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Ravi Kant Thakral vs. Bank of Baroda

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026:DHC:7779Decided 9 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C) 5601/2019CNR: DLHC010237432019
Justice Sanjeev Narula

Background

The petitioner, a Deputy General Manager at Bank of Baroda, was ranked first on a "Reserve List" of officers eligible for promotion to General Manager, created in May 2016 to cover any additional vacancies that might arise during the year. Several vacancies did arise later that year (due to retirements and one officer's departure), but the Bank never actually used the Reserve List to fill them. The petitioner retired in 2018 without ever being promoted, and sued for promotion retroactive to December 2016 when he claims the first vacancy arose.

Decision Breakdown

The Court examined the Bank's own Promotion Policy and found that it expressly gave the Bank discretion to leave vacancies unfilled for administrative reasons, and that a Reserve/Wait List only obliged the Bank to draw candidates from it if it chose to "operate" the list: it did not create an automatic entitlement to promotion just because vacancies appeared while the list was valid. Relying on the Supreme Court's ruling in Shankarsan Dash v. Union of India, the Court held that inclusion in a select or reserve list, even at the top rank, does not by itself create an indefeasible right to appointment. Since none of the officers on the Reserve List were ever promoted (so there was no unfairness in how it was, or wasn't, used), and no evidence of bad faith was shown, the petition was dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

Being placed first on a promotion "reserve" or "wait" list does not guarantee promotion even if vacancies later open up, unless the employer's own rules make promotion from that list mandatory, the employer typically retains discretion to leave posts unfilled.

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