Would Be Highly Improper If HC Issues Direction To CJ To Relax Rules: Rajasthan High Court In Plea Seeking Promotion Without Efficiency Test

The Rajasthan High Court in a Writ Petition seeking promotion without efficiency test, said that it would be highly improper if the High Court issues a direction to the Chief Justice of the High Court to relax the Rules.

The Writ Petition was preferred by ten Junior Personal Assistants employed under the establishment of the Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur who were aggrieved by a notice issued in May 2024 by the Registrar (Examination), requiring them to appear in the Efficiency Test for promotion to the post of Personal Assistant-cum-Judgment Writer.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Kuldeep Mathur remarked, “The Chief Justice of the High Court is the supreme authority in the matters of appointment of the officers and servants of the High Court and the Constitution of India recognizes that no other person except the Chief Justice should have domain in the internal administration of the High Court. Like the President or the Governor, a writ of mandamus cannot be issued by the writ Court to the Chief Justice of the High Court while exercising the powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. It would be highly improper if the High Court issues a direction to the Chief Justice of the High Court to exercise his discretionary powers to relax the Rules and exempt the petitioners from Efficiency Test.”

The Jodhpur Bench, therefore, held that the Petitioners cannot seek a direction for granting them exemption from the Efficiency Test.

Advocate Lokesh Mathur appeared on behalf of the Petitioners while Advocates Abhilasha Bora and Khushbu Choudhary appeared on behalf of the Respondents.

Facts of the Case

According to the Petitioners, they could not be subjected to the Efficiency Test and that their candidature for promotion to the post of Personal Assistant-cum-Judgment Writer should be considered applying the criteria of seniority in the rank of the Junior Personal Assistant. By an Order dated May 14, 2024, a co-ordinate Bench of the High Court permitted the High Court to continue with the process of promotion to the post of Personal Assistant-cum-Judgment Writer. But, there was a rider that the actual promotion shall not be granted without prior permission of the Court. The Court further observed that the participation of the Petitioners in the Efficiency Test shall not prejudice their rights to contest the matter on merits. Hence, the Petitioners pleaded before the High Court, seeking promotion without Efficiency Test.

Reasoning

The High Court after hearing the contentions of the counsel, observed, “As understood in service jurisprudence, the chances of promotion are not the conditions of service and are defeasible.”

The Court said that a government employee cannot claim promotion as a matter of right and he can only be considered for promotion according to the extant Rules.

“Notwithstanding the provision that the Efficiency Test is only qualifying in nature and the Junior Personal Assistants shall be granted promotion according to their seniority, holding of a common Efficiency Test without segregating the vacancies available for the appointees of different financial years would be unfair, improper and shall cause prejudice to the candidates like the petitioners”, it added.

The Court further noted that the scheme of promotion under Clause 15 does not contemplate permitting the Junior Personal Assistants recruited in two different recruitment years to appear together in the Efficiency Test vying for promotion against the vacancies which occurred even prior to their appointment.

“This is well known that there may be large number of employees in the cadre but the number of vacancies for promotion could be limited. … Therefore, a chance to get selected under 25% vacancy on the basis of the Efficiency Test shall be extended to others who were appointed in the same financial year along with the petitioners. In the event that some posts of the Personal Assistant-cum-Judgment Writer remain vacant then such posts shall be filled up either by mode of transfer or deputation of suitable Personal Assistants of sub ordinate Courts or Personal Stenographers/Personal Assistants of the Government Department of Rajasthan”, it directed.

The Court also held that the Junior Personal Assistants appointed in the year 2020 or thereafter cannot seek promotion to the post of the Personal Assistant-cum-Judgment Writer competing with the batch of 2016 against the vacancies that occurred prior to March 2, 2020.

“However, we are not inclined to go back in the past and disturb the previous promotions. One of the reasons for this hands-off decision is that there is no specific challenge to the promotion granted vide order dated 09th October 2020”, it added.

The Court, therefore, concluded that the Respondents shall publish the result and promotions shall be granted only in the manner as indicated in the Judgment.

Accordingly, the High Court allowed the Writ Petition to an extent.

Cause Title- Twinkle Singh & Ors. v. The High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2024:RJ-JD:37396-DB)

Click here to read/download the Judgment