Other things being equal between competing candidates, seniority is to be given due weightage in matters of promotion: The Supreme Court of India
With regard to promotion the normal principles are either merit-cum-seniority or seniority-cum merit. Seniority-cum-merit means that given the minimum necessary merit requisite for efficiency of administration, the senior though the less meritorious shall have priority. The aforesaid has been elide upon by the Supreme Court of India while adjudicating the case of Tek Chand & Ors. v. Bhakra Beas Management Board and Ors. [CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4482 OF 2021] which was decided upon by a two-judge bench comprising Justices Navin Sinha and R. Subhash Reddy om 29th July 2021.
The facts of the case are as follows. The appellants were promoted to the post of leading firemen under the respondent 1 however due to an appeal filed by the respondent no.3, their promotions were annulled by the High Court, holding them to be ineligible for promotion under the regulations. The High Court annulled the promotion of the appellants as ineligible under the Regulations, and directed the promotion of respondent no.3. Counsel for appellants submitted that the possession of an appreciation certificate under serial 3 of Schedule ‘A’ of the Regulations was not an independent requirement in addition to a good service record. It was but only a facet of the good service record. The High Court erred in holding that the two were conjunctive requirements and in absence of appreciation certificates, the appellants were ineligible to be considered for promotion. Under the Regulations, promotion was to be based on seniority-cum merit. Since the appellants held good service records and were senior to respondent no.3. they were rightly promoted.
The court perused the facts and arguments presented. It was of the view that “We thus arrive at the conclusion that the criterion of “seniority-cum-merit” in the matter of promotion postulates that given the minimum necessary merit requisite for efficiency of administration, the senior. even though less meritorious, shall have priority and a comparative assessment of merit is not required to be made. For assessing the minimum necessary merit, the competent authority can lay down the minimum standard that is required and also prescribe the mode of assessment of merit of the employee who is eligible for consideration for promotion. Such assessment can be made by assigning marks on the basis of appraisal of performance on the basis of service record and interview and prescribing the minimum marks which would entitle a person to be promoted on the basis of seniority-cum-merit.” Therefore, the appeal was allowed holding the appellants were eligible to be considered for promotion, thereby restoring their orders of promotion based on seniority cum merit basis.