An employee has a right to be considered for promotion according to the rules, and administrative delays infringing this right can lead to notional promotions being granted.

ORDER

This Writ Petition has been filed to direct the respondents to grant notional promotion to the petitioner to the post of Joint Director of Agriculture based on the particulars forwarded for inclusion of his name in the panel for Joint Director of Agriculture for the year 2017-2018 with effect from the date on which the proposals have been received by the Government in May 2018 or from the crucial date or from the date of accrual of vacancy whichever is earlier and beneficial to the petitioner as guided by the Hon'ble Apex Court in similar cases and direct the respondents herein to disburse all the consequential attendant, service and monetary benefits and also the revised retiral pensionary benefits, enhanced regular pension in the post of Joint Director of Agriculture and disburse all the accrued arrears within a time that may be fixed by this Court.

2. Heard Mr.K.Rajkumar, learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr.T.Chezhiyan, learned Additional Government Pleader for the respondents and perused the materials available on record.

3. The petitioner has been promoted to the post of Assistant Director with retrospective effect on par with his junior for the promotion year 2007-08 with due seniority and he was also given with the notional promotion in the cadre of Deputy Director also for the promotional year 2013-14 on par with his above junior. The next level of promotion for the petitioner would be the Joint Director of Agriculture. The crucial date for preparing the promotion panel for the post of Joint Director would be 01.04.2017. During that relevant point of time, there are 16 vacancies in the post of Joint Director, Agriculture. The petitioner's name was also included in the panel and the panel was sent to the Government from the Directorate during May 2017 itself. The petitioner has got his age of superannuation on 30.06.2017 and retired from service.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that despite the petitioner's name has been included in the panel, he is not able to get promotion because of the delay involved in approving the panel and issuing the order of promotion.

5. The learned Additional Government Pleader for the respondents submitted that as on the date when the panel was approved, the petitioner was not in service and hence, no promotion can be given to a person who did not exist in service at the relevant point of time. In the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court held in the case of Ramachandra Dayaram Gawande Vs. Union of India, reported in 1997 SCC (L&S) 99, it is held that no employee has a right to promotion but has a right to be considered for promotion according to the rules. It is further submitted that in the case on hand, the petitioner's name was not taken up for consideration to be included in the approved panel and hence, the relief as sought by the petitioner cannot be granted.

6. There cannot be any disagreement on the rule laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that a person cannot claim promotion as a matter of right, but he has a right to be considered for promotion in accordance with the rules. The petitioner has been considered for promotion and only on that basis, his name has been included in the promotion panel for the year 2017-18. The crucial date for preparing promotion panel would be 01.04.2017.

7. The panel has been rightly prepared because as on the said crucial date, there were 16 vacancies available in the post of Joint Director of Agriculture. Had the respondent Government considered and given its approval order without any administrative delay, that would have placed the petitioner in a better position and he would have got his promotion before his retirement. Despite the petitioner was found to have been included in the promotion panel, he could not get the actual promotion due to the administrative delay caused in granting the order of approval.

8. In fact, the Government is going to give the seal of approval for those candidates who have been recommended by th