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Shriram Tomar & Anr. Etc. v. Praveen Kumar Jaggi & Ors. (with Dev Narain Shukla & Ors. v. Praveen Kumar Jaggi & Ors.)

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 498Decided 9 Apr 2019
Civil Appeal Nos. 3603-3607 of 2019
Justice L. Nageswara Rao · Justice M.R. Shah

Background

Officers of a Regional Rural Bank were to be promoted from Scale I to Scale II based on a written test, interview, and performance appraisal, under a promotion policy of "seniority-cum-merit." Although the governing rules fixed minimum qualifying marks only for the written test, the bank's selection committee also set an additional benchmark of minimum marks in the interview and performance appraisal. Some candidates junior in seniority were promoted ahead of more senior ones who failed to clear this extra benchmark, and the passed-over senior employees challenged the promotion list in the High Court.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court (Single Judge, affirmed with modification by the Division Bench) had held that imposing an additional benchmark beyond the written test defeated the "seniority-cum-merit" principle and ordered a fresh selection process. The Supreme Court disagreed, relying on its own earlier ruling in Chairman, Rushikulya Gramya Bank v. Bisawamber Patro, holding that fixing a reasonable minimum-merit benchmark across each component of the selection process (not just the written test) is permissible and does not violate seniority-cum-merit, so long as promotion among those who clear the benchmark still follows strict seniority. It set aside both High Court orders and directed the bank to prepare a fresh select list applying the benchmark, promoting qualified candidates by seniority.

Lesson Learnt

An employer can validly set a minimum qualifying standard in every stage of a promotion process (not only the written exam) without breaching a "seniority-cum-merit" policy, as long as, among those who meet the minimum standard, promotion is still strictly by seniority rather than by comparative marks.

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

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