Union of India, The Central Board of Direct Taxes and The Chief Commissioner of Income Tax vs Samuel Thomas, A.G. Oommen and M.K. Gopinathan

C.N. Ramachandran Nair, J.—Heard the Assistant Solicitor General for the petitioners and counsel appearing for the respondents. Order under challenge is the one issued by the CAT declaring respondents'' eligibility for promotion to Assistant Commissioner (Senior Scale) with effect from 2005. The petitioner''s case is that four years'' minimum regular service is required in the cadre of Assistant Commissioner (Junior Scale) for promotion to the higher grade which is that of the Deputy Commissioner/Assistant Commissioner (Senior Scale). However, after hearing both sides and on going through the order of the Tribunal, we find that the respondents did not have the required service only because their promotion from the grade of Income Tax Officer to Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax (Junior Scale) was delayed in as much as vacancies that arose in 1999 and 2000 were filled by promotions made only in 2001. On account of delayed promotion to the feeder category, the respondents were declined further promotion to the next category. We do not find any merit in this case because the finding of the Tribunal is that those juniors to respondents were given Senior Scale through orders of the CAT, Jaipur Bench, which got confirmed by the Supreme Court. In our view, there is nothing wrong in the Tribunal declaring eligibility for promotion to the feeder category on an anterior date on account availability of vacancy and in principle if that is correct, then respondents have the required service for further promotion i.e. on account of pre-dating of promotion to the post of Assistant Commissioner (Junior Scale). Consequently W.P.(C) is dismissed.