Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: Service Representation Must Be Decided Prior to Judicial Intervention in Promotion Disputes

The Applicant, aged 57, is currently serving as the Director of the National Power Training Institute (NPTI), Eastern Region, Durgapur

He approached the Tribunal challenging the promotion orders of Respondent No. 3 dated March 3, 2025

the Respondents have allegedly bypassed him on the grounds of insufficient qualifying service

The Applicant contends that he possesses the requisite qualifying service for promotion to the post of Principal Director, asserting that his prior notional promotion to the rank of Director should be counted toward his eligibility

The Applicant submitted a formal representation to the Director General, NPTI, on January 28, 2025, which remains pending

1. Whether the Applicant is entitled to have his representation for promotion to Principal Director considered by the Respondents in light of his claimed notional promotion service

Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, which empowers aggrieved government servants to seek redressal regarding service matters

principle of administrative exhaustion and fair consideration, whereby an authority is duty-bound to decide pending representations regarding departmental promotions in accordance with extant rules and guidelines

Ld. Counsel for the Applicant argued that the exclusion from promotion was based on a flawed calculation of service seniority, ignoring a "notional promotion" previously granted

Since the Applicant had already filed a representation dated January 28, 2025, which the Respondents had yet to adjudicate, the Tribunal determined that the most appropriate initial course of action was to compel the Respondents to exercise their administrative discretion.

The Bench explicitly clarified that it did not enter into the merits of the qualifying service dispute, leaving all legal points open for the department's consideration

The Tribunal disposed of the Original Application at the admission stage without costs