Circumstances Were Beyond Personnel’s Control: Delhi HC Directs Authorities To Grant Retrospective Seniority To CRPF Personnel

The Court was hearing a Writ Petition challenging Signals which excluded the Petitioner from promotion to Second-in-Command (2-I/C) and later communications declaring the Petitioner ineligible for the promotion due to lack of qualifying service. The Petitioner also contested a Signal regarding seniority re-assignment and Orders which denied him Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU) in the Junior Administrative Grade.

The bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur relied on the decision in Ashok Kumar v. Union of India & Ors., 2009 and quoted, “…court held that where the department is at fault in not letting a person complete two years duty in a duty battalion, non-fulfillment of the eligibility condition for promotion requiring two years service in a duty battalion cannot be held against the person concerned.”

Advocate Ankur Chibber appeared for the Appellant and CGSC Vineet Dhanda appeared for the Respondent.

Brief Facts-

The Petitioner, a Sub-Inspector appointed to the CRPF in 1988, was promoted through the ranks to Inspector and then Assistant Commandant. After delays due to overseas deputation, he received a promotion to Deputy Commandant but was subsequently denied timely promotion to the rank of Second-in-Command and Non-Functional Financial Upgradation benefits. Despite repeated representations, he was only promoted to 2-I/C, while other officers received NFFU earlier. The Petitioner challenged the denial of timely promotions, seniority, and NFFU benefits.

The Court observed, “the respondents themselves had recognised that it was not due to the fault of the petitioner that the petitioner could not earlier be promoted to the rank of Assistant Commandant and later to the rank of Deputy Commandant along with his batchmates. It was due to circumstances beyond his control, that is, for him not being relieved by his borrowing department, that he could not obtain these ranks along with his batchmates.”

Accordingly, the Court said that the denial of retrospective seniority to the petitioner in the rank of 2-I/C along with his batchmates and above his immediate junior in the said rank, cannot be sustained.

Finally, the Court disposed of the Writ Petition.