Merit based seniority judgement copy

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The Supreme Court has clearly distinguished between “seniority-cum-merit” and “merit-cum-seniority.” Where the applicable service rules prescribe merit-cum-seniority, greater emphasis is placed on merit and ability, while seniority becomes relevant when the merit and ability of candidates are more or less equal. Therefore, promotion need not necessarily be given to the senior-most employee merely on the basis of length of service. A leading judgment is B.V. Sivaiah & Ors. v. K. Addanki Babu & Ors., (1998) 6 SCC 720, wherein the Supreme Court explained the distinction between the two principles. This distinction has subsequently been reiterated in several decisions. Another important judgment is Haryana State Warehousing Corporation & Ors. v. Jagat Ram & Anr., (2011) 2 SCC 533, where the Supreme Court held that under seniority-cum-merit, once the minimum required merit is satisfied, promotion should ordinarily follow seniority and comparative merit should not be used to prefer a junior over a senior. � Indian Kanoon Therefore, whether your department can promote employees purely according to date of joining or must consider comparative merit depends primarily on the applicable Service Rules/Promotion Rules and the exact wording of the relevant rule. If you provide the name of the department, cadre/post and the relevant promotion rule, the applicable Supreme Court judgment can be identified more precisely.

Advocate Hemalatha Narayanan LawRato