Selection processes initiated under existing rules remain valid despite subsequent administrative upgradation of posts.

The Applicants, working as Junior and Senior Translators, applied for promotion to the Group ‘B’ post of Rajbhasha Adhikari (Grade Pay 4800/-) following a notification dated 25.11.2019

While the selection process was underway, the Railway Board issued an order on 28.04.2020 upgrading Group ‘B’ Official Language posts to Group ‘A’ (Grade Pay 5400/-) to align with the Central Secretariat Official Language Service (CSOLS)

Despite this administrative upgrade, the Applicants were empanelled and promoted in October 2020

Subsequently, the Respondents issued a show cause notice dated 28.05.2021 proposing to revert the Applicants to their substantive posts, contending that the Group ‘B’ posts had ceased to exist following the April 2020 upgrade

The Applicants challenged the upgrade order and the reversion notice, arguing that the Recruitment Rules (RR) had not been amended at the time of their selection

1. Whether the administrative order upgrading Group ‘B’ posts to Group ‘A’ effectively abolished the existing Group ‘B’ posts in the absence of corresponding amendments to the Recruitment Rules.

2. Whether the Respondents could legally revert the Applicants from their promoted posts when the selection process was initiated and conducted under the then-existing rules.

RBE No. 53/2019, which stipulates that any selection already notified must be concluded as per existing instructions

Para 228 (II) (c) of the Indian Railway Establishment Manual (IREM) regarding the authority competent to decide on erroneous appointments

The judicial principle established by the Calcutta High Court in W.P. CT 227/2023 (upheld by the Supreme Court in SLP No. 13406/2024), which held that a revision of pay structure via administrative order does not constitute the abolition of a post, and employees promoted under existing rules before new recruitment rules take effect cannot be reverted

The Tribunal observed that the selection process for the Applicants began in 2019, well before the administrative upgrade order of April 2020

Although the Respondents claimed the Group ‘B’ post no longer existed, the Tribunal noted that the draft Recruitment Rules for the upgraded Group ‘A’ posts were only uploaded for comments in 2021 and finalized in 2023

Consequently, at the time of the Applicants' empanelment in 2020, the Group ‘B’ rules remained the only valid legal framework for recruitment

Relying on the decision of the Kolkata Bench and the Calcutta High Court in identical matters, the Tribunal reasoned that reverting successful candidates after a year-long process would violate principles of fairness and equity

The court determined that an administrative order cannot override the necessity of amending statutory recruitment rules to abolish or transform a cadre

It held that the Applicants are entitled to continue working as Rajbhasha Adhikari in PB-2 + GP Rs. 4800/- (Level 8)

The court concluded that since the issue was squarely covered by the precedents of the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court, the Respondents' attempt to revert the Applicants based on a retrospective application of an administrative upgrade was legally unsustainable