The Division Bench of the Delhi High Court in the case of Bernadette Lakra & Anr. vs Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Ors. consisting of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad observed that Ad-hoc Promotees are entitled for seniority from the date on which regular promotions were granted to them only after fulfilling the qualifications.
Facts
The petitioners before this Court – who were Direct Recruits on the post of Women Sub-Inspector (Executive), filed the present petition being aggrieved by the order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in the original application whereby it was held that as the Promotees, who were promoted on ad-hoc basis and whose ad-hoc promotions were regularized with retrospective effect, were regularized w.e.f. 30.11.1995, they were rightly placed above the Direct Recruits who were recruited in the year 1997 and 1998.
Observations of the Court
Referring to the statutory provisions governing the field, as contained in Rule 19 of the Delhi Police (Promotion & Confirmation) Rules, 1980, the Bench observed that the same provide that the persons who have been promoted on ad-hoc basis shall not be entitled to seniority from the date of ad-hoc promotion.
Relying on Rule 12 to Rule 17 of the aforesaid Rules, it noted that once a candidate is selected for the purpose of promotion from the post of Assistant Sub-Inspector (Executive), he shall first be kept in List E-I and upon completion of Upper School Course, he will be promoted to the post of Sub-Inspector, subject to availability of vacancies. It further noted that the Promotees in the present case were not fulfilling the required qualification prescribed under the Rules, and in those circumstances, the ad-hoc promotions were given to them.
Relying on Commissioner of Police & Ors. vs. Sunil Kumar and Tapan Kumar Dutta & Others Vs. Election Commission of India & Ors. it was reiterated that ad-hoc promotions cannot treated as regular promotions. So, in the present case, the Ad-hoc Promotees were entitled for seniority from the date on which regular promotions were granted to them, after fulfilling the qualifications prescribed under the Recruitment Rules.
Judgment
The Court concluded that the Tribunal erred in law and facts by directing grant of seniority to the Ad-hoc Promotees from the date of conferral of ad-hoc promotion, especially since they were not fulfilling the qualification prescribed for promotion on regular basis on the date of grant of ad-hoc promotion. Therefore, the order of the Tribunal was hereby set aside. The Direct Recruits were directed to be placed over and above the Ad-hoc Promotees and the Promotees were be entitled for seniority from the date they have been granted actual regular promotion.
Case: Bernadette Lakra & Anr. vs Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Ors.
Citation: W.P.(C) 4765/2014
Bench: Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, Justice Subramonium Prasad
Decided on: 6th September 2022
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