for direction from the Hon'ble Court to implement the reservation policy in recruitment of Assistants in the respondents companies. Only after this Court passed an order of injunction, restraining the respondents from proceeding with the improper recruitment, the respondents companies came forward to follow the reservation policy. Whenever the vacancies arises in the respondents Corporation and its subsidiary companies, the respondents used to declare the vacancies and in the declaration they used to specify the number of posts reserved for the Scheduled Castes/Tribes against the total declared promotional vacancies. The General Insurance Corporation of India has its subsidiaries, viz., 1) The New India Assurance Company Limited, 2) The United India Insurance Company Limited, 3) The Oriental Insurance Company Limited and 4) National Insurance Company Limited. At present the New India Assurance Company had published the notification for the posts of Senior Assistants to Assistant Administrative Officers and Assistants to Senior Assistants, the vacancies had been identified based on the number of posts sanctioned by the Corporation and its subsidiaries.

Thereby, it is evident from the column that the vacancies have been made generally and no reservation has been allotted.

4. The petitioner further stated that the criteria for promotion from Senior Assistant to Administrative Officers and Assistants to Senior Assistants is based on the promotion policy that would be declared by the Corporation and its subsidiaries from time to time.

As per promotion policy, the basic qualification is for the post of Senior Assist