The Delhi High Court has held that the Supreme Court alone can clarify that its judgment should not be treated as a precedent in other cases. A Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Vinod Kumar observed that lower courts cannot impose a similar restriction on their own judgments, as it could lead to unequal treatment of similarly situated litigants.
The Court made the observation while deciding the Union government's challenge to relief granted to retired scientist Om Prakash concerning his promotion under the Flexible Complementing Scheme (FCS).
Background
Om Prakash, who worked as a Scientist in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, was promoted to Scientist C with effect from July 2, 2007. He approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), seeking the benefit of promotion from January 1, 2006, and consideration for promotion to Scientist D from January 1, 2010.
On January 29, 2024, the Tribunal allowed his application and directed the government to revise his promotion date and issue orders regarding his claim to the higher grade, along with consequential benefits. The Union government challenged this decision before the High Court.
The Bench examined an earlier decision in Nakul Dev v. Union of India, in which the Tribunal had stated that its directions should not be cited as a precedent in other cases. The High Court held that such a restriction could not prevent courts from considering the legal principles emerging from a decision.
The Court observed,
"If Courts, lower in the judicial hierarchy from the Supreme Court, also arrogate, to themselves, the authority to clarify that decisions rendered by them would not be treated as binding precedents, it could result in a situation in which litigants, who may be similarly circumstanced on facts, would receive different treatments from the Court."
The Bench also clarified that the Supreme Court's authority in this regard is connected to Article 141 of the Constitution, which governs the binding effect of the law declared by the Supreme Court.
The High Court upheld the Tribunal's decision, subject to an important qualification. Om Prakash's promotion to Scientist C would be treated as effective from January 1, 2006. His claim to Scientist D from January 1, 2010, would remain subject to assessment under the applicable FCS criteria, except that an interview would not be required.
The writ petition was disposed of with no order as to costs.
