Employee doesn't have right to promotion but consideration unless disqualified: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said while an employee did not possess a right to promotion, they had the right to be considered for promotion unless disqualified.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran was dealing with an appeal filed by a police constable in Tamil Nadu who was aggrieved by the denial of consideration of promotion for the sub-inspector's post.

"It is trite that the employee has no right to be promoted but has a right to be considered, when selections for promotions are carried out, unless disqualified; which right has been impinged, unjustly, in the above case," it said.

The apex court observed he had faced both departmental and criminal action for allegedly thrashing a colleague during their posting at a check post.

While in the criminal case, the appellant was arrested but acquitted later, the government set aside the punishment stemming from the departmental proceedings in 2009, it noted.

However, the superintended of police said the appellant was not considered for promotion since he was disentitled in line with the rules for reason of a punishment of postponement of next increment for one year without cumulative effect, imposed in May 2005.

The appellant's punishment, the bench said, was interfered with and was set aside in November 2009.

"In such circumstances, the appellant could not have been disentitled from a consideration in the year 2019," the bench's verdict said.

It added, "In the above circumstances we are of the opinion that the appellant must be considered for promotion, dehors any disentitlement due to his having become overaged." The consideration will be made and if found eligible, he shall be promoted from 2019 and consequential benefits shall also be paid to him, since it was not his fault that the authority denied his consideration for promotion based on a punishment which was already set aside, the bench said.

The bench allowed the man's appeal challenging an order of the Madras High Court passed on October, 2023, dismissing his plea to consider him for promotion as an in-service candidate.

The apex court said he was initially appointed in March 2002 and was eligible for consideration in 2019 when a notification was issued for considering eligible constables for in-service promotion in 20 percent departmental quota.