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Sharwan Kumar Vigmal vs. The General Manager NW-I, Appointing Authority, State Bank of India

Letters Patent Appeal · 2026:DHC:7412-DBDecided 2 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
LPA 563/2026CNR: DLHC010326522026
Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya · Justice Tejas Karia

Background

After 35 years of service, the appellant was denied promotion from MMGS-II to MMGS-III. A prior court order had directed the Bank to consider him for back-dated promotion provided he cleared a written test and interview. He appeared for the exam but was not selected, and he alleged the Bank was penalising him for having earlier gone to court, and that his marks for the relevant year were not properly disclosed.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that a plea of mala fides is easy to allege but hard to prove, and the appellant had produced no credible evidence that the Bank acted with bad faith. It found the written test requirement was validly imposed as per the earlier court order (which had specifically rejected a waiver request), and that the Bank had properly explained how his marks were computed across different components. The appeal was dismissed as the appellant failed to show any legal flaw in the promotion process.

Lesson Learnt

An employee who has actually participated in a selection process and been unsuccessful cannot later have it overturned merely by alleging bias, without concrete proof; courts require solid evidence, not suspicion, before interfering in institutional promotion decisions.

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