Discriminatory treatment in promotion affects employees' rights under constitutional provisions, necessitating retrospective benefits and equal treatment.

ORDER (ORAL)

PER: SURESH KUMAR BATRA, MEMBER (J)

The applicants in the above captioned 13 Original Applications are claiming similar relief on the same grounds and the facts are also similar in all these OAs, therefore, these have been taken up for hearing together and disposed of by this common order, with the consent of learned counsel for the parties.

2. The applicants in these 13 Original Applications are claiming benefit of promotion and its consequential benefits from the date of commencement of vacancy year against which they have promoted and have sought quashing of orders whereby their seniority and financial benefits have been ordered to be effective from the date of assumption of charge of promoted post. For the sake of convenience and to avoid repetition of details, the facts are being taken from O.A. No. 193/2021 titled Charanjit Singh vs. Union of India & Ors. The relief, as claimed in this O.A. is as under:-

“(i) That the Annexure A-1 to A-5 be quashed and set aside to the extent it grants promotion to the applicants with prospective effect whereas they have been promoted against the vacancies of the respective years.

ii) It be declared that the applicants are entitled to promotion with all consequential benefits w.e.f. due date against the vacancies year they have been considered and found eligible for promotion.

iii) The action of the respondents in denying the benefits of pay and allowances for the delay attributed to them and when similarly placed employees have been granted the arrears of pay and allowances and seniority from the due date of promotion instead from the date of assuming the charge of post be declared as wholly, illegal, discriminatory and violative of Article 14 & 16 of the Constitution of India.

iv) That this Hon'ble Tribunal may also pass any other Order, Direction in favour of the applicants, which it may deem fit in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case.

v) That the cost of the application may also be awarded in favour of the applicants.”

3. The facts of the case (as taken from O.A. No. 193/2021), in nutshell, are that the applicants No. 1 to 7 have retired from service and Applicant No. 8 is working as MCM Pipe Fitter. The next channel of promotion of the applicants from the post of Skilled Grade is to that of Highly Skilled Grade-II and as per Rules, Skilled Grade employee become entitled for promotion after rendering three years service and the criteria is for passing of relevant trade test. The applicants became eligible for promotion for the post of Highly Skilled Grade-II in the year 2015. The respondents convened DPC for promotion to various categories of the vacancies of the year 2014-2015 to 2017-18 in the year 2019. All the applicants were promoted as Skilled Category against the vacancies of the year 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2017-18, respectively.

4. The promotion orders of the applicants were issued against the vacancy of the year 2014-15, 2015-2016 and 2016-17 in 2019. It has been mentioned in the promotion order that promotion will be effective from the date of assumption of higher appointment in order of seniority in existing grade. In similar circumstances, the respondents convened DPC for promotion to various categories of the vacancies of the year 2014-2015 vide letter dated 14.09.2018 and employees, who were within the zone of consideration they were promoted w.e.f. 01.04.2015 by giving them adhoc promotion from SK to HS-II vide letter No. 11 (5)/2009-D (Civ-1) dated 14.06.2010 and letter No. D (Wks-II) ID No. 6 (29)/2017/D (Works-II) dated 07.05.2018. The employees promoted vide letter dated 14.09.2018, their pay was fixed from 01.04.2