NT Reporter
Panaji
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the state government to review the promotional dates of two Superintendents in the Law Department.
The petitioners, Gauri Damodar Naik and Shayani U Naik, challenged the prospective nature of their promotions in 2025. Originally appointed as legal assistants in 2007, they were transferred to the Secretariat in 2010 but faced a long-standing dispute over their pay scale and cadre membership. While the government eventually absorbed them into the Secretariat cadre retrospectively from June 2010 through an order issued in April 2023, it refused to backdate their promotions to the post of Superintendent.
The High Court ruled that formal recognition of their retrospective cadre status must be considered in the promotional
process.
The delay had a “domino effect”, preventing the officers from completing the five years of regular service required to be considered for the post of Under Secretary. The State argued that “promotion ordinarily takes effect when granted” and insisted on “actual physical service” in the grade.
The High Court said, “It is a settled principle of law that there is no fundamental right to promotion. There is, however, a fundamental right to fair consideration in accordance with the governing rules.”
The court also clarified that “‘regular service in the grade’ does not mean actual physical service” and that the word ‘regular’ distinguishes an appointment from ad hoc or stopgap arrangements.
The court found that the 2018 promotional exercise, which excluded the petitioners because the State then viewed them as “outside the cadre,” was fundamentally flawed. “Once the Government gave retrospective operation to the absorption, the exclusion based on absence of cadre membership became a material error requiring correction,” the court observed.
The court directed the State to convene a review Departmental Promotion Committee within eight weeks. If found fit, the petitioners will receive notional promotions dating back to 2018 and 2019, which will be counted towards their eligibility for the post of Under Secretary. No salary arrears will be paid for the period during which the officers did not physically discharge the duties of the higher post.
