In a significant ruling delivered on Thursday, the Orissa High Court at Cuttack came to the aid of two Scheduled Caste lecturers in Mechanical Engineering who had been sidelined during a round of promotions last year. The bench, headed by Justice Dixit Krishna Shripad, made it clear that seniority cannot be bypassed simply because candidates entered service through reserved quota.
Background
The petition was filed by Litu Behera and another lecturer, both serving under the Odisha Technical Education & Training Service (OTE&TS) cadre. Their grievance was that though they ranked higher than their peers in the Odisha Public Service Commission’s 2018 select list, their juniors were promoted to Lecturer Stage-II in August 2024 while their own claims were ignored.
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Interestingly, the petitioners did not press for the quashing of their colleagues’ promotions but restricted their plea to seeking parity. They argued that the principle of "seniority-cum-merit" enshrined in service rules was thrown to the wind when juniors were given preference.
Court's Observations
The court carefully went through the recruitment history and the government's gradation list. It noted that the petitioners had indeed figured above the private opposite parties in both the merit list and the seniority list.
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Justice Shripad remarked,
"There is absolutely no reason or rhyme for not considering the case of petitioners, who are apparently seniors to the private OPs, and that they were fully entitled to such consideration."
The bench also cited the Supreme Court's ruling in R.K. Sabharwal v. State of Punjab to underline that reserved category candidates who secure posts on merit cannot later be deprived of rightful benefits.
"Even otherwise, a meritorious candidate cannot be prejudiced merely because he belongs to reserved category," the judge noted, emphasizing the constitutional goal of affirmative equality.
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The Decision
Concluding the matter, the High Court directed the State authorities to promote the two petitioners with retrospective effect from the date their juniors were promoted in August 2024. However, the order clarified that monetary benefits would not apply for the retrospective period. The court further instructed that their placement in the seniority list should be corrected above their juniors within eight weeks.
With a parting remark, Justice Shripad said costs were being "reluctantly made easy," signaling that the court did not wish to burden either side financially.
The decision has reaffirmed the position that fairness in promotions cannot be compromised, even when reservation policies are in play.
Case Title: Litu Behera & Another vs State of Odisha & Others
Case No.: W.P.(C) No. 24636 of 2024
