SGT Chaman Lal v. Union of India & Ors.
Background
The appellant, an Indian Air Force sergeant, developed a bone condition that was initially (and, as later proven, erroneously) diagnosed as cancer, leading to invasive surgery and a permanent disability that downgraded his medical category. He sought an inquiry into medical negligence, retention in service, and retrospective promotion to Junior Warrant Officer, arguing that Section 47 of the Persons with Disabilities Act (which bars denial of promotion on disability grounds) protected his claim; the Delhi High Court rejected his promotion claim.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that a 2002 government notification validly exempted all combatant categories of the armed forces from Section 47 of the Disabilities Act (using the power under the Act's own proviso), and since the appellant was first empanelled for promotion only after that notification took effect, he could not invoke the provision. The Court also held that mere empanelment for promotion creates no vested right to the post, only a right to be considered, and that the appellant had in fact been considered for promotion in 2005-06 and 2006-07 but did not meet the medical-fitness eligibility criteria for the select promotion post of JWO. The appeal was accordingly dismissed with no order as to costs.
Lesson Learnt
Being on a promotion-eligibility list does not itself create a right to promotion, only a right to be considered, and statutory anti-discrimination protections for persons with disabilities can be validly narrowed by government notifications for specific categories like armed-forces combatant personnel.