AJAI SAXENA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner joined the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) as an Assistant Commandant on March 26, 1998. He was promoted as the Deputy Commandant on May 09, 2005 and thereafter as a Second -in -Command in December 2009.

(2.) THE appointment of the petitioner as an Assistant Commandant was delayed for reasons not attributable to him and as a result persons junior to him in the merit list were offered appointment in August, 1997 and the petitioner was offered appointment in March, 1998. However, this did not create any problem for the petitioner because in the seniority list drawn up, the merit was recognized and thus he was placed in seniority above those who had obtained lesser marks than him in the open selection made in the year 1997. The said seniority list which was drawn up somewhere in the year 2002 was consistently followed for further promotions to the post of Deputy Commandant and Second -in -Command.

(3.) VACANCIES existed for the post of Commandant. As per the SSB Group -A Combatized (General Duty) Officers Rules, 2004, fifteen years service to be completed in Group -A is the eligibility for being promoted as a Commandant.