Departmental examination success in one region remains valid after technical resignation and transfer to another region.

The applicant was initially appointed as a Tax Assistant in the Bhopal Region and successfully passed the Ministerial Staff Examination in 2010

He later joined the Agra Region on 25.04.2011 via technical resignation, where his pay was protected and he was granted two additional increments for passing the departmental examination

He subsequently passed the Income Tax Inspector Examination on 09.02.2012 and was promoted to Senior Tax Assistant in 2015

However, when considered for promotion to Income Tax Inspector, the respondents issued an order dated 25.10.2016 cancelling his 2011 Inspector Examination result

The respondents contended that upon joining a new region via technical resignation, the applicant was a fresh entrant and was required to requalify the Ministerial Staff Examination in the Agra Region to be eligible for the Inspector post, as past service only counted for pay, leave, and pension

1. Whether an employee who joins a new region through technical resignation is required to reappear for departmental examinations already cleared in the previous region to be eligible for further promotion

2. Whether the respondents were justified in cancelling the applicant's result and denying promotion after previously recognizing his examination status through pay fixation and increments

The Tribunal applied the principles of service law governing "Technical Resignation" as per DoPT guidelines, which generally protect past service benefits such as pay fixation and pension

It further relied on the principle of consistency and administrative finality, as established in the Tribunal’s own precedent in Prashant Shukla and others v. Union of India (OA No. 474/2017), which held that clearing a departmental examination in one region remains valid upon transfer to another region via technical resignation for the purpose of promotion eligibility

The Tribunal reasoned that since the applicant joined the Agra Region on the same post via technical resignation, his service continuity for specific benefits was admitted by the respondents

Crucially, the respondents had already recognized his successful completion of the Ministerial Staff Examination by granting him two additional increments and fixing his pay accordingly upon his arrival in Agra

The Tribunal found the respondents' shift in stance—treating him as a "fresh entrant" only for the purpose of examinations—to be arbitrary

Drawing a direct parallel to the Prashant Shukla case, the Tribunal determined that once an employee has cleared the requisite departmental test for a post, they cannot be compelled to reappear for the same test in a different region of the same department, as the qualification is tied to the individual’s competency and the post, not the geographical region

It held that the applicant is not required to requalify the Ministerial Staff Examination in the new region

The respondents were directed to restore the applicant’s Departmental Examination result and extend the benefit of promotion to the post of Income Tax Inspector within three months