Seniority and Reservation in Promotions: Supreme Court's Clarification on Catch-up Rule

The case of Sudhakar Baburao Nangnure v. Noreshwar Raghunathrao Shende & Ors. is a significant ruling concerning seniority in government service, reservation in promotions, and the applicability of the ‘catch-up’ rule. The Supreme Court, in its judgment dated March 5, 2019, settled the dispute regarding seniority between general and reserved category employees in Maharashtra’s Town Planning Department.

The case revolved around whether a reserved category officer promoted earlier under the reservation policy should retain seniority over a general category officer who was senior in the feeder cadre but promoted later. The Supreme Court upheld the principle of consequential seniority for reserved category candidates and rejected the applicability of the catch-up rule in this instance.

Case Background

The dispute arose between Sudhakar Baburao Nangnure (appellant), a general category officer, and Noreshwar Raghunathrao Shende (respondent), a Scheduled Caste officer, regarding their seniority in the Maharashtra Town Planning and Valuation Department.

The appellant was appointed as a Planning Assistant on May 6, 1983. Both the appellant and respondent were later selected as Town Planners on July 1, 1992. The appellant was promoted to Deputy Director of Town Planning (DDTP) on November 1, 2003, whereas the respondent was promoted on August 3, 2006. However, for the post of Joint Director of Town Planning (JDTP), the respondent was promoted earlier on August 11, 2011, while the appellant was promoted on July 2, 2013.

The appellant contended that he was senior in the feeder cadre (DDTP) and should regain his seniority upon his promotion as JDTP, applying the ‘catch-up’ rule. The respondent, on the other hand, maintained that he was promoted earlier through the reservation policy and was entitled to retain his seniority.

Petitioner’s Arguments

The appellant, represented by Senior Advocate P. S. Patwalia, made the following contentions:

The respondent was promoted under the reserved category but should not retain consequential seniority over him once he was promoted.
Since he was senior in the feeder cadre (DDTP), he should be ranked above the respondent in the JDTP seniority list.
The State of Maharashtra had not collected quantifiable data on backwardness or inadequacy of representation as required under the Nagaraj judgment.
The 2003 Government Resolution (GR) allowing consequential seniority was unconstitutional as it did not comply with the requirements set by the Supreme Court in M. Nagaraj v. Union of India.
The reservation policy at the time did not apply to Class I posts, and therefore, the promotion of the respondent was irregular.

Respondent’s Arguments

The respondent, represented by Senior Advocate V. Giri, countered these claims with the following arguments:

His promotion as JDTP was valid, and the policy of consequential seniority applied.
Rule 4 of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Regulation of Seniority) Rules, 1982, states that seniority is determined by continuous service in a post, not by prior seniority in the feeder cadre.
The Government of Maharashtra had issued a resolution on March 20, 2003, clearly stating that reserved category candidates promoted earlier shall retain their seniority.
The catch-up rule does not apply where consequential seniority is granted by a policy decision.
Even if the appellant were given seniority, he was not eligible for promotion as Director of Town Planning (DTP) because he had not completed the required three years of service as JDTP.

Supreme Court’s Observations and Ruling

The Supreme Court extensively examined the applicability of the catch-up rule and the legality of the Maharashtra government’s policy on consequential seniority. The Court ruled:

“The Government Resolution dated 20 March 2003 has not been abrogated upon the enactment of the Maharashtra Reservation Act, 2004. The Reservation Act does not deal with the principle of consequential seniority, and it would be impermissible to read the Act as overriding government orders on this subject.”

The Court rejected the appellant’s contention that the GR was unconstitutional:

“A provision for consequential seniority can be incorporated in an executive order issued in pursuance of the provisions of Article 162 of the Constitution. The GR of 20 March 2003 is valid and continues to apply.”

The Court also addressed the issue of quantifiable data, stating that:

“In the absence of a challenge to the Government Resolution, it is impermissible for the appellant to argue that quantifiable data was not collected. The Tribunal and High Court rightly refused to entertain this argument.”

The Supreme Court held that the respondent’s promotion was valid and regular and that he was entitled to retain his seniority over the appellant.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court’s judgment reinforced the principle that reserved category candidates promoted under reservation policies are entitled to retain their seniority if the government has explicitly provided for consequential seniority. The ruling clarified that:

The Maharashtra government’s policy of granting consequential seniority is valid.
The ‘catch-up’ rule does not apply where a government resolution provides for consequential seniority.
The promotion of a reserved category candidate cannot be invalidated simply because a general category candidate was senior in the feeder cadre.
Challenges to such policies must be raised at the appropriate forum and at the right time.

This landmark judgment has significant implications for service jurisprudence, particularly concerning reservation in promotions and the rights of general and reserved category employees.

Petitioner Name: Sudhakar Baburao Nangnure.
Respondent Name: Noreshwar Raghunathrao Shende & Ors..
Judgment By: Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Justice Hemant Gupta.
Place Of Incident: Maharashtra.
Judgment Date: 05-03-2019.

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