Case Note & Summary
The dispute arose from the promotion of certain Overseers in the Bihar Subordinate Engineering Service to Assistant Engineers in the Bihar Engineering Service, Class II. The Governor of Bihar had established a rule in 1958 reserving 25% of posts for promotion and 75% for direct recruitment. Respondents 1 to 5 were directly appointed as Assistant Engineers in 1961, while the appellants were promoted in 1962 and thereafter. The government issued orders in 1975, 1976, and 1977, retroactively promoting the appellants to dates prior to the appointments of the respondents, thereby altering their seniority. The respondents challenged these orders in the Patna High Court, which quashed them, stating that no one could be promoted retrospectively from a date when they were not part of the cadre. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's ruling, emphasizing that seniority must be based on the date of initial entry into service and that retrospective promotions that adversely affect others are illegal. The court confirmed that the appellants could not be considered senior to the respondents as they were not in the cadre at the time of the latter's recruitment. The appeals were dismissed without costs.
Headnote
A) Service Law - Seniority - Retrospective Promotion - No person can be promoted with retrospective effect from a date when he was not born in the cadre so as to adversely affect others - Bihar Public Works Department Code, 1958, Rule 2 - The court held that the retrospective promotion of the appellants was arbitrary and illegal as it adversely affected the seniority of the directly recruited respondents who were appointed earlier. The High Court's decision to quash the government orders was upheld (Paras 418-420).
Issue of Consideration
Whether seniority can be conferred on promotees retrospectively from a date they were not born in the cadre.
Final Decision
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals, upholding the High Court's decision to quash the retrospective promotions as arbitrary and illegal, confirming that seniority must be based on the date of initial entry into service.
Law Points
- Service law
- seniority
- retrospective promotion
- direct recruitment
- arbitrary orders
