'Promotions cannot be with retrospective effect'

The Bench rejected the plea of the employee Dinesh Kumar Sharma who claimed that he should be promoted from the date of vacancy.

No retrospective effect can be given to an order of promotion, the Supreme Court has ruled.

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Upholding an appeal filed by the Uttaranchal Government a Bench comprising Justices AR Lakshmanan and Altamas Kabir felt that granting promotions with retrospective effect was not only against certain rules but would also be unreasonable and against common parlance.

The Bench rejected the plea of the employee Dinesh Kumar Sharma who claimed that he should be promoted from the date of vacancy and not from the date as decided upon by the selection panel.

Sharma, who was working as a Senior Chemical Assistant, Research (chemistry) Branch, Department of Agriculture in the Uttaranchal Government, was promoted to his next higher post in 1999.

It was claimed by Sharma that since the vacancy for the promoted post arose in 1995-1996, he was entitled for the promotion from the said year with all related benefits; a contention which was upheld by the high court.

In its appeal before the apex court the state government complained that the employee obtained a favourable order from the high court after concealing the fact that his three representations to the appropriate authority for consideration of the retrospective promotion had already been rejected.