Retrospective promotion cannot be granted beyond the scope of the original judicial direction.

The petitioner, an Inspector (Handloom) appointed on 30 September 1989, stood first in the feeder-cadre seniority list.

Four juniors were promoted on an ad hoc basis as Handloom Development Officers in January 2023, while the petitioner was excluded on the basis of adverse/uncommunicated ACR-related material.

In WP(C) No.164 of 2023, the High Court directed constitution of a Review DPC to reconsider the petitioner’s promotion after excluding the relevant uncommunicated adverse ACRs, without expressing any view on his fitness for promotion.

The Review DPC subsequently found the petitioner fit and recommended his promotion through creation of one supernumerary post, stating that no vacancy was available.

The petitioner sought retrospective promotion against a regular vacancy from the date on which his juniors were promoted, with consequential benefits, contending that the Review DPC ought to have accommodated him in a regular post.

An order granting retrospective effect in contempt proceedings was later set aside in appeal as beyond the scope of contempt jurisdiction; the Supreme Court dismissed the petitioner’s SLP against that appellate decision.

The Court applied the principle that a review DPC must act within the scope of the order directing its constitution and cannot be required to grant relief not contemplated by that order.

The earlier order directed reconsideration of the petitioner’s case on the basis of the remaining ACRs and expressly left his fitness for promotion to the Review DPC; it did not direct retrospective promotion or promotion against a regular post.

The Court also relied on the finality of concluded judicial orders and held that a subsequent writ court cannot enlarge, reinterpret, or supplement the earlier order.

The earlier order had referred to the principles in Abhijit Ghosh Dastidar and G.R. Meghwal concerning consideration of uncommunicated adverse ACRs.

The Court further accepted the service-law position that promotion with retrospective effect is not automatic, particularly where no vacancy exists and the governing order contains no such direction.

The Court found that the Review DPC complied with the operative direction in WP(C) No.164 of 2023: it reconsidered the petitioner’s case and found him fit after the earlier ACR-related issue.

Since the Review DPC recorded that no Handloom Development Officer post was vacant, its recommendation for creation of one supernumerary post as a one-time measure was not shown to be contrary to the earlier judicial direction.

The Court held that the contempt order directing retrospective promotion had already been set aside because it impermissibly supplemented or modified the original writ order; therefore, that order could not furnish a basis for retrospective promotion in the present proceedings.

As the original writ order neither directed retrospective promotion nor required promotion against a regular post, the Court declined to direct the petitioner’s placement in a regular vacancy or the reversion of his juniors.

Such relief would amount to going beyond the settled terms of the earlier order.

It held that he was not entitled to retrospective promotion from the date of his juniors’ promotion, nor to promotion against a regular post in place of the supernumerary post recommended by the Review DPC.

The writ petition was dismissed for lack of merit, and all pending applications were disposed of.