A belated post-retirement claim for promotional benefits was dismissed.

The applicant was appointed as a cleaner on 17 May 1982 and was subsequently promoted to Staff Car Driver (Ordinary Grade), Grade-II and Grade-I, with substantive entry into the Ordinary Grade on 1 March 1987. He was promoted to Staff Car Driver (Grade-I) on 21 September 2007 and retired on 31 May 2018.

A Driver Special Grade had been introduced pursuant to the Department of Personnel and Training’s Office Memorandum dated 15 February 2001. In the 2015 Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC), the applicant was placed at Serial No. 10 in the Staff Car Driver (Grade-I) gradation list, but was not promoted because only seven posts of Driver Special Grade existed and the available vacancies were filled by more senior eligible candidates.

Following a Department of Posts memorandum dated 1 November 2019 directing compliance with the 2001 instructions, another DPC was held on 20 January 2020. By then, the applicant had retired and was not considered for promotion, whereas Shri Samir Kumar Roy and other eligible employees were promoted.

The applicant’s representation dated 10 January 2022 seeking the promotional benefit was not accepted, leading him to file the present application under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, seeking consideration of his representation and setting aside of the order dated 29 January 2022.

1. Whether the applicant, who had retired before the DPC held on 20 January 2020, was entitled to retrospective or notional promotion to the post of Staff Car Driver (Special Grade) on the basis of alleged administrative delay.

2. Whether the applicant was entitled to a direction requiring the respondents to consider his representation dated 10 January 2022 and to set aside the order dated 29 January 2022.

3. Whether the application was liable to be rejected on account of the belated nature of the claim.

The Tribunal exercised jurisdiction under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985.

The eligibility and promotional structure for Staff Car Drivers was considered with reference to the DoP&T Office Memorandum dated 15 February 2001, which provided for the Driver Special Grade and prescribed the relevant cadre structure and percentage of posts.

The Tribunal also considered the revised Recruitment and Promotion Rules issued by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on 24 November 2015 and the Department of Posts memorandum dated 1 November 2019 directing strict compliance with the 2001 DoP&T instructions.

The governing principle applied by the Tribunal was that a belated claim for promotional benefit, particularly where the employee had retired and no enforceable entitlement to promotion had been established, could not be entertained in the absence of sufficient merit or justification.

The Tribunal noted that the applicant had not been promoted in 2015 because the available Driver Special Grade vacancies were limited and had been filled by eligible senior employees; he was ranked tenth in the relevant gradation list.

Although a subsequent DPC was held on 20 January 2020, the applicant had already retired on 31 May 2018 and therefore was not in service when the later promotional exercise took place.

The Tribunal did not find a legally established entitlement to retrospective promotion merely because the applicant alleged administrative delay or because a junior employee was later promoted.

It accordingly held that the claim, brought at a belated stage, lacked merit and did not warrant interference with the respondents’ decision.

The Original Application was dismissed, with no order as to costs.