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Rajasthan State Sports Council & Anr. v. Smt. Uma Dadhich & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 62Decided 21 Jan 2019
Civil Appeal No. 883 of 2019
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice Hemant Gupta

Background

The respondent, a sports coach, was not promoted to the post of Sports Officer when nine others were promoted in 2009 against vacancies that had arisen back in 2003-2004. She challenged this before the High Court, arguing that the criteria applicable at the time the vacancies arose (seniority) should govern, rather than the "seniority-cum-merit" criteria introduced later in 2006. The High Court's Division Bench agreed with her and directed the Sports Council to reconsider her case for promotion using the older, pre-2006 criteria.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that an employee has no vested right to promotion but only a right to be considered under the rules as they exist on the date the promotion exercise is actually carried out - not the rules in force when the vacancy first arose. It found that the applicable service rule did not require vacancies to be filled using the criteria of the year in which they originated, and relied on its own prior precedents establishing this principle. It therefore held the High Court's direction was unsustainable, set aside the High Court's judgment, and allowed the appeal, while clarifying that any promotion the respondent may have already received in the ordinary course would not be affected.

Lesson Learnt

Government employees awaiting promotion do not get to "lock in" the promotion criteria that existed when a vacancy first arose; unless the rules say otherwise, the criteria actually in force at the time the promotion decision is made will normally apply.

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

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