INDIRA SARANATH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The issue raised in this Civil Appeal is the entitlement of the appellant to promotion on the post of Chief Medical Director (Higher Administrative Grade) in the Indian Railway Medical Service [For short, 'IRMS']. The claim of the appellant having been turned down by the Central Administrative Tribunal [ For short, 'the Tribunal'] vide its judgment dtd. 22/5/2007 and that adjudication having been upheld by the Delhi High Court [ For short, 'the High Court'] on 9/1/2009, the appellant has preferred this Civil Appeal.

(2.) It is the case of the appellant that after obtaining requisite qualification for being recruited at the IRMS, she was appointed as Assistant Medical Officer. During the course of service, the appellant was eligible for being considered for further promotion. On 6/12/2006, the Railway Board published two lists with regard to promotion and posting of various officers from Senior Administrative Grade [ For short, 'SAG'] as Chief Medical Director [For short, 'CMD'] in Higher Administrate Grade [Fort short, 'HAG']. According to the appellant, despite being entitled to be promoted in HAG, she was deprived of the same and an officer junior to her came to be promoted. The appellant, therefore, approached the Tribunal raising a challenge to the promotion of respondent Nos. 3 to 9 and further sought relief of promotion as CMD, HAG. The Original Application preferred by the appellant came to be decided on 22/5/2007 by the Tribunal. It was held that the Selection Committee [ For short, 'SC'] on 10/8/2006 considered the cases of about ten officers out of whom six came to be promoted as CMD, HAG. The appellant was at serial No.10. Her grading from 2001-02 to 2005-06 was considered by the SC. On the ground that the appellant did not secure the grading of 'Very Good +' [For short, 'VG+'], the Tribunal held that the criteria required to be satisfied for being considered for promotion was not satisfied. Accordingly, the Original Application came to be dismissed.

(3.) The appellant approached the High Court challenging the judgment of the Tribunal. The High Court held that the Resolution dtd. 28/3/2000 by which the Railway Board laid down the procedure as well as the eligibility criteria for promotion as well as the Circular dtd. 3/6/2002 by which the Railway Board prescribed the benchmark of VG+ for promotion to the HAG was not under challenge. It was, therefore, held that the appellant having failed to secure the grading of VG+ coupled with the fact that she was awarded 19.5 marks, the assessment undertaken by the SC could not be faulted. By observing that the competence of SC was not liable to be questioned, the writ petition was dismissed. Being aggrieved, the appellant is before this Court.