LexUNION OF INDIA & ORS. versus V.K. KRISHNAN & ORS
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[2015] 3 S.C.R. 183 UNION OF INDIA & ORS. v. V.K. KRISHNAN & ORS (Civil Appeal No. 2532 of 2010) FEBRUARY 17, 2015 [ANIL R. DAVE AND SHIVA KIRTI SINGH, JJ.] A B Railway service: Indian Railway Establishment Manual, C 1989 - Paras 180, 189, 320 - Promotion of railway employees from one group to another and from one grade to another within the group - Respondent nos. 1 to 3 working in group D - Respondent nos.2 and 3 working in D highest grade in group D promoted to higher post, in group C - Respondent no. 1 was in a lower grade than respondent nos. 2 and 3 - Claim of respondent no. 1 that he was having the longest service in group D but was not promoted - Held: Respondent no. 1 .was not in the highest grade of group D E and being in a lower grade than respondent nos.2 and 3, he could not have been promoted along with respondent nos.2 and 3 - The Tribunal as well as the High Court committed an error while coming to the conclusion that simply because respondent no. 1 had a longer service in F gtoup D, he should also have been promoted along with respondent nos.2 and 3, who were working in a higher grade in group D - There cannot be one seniority list for all the employees working in different grades in one particular group - The seniority list for employees working G in different grades should be different and there cannot be any common seniority list for all the employees working in . one particular group. 183 H 184 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015) 3 S.C.R. A Disposing of the appeals, the Court HELD: 1. Respondent no.1 was working in the lowest grade of group D, as a substitute porter, whereas respondent nos.2 and 3 were working in the highest B grade in group D. Respondent no.1, though having longer service. in group D, was in a lower grade than respondent nos.2 and 3 in group D service. For this reason, respondent nos.2 and 3 were promoted to a higher post, namely, in the lowest grade of group C C from the highest grade of group D, whereas respondent no.1, who was in the lower grade of group D, was not promoted to a group C post. To be able to get promoted to a post in group C, one must be in the highest grade of group C and admittedly respondent no.1 was not in D the highest grade of group D and being in a lower grade than respondent nos.2 and 3, respondent no.1 .could not have been promoted along with respondent nos.2 and 3. [Paras 11] [189-C-F] E 2. Para 180 of the Indian· Railway Establishment Manual, 1989 pertains to promotion to higher grades in group D and group C posts. According to the said para, all railway employees in the lowest grade should be eligible for consideration for promotion to higher F grades in the transportation and commercial branches. The said para further deals with a preparation of seniority list. According to the said para, an ad hoc seniority list is to be prepared on the basis of length of continuous service in the grade and for the purpose G of promotion, a suitable person is selected and placed on a panel of training. The aforestated content of para 180 clearly denotes that seniority lists of the employees are to be prepared on the basis of length of continuous H service in different grades. This clarifies that there UNION OF INDIA v. V.K. KRISHNAN 185 cannot be one seniority list for all the employees A working in different grades in one particular group. In other words, there would be different seniority lists in one particular. group and each seniority list will contain list of employees working in one particular grade or there may be different sub-seniority lists of employees B working in different branches of one grade. Promotion will be given from lower grade to higher grade in one group and for that purpose, seniority list of the lower grade will be taken into account. Once a person gets promotion to the higher grade, his name will be C included in the seniority list of the employees of the higher grade. [Para 14] E191-D-H; 192-A] 3. Para 189 pertains to the promotion to higher grade in group C. As per the provisions of para 189, D when an employee working in group D, who has no regular avenue for promotion in group D, i.e. when he is in the highest grade in group D, he becomes eligible for promotion to a group C post. Group C posts are also divided into different grades. Upon getting E promotion from the highest grade of group D, a person gets promotion to the lowest grade in group C.
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