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Uttam Kumar Shaw vs Partha Sarathi Sen & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 950Decided 13 Sept 2022
Civil Appeal No. 11698 of 2018
Sanjay Kishan Kaul · M.M. Sundresh

Background

The appellant joined the West Bengal judicial service in 1989 and was found suitable for empanelment to the West Bengal Higher Judicial Service in 2003, after which he was posted as a Fast Track Court Judge. New service rules came into force in 2004 introducing a "40-Point Roster" seniority system, and vacancies from 2004-2008 were not filled in time. They were only filled in 2009 through direct recruitment and limited competitive promotion. A 2016 draft gradation list sought to place officers like the appellant (whose vacancies arose between 2004-2008) above the 2009 recruits/promotees, but this was challenged in the Calcutta High Court, which ruled against the appellant.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court had committed no error in trying to correct its own administrative lapse by preparing a fresh gradation list to fit eligible officers like the appellant against the vacancies that had actually arisen between 2004 and 2008, even though those vacancies were filled only in 2009. The Court reasoned that promotees could not be made to suffer for the High Court's delay in filling vacancies, and their seniority should relate back to when the vacancy actually arose, not the later date of formal recruitment of others. The appeal was allowed and both the Single Judge and Division Bench rulings set aside, but the Court expressly limited the relief to the appellant alone and clarified the judgment would not affect other officers not before it, given the wider civil-service consequences.

Lesson Learnt

When a government or judicial establishment fails to fill vacancies on time, employees eligible for those vacancies should not lose seniority merely because of the administration's own delay: seniority can be reckoned from when the vacancy actually arose.

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

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