Senior, Even Though Less Meritorious, Shall Have Priority: Supreme Court Explains Seniority Cum Merit Principle For Promotion

Seniority-­cum-­merit means that given the minimum necessary merit requisite for efficiency of administration, the senior though the less meritorious shall have priority, the Supreme Court reiterated in a judgment delivered this week. We thus arrive at the conclusion that the criterion of "seniority ­cum ­merit" in the matter of promotion postulates that given the minimum necessary merit requisite for efficiency of administration, the senior, even though less meritorious, shall have priority and a comparative assessment of merit is not required to be made. But it does not mean that even if a junior is more meritorious by way of possessing an appreciable initiative certificate which the senior does not, irrespective of the same, the senior shall march ahead on the seniority ­cum­ merit principle", the court added. The bench, however, did not interfere with the High Court order granting promotion to the other employee Case: Tek Chand vs. Bhakra Beas Management Board Coram: Justices Navin Sinha and R. Subhash Reddy Counsel: Adv SN Bhat for appellant, Sr. Adv Kailash Vasdev, Adv Vikas Upadhyay for respondents Citation: LL 2021 SC 334