ANUP KUMAR BARIAR Vs. SIWAN KSETRIYA GRAMIN BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD counsel for the petitioners as well as counsel for respondent Bank.

(2.) BOTH the petitioners are aggrieved by their non -promotion in Scale -Ill posts with effect from 1.9.2005 by the respondents whereas similarly eight other officers have been granted promotion. The petitioners state that they are working as officials in Scale -ll in the Bank and their next ladder of promotion is in Scale -Ill for which the petitioners alongwith others were considered. Their grievance is that though in terms of the necessary Rules in cases of such promotions the principle of 'sen -iority -cum -merit ' has to be adopted but in actual practice the Bank has deviated and violated its Rules. The methodology which they have adopted in granting promotions to Scale - Ill has turned out to be one of 'merit -cum -seniority '. Their main grievance, therefore, is that the Bank by violating the Rule of seniority -cum -merit has committed illegality in grant of promotions to them.

(3.) TO clarify, even if an employee holds very high marks in the performance appraisal which is based on seniority and service record of such employees the same has no role to play in consideration for promotion till the employee in question passes the interview. In other words, 12.5 marks is very important for every employee to get before his performance appraisal can be looked into. By adopting this mechanism the Bank has turned the 'seniority -cum -merit ' policy to 'merit -cum -seniority '. It virtually boils down to this that all employees have to first cross the hurdle of interview obtaining at least 50% marks in the same to be eligible to come within the zone of consideration. All those who fail to get the minimum qualifying marks in the interview have to be left out from the zone of consideration for promotion even though they may have very high marks on the side of performance appraisal.