Promotion Only Becomes Effective Upon Assumption Of Duties Of Post And Not On Date Of Occurrence Of Vacancy Or Date Of Recommendation: SC
The Supreme Court has held that promotion only becomes effective upon the assumption of duties on the promotional post and not on the date of occurrence of the vacancy or the date of recommendation.
The Court reversed the Judgment of the Calcutta High Court and the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal), which had directed notional financial benefits for a promotional post that was never assumed before retirement. The Appeal, filed by the Government of West Bengal, challenged the High Court’s decision to grant benefits for the post of Chief Scientific Officer (employee) who had retired.
The Bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Sandeep Mehta held, “The legal precedents discussed above establish that promotion only becomes effective upon the assumption of duties on the promotional post and not on the date of occurrence of the vacancy or the date of recommendation. Considering that respondent No. 1 superannuated before his promotion was effectuated, he is not entitled to retrospective financial benefits associated to the promotional post of Chief Scientific Officer, as he did not serve in that capacity.”
Senior Advocate Soumya Chakraborty represented the Appellants, while AOR Kunal Chatterji appeared for the Respondents.
The employee earlier served as Principal Scientific Officer and later became eligible for promotion to Chief Scientific Officer following an amendment to the relevant Recruitment Rules in January 2016. Although his promotion was recommended by the Public Service Commission (PSC), final approval was granted in 2017—four days after his retirement.
The employee approached the Tribunal, seeking retrospective promotion and corresponding financial benefits. The Tribunal, while holding that retrospective promotion was not allowed under the West Bengal Service Rules, Part-I of 1971, directed notional financial benefits for the promotional post with effect from the date of his retirement to ensure higher pensionary benefits. The High Court upheld this decision, leading to the State’s appeal before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had to determine whether the employee, who was recommended for the promotion before his retirement but did not receive actual promotion to the higher post due to administrative delays, was entitled to notional financial benefits of the promotional post after his retirement.
While recognising the Government employee’s right to be considered for promotion as a fundamental right under Articles 14 and 16(1) of the Constitution, the Court clarified that he does not hold an absolute right to the promotion itself.
“It is a well settled principle that promotion becomes effective from the date it is granted, rather than from the date a vacancy arises or the post is created. While the Courts have recognized the right to be considered for promotion as not only a statutory right but also a fundamental right, there is no fundamental right to the promotion itself,” the Bench explained.
The Court referred to its decision in Bihar State Electricity Board and Others v. Dharamdeo Das, wherein it was held that “a promotion is effective from the date it is granted and not from the date when a vacancy occurs on the subject post or when the post itself is created. No doubt, a right to be considered for promotion has been treated by courts not just as a statutory right but as a fundamental right, at the same time, there is no fundamental right to promotion itself.”
Consequently, the Court set aside the decisions of the High Court and the Tribunal for being unsustainable.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court allowed the Appeal.
Cause Title: Government Of West Bengal & Ors. v. Dr. Amal Satpathi & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 906)
Appearance:
Appellants: Senior Advocate Soumya Chakraborty; Advocates Anju Thomas and Himanshu Chakravarty; AOR Astha Sharma
Respondents: AOR Kunal Chatterji; Advocates Maitrayee Banerjee and Rohit Bansal