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Employees cannot ask for any guidance to fill out the position or claim a promotional role is upheld by the Madras High Court in the case of B. Muthuramalingam v. Government of India through Justice S.M. Subramaniam.

FACTS OF THE CASE

In the instant case, the petitioner sought to instruct the respondent to give consideration to the petitioner’s representation in connection with the acceptance of the reviewed cadre strength by relying on the open post during 2019-2020 as soon as possible so that he can have his name included to the select list created in this regard.

JUDGEMENT

The Court observed that without a doubt, the employee has a fundamental right to consideration for promotion but an employee cannot assert a right to promotion in and of itself.

The Court further emphasised that even while employees are qualified for promotion or appointment, as the case may be, they cannot insist on exercising their administrative prerogative.

The petitioner stated that he was employed as a district revenue officer, qualified for appointment to the Indian Administrative Service, and would be given the opportunity to do so if the Cadre Strength Review Committee was established in a timely manner. Such a claim is purely speculative. The Court said that the petitioner has no legal standing to assert that a Cadre Strength Review Meeting will be held with the intention of issuing promotions.

The Court further noted that the petitioner would not have any power to direct the Government of India to call a Review Committee Meeting and to form a panel simply because the Authority Competent has prepared a panel.

In this case, the petitioner had not demonstrated even a remote legal right to ask the respondent to take into consideration his representation, and merely asking the Authority in question to do so would not further the cause of justice in the absence of any evidence of a legal right.

Accordingly, the petition mentioned above was rejected because it lacked merit and the Court held that the employees cannot ask for any guidance to fill out the position or claim a promotional role.

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JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY NISHTHA GARHWAL

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