Employee entitled to salary arrears following retrospective promotion: HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that an employee cannot be deprived of arrears of salary when the employer-department itself grants retrospective promotion. The ruling came as Justice Namit Kumar held illegal and arbitrary the denial of pay arrears to the petitioner on the promoted post.

The Bench also ruled that the “no work, no pay” principle was inapplicable in the case as the petitioner-employee was willing and eligible to perform duties at the promoted level, but was unjustly denied the opportunity. He was retrospectively promoted to the post of Accountant Grade-I from June 30, 2014.

Despite his eligibility, the petitioner’s promotion was withheld, while two of his juniors were promoted. Justice Kumar found that no adverse material existed against the petitioner on the due promotion date in 2014, and the department’s subsequent order granted him notional promotion from that date.

The employee had moved the high court through counsel Dhiraj Chawla against Punjab and another respondent to promote him from August 29, 2014 –– the date when people junior to him were promoted, while the petitioner was ignored following subsequent events such as a charge sheet dated September 1, 2016, which was dropped in December 2018.

Chawla told the Bench that another charge sheet dated March 29, 2016, was also finalised by imposing the penalty of one annual increment stoppage with future effect vide order dated June 13, 2018. Going into the background of the matter, he added one vacancy was created in August 2014 and another became available in December 2015.

The petitioner submitted representations in February 2016 and January 2019 to consider him for further promotion. But the petitioner was not considered, though he was the senior-most. In the meantime, he was issued charge-sheet dated March 29, 2016, along with several other employees.

Taking up the matter, Justice Kumar asserted inquiry was not pending against the petitioner as on June 30, 2014, as the charge-sheets issued to him were subsequent in time. As such, he was given promotion from that date during the pendency of the present petition.

In his detailed order, Justice Kumar added: “Admittedly, on the due date of promotion –– June 30, 2014, nothing adverse against the petitioner has been pointed out and even the respondent –department has granted retrospective promotion to the petitioner from June 30, 2014. Therefore, he cannot be denied the benefit of arrears of pay for the period. The present petition is allowed and the action of the respondents in denying the arrears of pay to the petitioner on the promoted post is held illegal and arbitrary. He is held entitled to grant of the same with all consequential benefits. The necessary benefits shall be released to the petitioner within three months...,” Justice Kumar added.