Railway authority must decide the employee’s seniority and promotion grievance by a reasoned order.

The applicant, a Junior Clerk-cum-Typist in the Personnel Department of North Central Railway, was recruited through RRB NTPC-2019 and allotted to the Personnel Branch.

He claimed that branch-wise promotional processes and the merger of ministerial cadres had produced unequal promotional consequences and affected his seniority, including through the placement of employees transferred from other branches above him.

He submitted a detailed representation on 16 September 2026 concerning cadre merger, common seniority and the promotional process. The respondents subsequently fixed 9 October 2026 for an examination without deciding that representation.

With the parties’ consent, the Tribunal heard and decided the application at the admission stage.

1. Whether the applicant’s representation concerning cadre merger, common seniority and the promotional process should be decided by the competent authority before the Tribunal examined the merits of his grievance.

2. Whether the competent authority should address the applicant’s specific seniority and promotional-process grievances by reference to the applicable Railway Board/NCR Headquarters instructions.

The Tribunal directed that the applicant’s representation be considered and decided in accordance with applicable rules and instructions, including relevant Railway Board/NCR Headquarters instructions concerning merger of ministerial cadres and centralized or common seniority.

The decision must be a reasoned and speaking order addressing the specific grievances raised.

The applicant had already placed his detailed grievances before the competent authority, and the respondents’ counsel stated that they could be considered under the applicable rules and instructions.

In these circumstances, the Tribunal declined to determine the merits of the seniority and promotion disputes at that stage. It instead required the competent authority to examine the representation, relevant documents and applicable instructions, and to address the applicant’s specific concerns.

It directed the competent authority to decide the representation dated 16 September 2026 by a reasoned and speaking order, in accordance with applicable rules and instructions, within two weeks of receiving a copy of the order, and to communicate the decision to the applicant forthwith.

There was no order as to costs; pending miscellaneous applications, if any, were also disposed of.