Hon’ble Siddharth, J.—Heard Sri Ranjit Saxena, learned Counsel for the petitioner and Sri A.K.Saxena, learned Counsel for the respondents.

2. The above noted writ petition is directed against the order dated 29.5.2009 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Allahabad Bench, Allahabad dismissing Original Application No. 1572 of 2002, whereby the relief of promotion prayed by the petitioner was denied to him.

3. The brief facts of the petition are that the petitioner, while working as Chargeman Grade-II at Itarsi (Madhya Pradesh) sought transfer to Ordnance Clothing Factory, Shahjahanpur. This transfer was on his own request and on the condition that he will forego his seniority at the place of transfer and shall be placed at the bottom of the seniority list. Accordingly, the petitioner joined at Shahjahanpur on 17.3.1995 and was placed at serial No. 28 when his seniority required him to be placed at serial No. 3 just above Sri D.N. Tripathi, who was his immediate junior.

4. The petitioner became entitled to promotion on the post of Chargeman Grade-I w.e.f., 28.10.1996 and further to the post of Foreman w.e.f., 30.10.2002, with reference to the date of promotion of his immediate junior, Sri D.N. Tripathi. His claim for promotion was rejected in 1997 by the Director General, Ordnance Equipment Factory, Kanpur and then by the Ordnance Factory Board, Kolkata on the ground, that his seniority shall be reckoned from the date of his reporting at Ordnance Clothing Factory, Shahjahanpur and not from the date of his posting and Ordnance Factory Itarsi.

5. The petitioner challenged his non-promotion on the ground, that even by his transfer on his own request from Itarsi to Shahjahanpur, he did not lost the benefit of the period of his regular service at Itarsi, which has to be counted towards experience and eligibility for promotion. On this ground, he preferred Original Application No. 1572 of 2004 before the Tribunal, which was dismissed by the impugned order and hence this writ petition.

6. The stand of the respondents in the counter-affidavit is that the seniority of the petitioner shall be counted from the date he joined at Shahjahanpur on his own request, since he cannot be permitted to affect seniority of other employees working at Shahjahanpur. He has given an undertaking to forego his seniority and, therefore, it will operate as estoppel against him. It is also stated in the counter-affidavit that the post of Chargeman Grade-II was Ordnance Factory based post and, therefore, his seniority was counted on the basis of the length of service rendered in the factory. The length of service in other unit/factory was not relevant for considering promotion of the petitioner to the post of Chargeman Grade-I. All India Seniority List is not maintained for the post of Chargeman Grade-II. The services of Chargeman Grade-II is dealt by the respective units whereas the service matters of Chargeman Grade-I are dealt by the Ordnance Factory Board, Kolkata. It was not feasible to count the period of working of the petitioner at the factory at which he was posted at the former stage, as it will deprive the rights of the other incumbents of the factory. The petitioner abdicated his seniority, while joining at Shahjahanpur, therefore, his length of service has nothing to do with the length of service rendered at Itarsi and that is only relevant for the purpose of leave, retiral benefits etc., which do not affect the seniority of other employees at Shahjahanpur.

7. In support of his contention, the learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that the total regular service in a particular grade has to be taken into consideration as part of experience of an employee for the purpose of considering eligibility for promotion and it cannot be ignored only on the ground that it was not rendered at the place of transfer. In support of his contention, he has relied upon the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of “Union of India and others v