MANPREET SINGH POONAM Vs. UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ISSUE notice in both the matters. Mr. Rajesh Gogna, Mr. Naresh Kaushik, and Ms. Ferida Satarawala, Advocates accept notice on behalf of the respective respondents they are representing. With consent of counsel for parties both writ petitions were heard finally since the pleadings of the Central Administrative Tribunal and relevant materials are part of the record in these cases.

(2.) THE petitioners are aggrieved by the order dated 5.8.2014 in OA 604/2013 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (hereafter referred to as 'CAT') in the case of petitioner Mr. Suresh Gupta (in W.P.(C) 8516/2014) , and also the order dated 7.8.2014 in OA 896/2013 in the case of Shri Manpreet Singh Poonam (in W.P.(C) 8494/2014) . They had approached the CAT with the limited grievance that the respondents did not heed their request to treat the date of their promotion to Junior Administrative Grade (JAG) Grade -I as 1.1.2009, instead of 1.7.2011 - which was actually granted to them.

(3.) APPARENTLY , for considerable period of time, i.e., about 16 years, review for the purposes of promotion to JAG -I had been held up. Sometime, in October, 2011, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Central Government issued a letter to the Government of NCT of Delhi enclosing the list of officers eligible for promotion to JAG -I as on different dates. These lists reveal that in different years, the numbers of vacancies vary (in the year 2004 -2; 2005 -3; 2006 -7; 2007 -8, 2009 -7, 2010 -1 and 2011 -28) . The relative lists showed inter alia that the petitioners were placed at Sl.No. 1 and 2 amongst those eligible for consideration for the year 2009. For that year, there were 7 clear vacancies and in terms of the Rules, 18 officers were to be considered for promotion. The list itself contained all the 18 eligible officers. In this background, the DPC met and considered the cases of the petitioners and recommended their promotion sometime in December, 2012. The promotion orders eventually issued to the petitioners were such that their appointments to the JAG -I were made effective from 1.7.2011. They represented to the appropriate authorities, contending that promotion had to be given effect, at least, from the date when the clear vacancies existed. This was turned down, however, on the basis that consideration of their claims was sometime in 2012, and that the posts had been occupied by service officers who could vacate it upon their appointment on promotion to the Indian Administrative Services only in 2011. They approached the CAT which recognized their rights but accepted the respondents' contentions that since the DPC met and considered the cases for promotion only in 2012, they could not claim ante dating of their promotions to JAG -I.