TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2003 (9) TMI 774
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....thereof results invariably in litigation. The case at hand is no exception. At the threshold of the litigious history, appellant was working as an Administrative Officer of the National Insurance Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as 'the employer'). A promotional policy was formulated on 14.2.1990 and is called "Promotion Policy for Officers". It was indicated in clause 3.1 that provisions of this policy are applicable to promotion of Officers up to and including the cadre of General Manager. Appellant was not found suitable for promotion of the relevant periods i.e. 1991-92 and 1992-93. As he was not granted promotion, he filed a representation to the Chairman of the Managing Committee of the employer- company indicating th....
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....dgment held that the appellant was not entitled to any relief and there was no illegality in the decision-making process of the employer in denying promotion. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that para 1.2 makes it clear that the basis for promotion is seniority-cum-merit alone and by allotting 42 marks out of 100, such policy has been overlooked by attaching undue importance to so-called merit. A decision of this Court in B. V. Sivaiah and Ors. v. K. Addanki Babu and Ors., [1998] 6 SCC 720 was referred to in order to substantiate the plea. In response, Mr. Mukul Rohtagi, learned Additional solicitor General submitted that on a reading of the whole policy it is clear that seniority- cum-merit is not the only criteria for granti....
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....ificant : "The question of a proper promotion policy depends on various conflicting factors. It is obvious that the only method in which absolute objectivity can be ensured is for all promotions to be made entirely on grounds of seniority. That means that if a post falls vacant it is filled by the person who has served longest in the post immediately below. But the trouble with the seniority system is that it is so objective that it fails to take any account of personal merit. As a system it is fair to every official except the best ones; an official has nothing to win or lose provided he does not actually become so inefficient that disciplinary action has to be taken against him. But, though the system is fair to the officials concerned,....
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....r promotion is to be granted or not. Before we analyse the legal position further, it would be appropriate to extract some of the relevant paragraphs of the promotion policy. "1.1 The main objective is to rationalise and codify the existing guidelines relating to promotions within the Officers cadre (Class-I) and to formulate a well defined promotion policy with built in motivation, providing therein reasonable opportunities to officers to move up in hierarchy, keeping in view the legitimate aspirations of the Officers to shoulder higher responsibilities. 1.2. This is aimed to be achieved by providing for promotion of officers through a process of selection on the basis of their seniority-cum-merit. While seniority is a known fact depe....
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....dder of promotional posts remarkably the seniority loses importance, and merit gets primacy. In Syndicate Bank case (supra) observations in para 14 throw considerable light on the controversy. The third mode (apart from seniority-cum-merit and merit-cum-seniority modes) has been recognized. It has been described as a "hybrid mode of promotion". In other words, there is a third category of cases where seniority is duly respected and merit is appropriately recognized. While laying down the promotion policy or rule, it is always open to the employer to specify area and parameter of weightage to be given in respect of merit and seniority separately so long as policy is not colourable exercise of power, nor has the effect of violating of any s....