UNION OF INDIA AND ANR. versus V.N. BHAT

Citation: [2003] SUPP. 4 S.C.R. 857 · Decided: 16-10-2003 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: V.N. KHARE · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

UNION OF INDIA AND ANR. 
A 
v. 
V.N. BHAT 
OCTOBER, 16, 2003 
[V.N. KHARE, CJ. AND S.B. SINHA, J.] 
B 
Service Law : 
Post and Telegraph Department-'One Time Bound Promotion 
Scheme' and 'B. C.R. Scheme '-Applicability of to employees joining the C 
Department on transfer-Lower Division Clerk in Ministry of Defence-
Sought transfer to office of Chief Post Master General- 'One Time Bound 
Promotion Scheme' and 'B.C.R. Scheme' introduced and benefit extended 
to Postal Assistants who have rendered 16 years and 26 years of service 
respectively as Postal Assistant-Respondent denied benefit on the ground D 
that the Schemes were applicable only to those who rendered service of 
16126 years in Postal Department-Held, even in the case where transfer 
has been allowed on request, the concerned employee merely loses his 
seniority, but the same by itself would not lead to a conclusion that he 
should be deprived of the other benefits including his experience and E 
eligibility for promotion-In terms of the Schemes, promotion is to be 
granted for avoiding stagnation-The said Schemes have been framed 
because they are beneficial ones and thus required to be implemented-
The Scheme merely provided that any person having rendered 16126 years 
of service without obtaining any promotion could be entitled to the 
benefit-It is, therefore, not a case where promotion to the higher post is F 
to be made only on the basis of seniority-Even in a case where the 
promotion is to be made on the selection basis, the concerned employee, 
even if he be placed at the bottom of the seniority list in terms of the order 
of transfer based in his favour, he cannot be deprived of being considered 
for promotion to the next higher post if he is eligible therefor. 
G 
Dwijen Chandra Sarkar and Anr. v. Union of India and Ors., (1999] 
2 SCC 119; A.P. Seb v. R. Parthasarathi, (1998] 9 SCC 425; Scientific 
Advisor to Raksha Mantri v. V.M Joseph, (1998] 5 SCC 305 and Renu . 
Mullick v. Union of India, (1994] 1 sec 373, relied on. 
H 
857 
858 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 4 S.C.R. 
A 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 8375 of 
1997. 
From · the Judgment and Order dated 15. 11. 96 of the Central 
Administrative Tribunal Chandigarh Bench Circuit at Jammu in Original 
B Application No. 401-JK of 1996. 
WITH 
C.A. No. 8329 of 2003. 
C 
T.L.V. Iyer, Ms. Shashi Kiran, Ashok Bhan, Ms. Varuna Bhandari 
Gugnani, S.N. Terdol, D.S. Mehra, C.V.S. Rao and Arvind Kumar Sharma 
for the Appellants. 
M:!-·- Bhat, Ms. Pumima Bhat for the Respondent in C.S. No. 8375/ 
. D 97. 
S.C. Patel (NP) for the Respondent in C.A. No. 8329/2003. 
The following Orde.r of the Court was delivered : 
E 
Leave granted in S.L.P. (C) No. 21749 of 1997. 
As identical questions of fact and law being involved in these appeals, 
we, therefore, propose to "dispose of these matters by this common order. 
However, for appreciating the controversy, we are referring the facts 
F asserted in Civil Appeal No. 8375 of 1997. 
The respondent was previously working as a Lower Division Clerk 
in the Ministry of Defence since the year l962. He sought transfer from 
the Ministry of Defence to the office of the Chief Post Master General. The 
Directorate, by an order dated 26th April, 1982, allowed the aforesaid 
G transfer, as a result of which the respondent joined the service in the Postal 
Department on 24th May, 1982 as Lower Division Clerk. He took the 
seniority at the bottom of the gradation list as per departmental rules. On 
17th December, 1983, the appellants herein introduced the time bound 
promotion scheme in the operative cadres in the Post and Telegraph 
H Department, for·providing relief to the employees stagnating in the lower 
' 
L 
U.0.1. v. V.N. BHAT 
859 
grades by improving their .promotional avenues. The Postal Department A 
decided to extend 'One Time Bound Promotion Scheme' and 'B.C.R. 
Scheme' for those employees who have rendered 16 years and 26 years 
of service as Postal Assistant respectively. These schemes were applicable 
to the administrative staff working in the Circle Office and to the office 
in which the respondent was working by converting the posts of Lower B 
Division Clerks into Postal Assistant. The respondent was given the benefit 
of the said scheme and his post was converted to that of Postal Assistant. 
Subsequently, on an enquiry from the Postal Directorate by the Department 
of Posts, a clarification was received on 8th June, 1994, wherein i

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