Administrative delays should not prejudice candidates’ rights to promotion when eligibility is established, emphasizing procedural fairness and adherence to seniority in selections.

ORDER :

N. ANAND VENKATESH, J.

These writ petitions have been filed by the Professors working in the Specialities of (i) Obstetrics and Gynaecology; (ii) General Surgery and (iii) Orthopaedics, who were aspiring for promotion and selection to the post of Dean and were deprived of the same by virtue of the Government Order in G.O.(D) No.1044 Health and Family Welfare (A1) Department dated 03.10.2024 issued by the first respondent, questioning the promotion of the private respondents as Deans of various Government Medical Colleges and for a consequential direction to the official respondents to give promotion to the petitioners as Deans by placing them at the appropriate position in the panel for the year 2024-2025 to the post of Dean in the Government Medical Colleges as per their seniority in the Civil Medical List (CML).

2. Heard the respective learned counsel appearing on behalf of both parties.

3. Initially, W.P.No.26560 of 2024 came to be filed by the two petitioners seeking a direction to the official respondents to consider the inclusion of their names in the 2024-2025 panel for the post of Dean consequent upon the promotion counselling conducted on 26.2.2019 and in accordance with the subsequent proceedings of the second respondent dated 05.7.2024.

4. W.P.No.26560 of 2024 came to be disposed of by an order dated 12.9.2024 in the following terms :

“3. The case of the petitioners is that the petitioners 1 & 2 are working as Associate Professors from 2013 onwards. Subsequently, a promotion counselling was conducted on 26.02.2019 and the order of promotion for the post of Professor was issued on 03.05.2019 and both the petitioners joined the post of Professor on 15.05.2019 and 13.05.2019 respectively.

4. The State Government issued orders in G.O.(4D). No.2, dated 15.02.2019 to streamline the teaching post in the Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals under the control of DME by sanctioning the post matrix for Speciality Department in every Government Medical Colleges and attached institutions. Accordingly, the Government directed conducting promotional counselling for the post of Professor after the completion of the transfer counselling subject to the availability of the vacancies and preparation of panel.

5. In the light of the above G.O, circulars were issued by the 2nd respondent dated 22.02.2019 and 24.02.2019 to conduct promotional counselling for all the Speciality Departments for promotion to the post of Professors. In so far as the petitioners are concerned, since they were fully qualified and completed three years of service in the post of Associate Professor, there were allowed to participate in the promotional counselling conducted on 26.02.2019. The further case of the petitioners is that the Dean of a Medical College is an Administrative Post coming under the common pool and the feeder post for the same is the post of Professor and the seniority is taken into consideration in the CML in all the Speciality Departments.

6. The Government issued letter dated26.06.2024 through which the 2nd respondent was directed to include the name of the Medical Officers promoted as Professors in different Speciality Departments including the OG Department for whom promotion order for the post of Professors was delayed in the year 2019. This happened due to the pendency of some writ petitions and also the following pandemic.

7. The 1st respondent passed orders on 26.06.2024 followed by the proceedings of the 2nd respondent dated 05.07.2024 for rectification of the discrepancies in the matter of eligibility out of all medical officers who were