D. Raghu And Others Vs R. Basaveswarudu And Others Etc. (Supreme Court of India)
Summary: The Supreme Court examined a long-running dispute concerning promotion to the post of Inspector of Central Excise following restructuring of cadres in the Central Excise and Customs Department. The appellants in Civil Appeal Nos. 1970-1975 of 2009 were originally recruited as Data Entry Operators Grade ‘A’ and were working as Data Entry Operators Grade ‘B’. Their grievance arose from a notice dated 05.11.2002 which confined consideration for promotion as Inspector to specified categories such as Tax Assistants, Upper Division Clerks and Stenographers. The dispute therefore required the Court to determine the effect of the departmental restructuring approved on 19.07.2001, the Inspector Recruitment Rules, 2002 brought into force on 07.12.2002, and the Senior Tax Assistant Rules, 2003 which came into force on 20.01.2003.
The Court held that the Cabinet-approved restructuring dated 19.07.2001 did not by itself bring the restructured cadre of Senior Tax Assistants into existence. That cadre legally came into being only on 20.01.2003 when the Senior Tax Assistant Rules, 2003 became effective. Under Rule 5 of those Rules, persons regularly working as Assistants, Tax Assistants, Upper Division Clerks (Special Pay), Data Entry Operators Grade ‘B’ and ‘C’ were deemed to have been appointed as Senior Tax Assistants. Importantly, their service rendered before commencement of the Rules was required to be taken into account for determining eligibility for promotion to the next higher grade. Consequently, the appellants could count their service as Data Entry Operators Grade ‘B’ while determining whether they possessed the qualifying service required for promotion as Inspectors under the 2002 Inspector Rules.
