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State of U.P. & Anr. v. Shyam Lal Jaiswal

Civil Appeal · 2021 INSC 636Decided 7 Oct 2021
Civil Appeal No. 6251 of 2021
Justice Ajay Rastogi · Justice Abhay S. Oka

Background

The respondent was working as a Cashier in the Transport Department of Uttar Pradesh since 1967 when he was dismissed from service in 1975 over alleged misconduct. The dismissal was later set aside, and after the Supreme Court finally confirmed his reinstatement in 2000 (he had since retired in 1996), he claimed he was entitled to a promotion as Assistant Public Prosecutor retroactive to 1980, the date his juniors had been promoted to that post. Both the State Tribunal and the Allahabad High Court ruled in his favour, prompting the State of U.P. to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the Tribunal and High Court had overlooked a crucial rule: the post of Assistant Public Prosecutor could only be filled by direct recruitment through a competitive examination and viva voce under the U.P. Transport (Subordinate) Prosecution Service Rules, 1979, not by promotion. Since the respondent was never selected through that process, he had no legal entitlement to the post regardless of his reinstatement. The Court therefore found the High Court's order unsustainable in law, allowed the State's appeal, and set aside the orders of both the Tribunal and the High Court.

Lesson Learnt

Reinstatement after a wrongful dismissal restores an employee's original position and service rights, but it does not create an automatic right to a different post that has its own separate, legally mandated recruitment process.

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

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