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Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. v. K. Nagarathnamma

Civil Appeal · 2017 INSC 1128Decided 22 Nov 2017
Civil Appeal No. 10703 of 2011
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice S. Abdul Nazeer

Background

BSNL appealed a decision on whether statutory reservation applies to a bare "upgradation" of an employee's pay scale (as opposed to an actual promotion to a higher post). The exact same legal question, involving BSNL itself, had already been decided in the company's favour by the Supreme Court in an earlier case, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. v. R. Santhakumar Velusamy & Ors., reported at (2011) 9 SCC 510.

Decision Breakdown

The two-judge bench held that the issue was squarely covered by the earlier BSNL v. Santhakumar Velusamy precedent, which had ruled that reservation does not apply to a mere upgradation that is not a full promotion. Applying that binding precedent, the Court allowed BSNL's appeal in terms of the earlier judgment, disposed of any pending applications, and made no order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

Once the Supreme Court has settled a legal question for a particular employer or scheme, later appeals raising the identical issue are typically disposed of quickly by applying the earlier precedent: reservation rules under service law apply differently to genuine promotions versus mere pay-scale upgradations.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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