Bhubaneswar: The Orissa High Court has quashed the promotion of a few unreserved category employees in the Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) department to the higher post under the reserved category.
The single judge bench of Justice Sashikanta Mishra directed the Keonjhar district administration to convene a fresh departmental promotion committee (DPC) meeting to carry out promotion on the basis of merit, suitability and seniority of all eligible candidates.
The petitioners (reserved) were deprived of competing on merit with other candidates. Besides, their inherent seniority in the cadre, as per the gradation list, was also ignored.
Thus, the very principle envisaged in the rule was ignored, the HC observed.
“Had the petitioners been so permitted and found to be less meritorious and unsuitable than the other candidates, denial of promotion would have been justified, but not so in the present scenario where they were not even brought into the fray,” the HC ruled.
“Thus, looked at from any angle, the action of the authorities in not considering the case of the petitioners for promotion and promoting their rank juniors in the cadre amounts to gross violation of the principles of equality enshrined under the Constitution as well as Rule 11 of Orissa District Revenue Service (Method of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1983,” the HC said.
The state’s apex court, however, made it clear that no recovery shall be effected from them (beneficiaries) towards the salary and other financial benefits drawn by them during the interregnum.
The HC directed the authorities to convene a DPC meeting for promotion to the post of Revenue Inspector, by considering the inter se merit, suitability and seniority of all eligible candidates.
“Based on the outcome of such review, DPC, necessary orders of promotion shall be issued,” it added.
“The entire exercise shall be completed within a period of three months,” Justice Mishra ruled in the judgment pronounced Friday.
