Promotions in service are effective only from the date granted, not retrospectively, unless explicit rules allow such actions.

ORDER

Per : Hon’ble Shri Lok Ranjan, Member (A)

All the Applicants were aggrieved by same cause of action against the same Respondents and are praying for similar relief. Therefore to avoid multiplicity of litigation, they had filed the instant OA jointly.

2. The Applicants were aggrieved by the promotion and seniority assigned to them in the grade of Geologist [erstwhile Geologist (Jr.)], which had been delayed due to not holding of the meetings of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) in time in the recruitment years 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 etc. despite availability of vacancies and qualified candidates ; and were seeking the ante-dating of their promotion/seniority notionally, in line with the Order dated 13.02.2014 of the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Lucknow Bench, in the O.A. No.221/2006.

3. On the basis of the pleadings of the parties in the case before us, the relevant matrix of facts in the case had emerged as follows briefly. The Applicants were appointed to the post of Assistant Geologist or were promoted to the post of Assistant Geologist from the cadre of Senior Technical Assistant (Geology). As per recruitment rules and Departmental Policy dated 02.04.1979, the next promotional/higher post for the Grade of Assistant Geologist was the Grade of Geologist(Junior) ; and 50% of the posts in the Grade of Geologist(Jr.) were to be filled by Direct Recruitment (DR) and 50% by promotion from amongst the Assistant Geologists, who had completed three years continuous service in the Grade. Accordingly, on completion of three years continuous service in the Grade of Assistant Geologist, the Applicants also had become eligible for consideration for promotion to the Grade of Geologist(Jr). As per extant rules vide O.M. No.22011/3/91-Estt.(D) dated 13.05.1991, the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) should have been convened at regular annual intervals to draw panels, which could be utilized for making promotions against the vacancies occurring during the course of a year ; and such requirement of convening annual meetings of the DPC could be dispensed with only after a Certificate had been issued by the Appointing Authority that there were no vacancies to be filled by promotion or no officers were due for confirmation during the year in question. Despite availability of vacancies as well as eligible officers, inter alia the Applicants, no DPC meeting was convened/held in the recruitment year 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 etc. for making promotion to the Geologist(Jr.) against 50% promotion quota. At the same time, the Respondent Department had been filling up the 50% of vacancies in Geologist (Jr.) through DR. Later, the Respondents had promoted the Applicants to the post of Geologist(Jr.) vide Order dated 22.03.2002, while providing that the promotion will take effect from the date of assumption of the post of Geologist(Jr) and not from the date of acquiring eligibility / availability of vacancies. Thereby, the Applicants had been rendered as junior to those officials who were appointed under DR quota against vacancies of 1997-98.

4. Against this, the Applicants and other similarly situated officials had made representations, but no action was taken by Respondents. Some of similarly situated officials had then filed the O.A. No.221/2006 (Ramanand and Ors. Vs. Union of India and Ors.) before the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal Lucknow Bench, Lucknow which was allowed vide the Order dated 13.02.2014 with direction to grant the notional promotion to the Applicants from the date of occurrence of the vacancies as per the seniority in the feeder grade. Further, the Respondents were directed to refix the