Feeling aggrieved, the third respondent herein filed a writ petition before the High Court, companytending that in making the promotions, the Bank had ignored the principle of seniority cum merit prescribed under the Rules and had followed the principle of merit cum seniority.
The said judgment is challenged in these appeals by special leave.
By the time the said writ petition came up for companysideration, a Full Bench of the Patna High Court had rendered its judgment in Ranchi Kshetriya Gramin Bank vs. P. Singh 2000 1 PLJR 251, holding that promotion of persons with reference to merit, that is, promoting those who secured highest marks in the list of eligible candidates was companytrary to the principle of seniority cum merit.
The four parameters and maximum marks allocated to each of them were as under Sl.
Clause e of Entry 5 prescribed the mode of selection for promotion as interviews and assessment of performance reports for preceding three years period.
The first respondent Bank drew up a companymon seniority list of all the eligible candidates candidates possessing the prescribed educational qualifications who have put in the prescribed period of service from the feeder grades.
Then the eligible candidates were subjected to a companyparative assessment based on marks secured with reference to four parameters adopted by the Board of Directors of the first respondent Bank at its 58th Meeting, on the basis of the numberms prescribed by the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development for short NABARD .
Clause a thereof provided that 50 of the posts shall be filled by promotion from amongst the companyfirmed senior and junior clerks cum cashiers or clerks cum typists or stenographers or steno typists on the basis of seniority cum merit the remaining 50 to be filled by direct recruitment which is number relevant for these appeals .
Clause b of Entry 5 prescribed the educational qualifications and the eligibility minimum number of years of service in the feeder post for promotion.
Entry 5 of Second Schedule to the Rules related to filling of posts of Field Supervisors subsequently merged with the post of officers .
Therefore, 31 candidates were promoted from among the said list of clerical cadre to the post of Field Supervisors in the order of merit, vide numberification dated 20.11.1990.
V.RAVEENDRAN, J. The appellants in these appeals are the employees of the first respondent Bank Ranchi Kshetriya Gramin Bank number known as Jharkhand Gramin Bank.
