Mumbai: Denied promotion, CIDCO staffer knocks court’s doors

In CIDCO’s provisional seniority list of August 2021, Sonwane was placed at 11th position, below his colleagues who used to be below him in the select list

In a matter dealing with the ‘right to promotion as per seniority' as a fundamental right, the Bombay High Court has issued notices to CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation) and other parties for not promoting an Assistant Development Officer (ADO) who joined the town planning organisation 18 days late as he had to serve the notice period at his previous organisation. The ADO, Rajendra Sonawane, joined CIDCO in 2016 after securing the fourth rank in its selection examination.

Sonawane, a Kharghar resident, used to work with the State Bank of Mysore (merged with State Bank of India). He has claimed in his civil petition that he has been deprived of a promotion to the post of Development Officer (DO), even as his fellow examinees who scored less have received the promotion. His plea to higher authorities at CIDCO fell on deaf ears, which prompted him to approach the court.

Advocate Rajeshwar Panchal, who is representing Sonawane, said that he used to be a Deputy Manager at the Bank of Mysore when he came across CIDCO's call for applications in 2016. In the select list issued on September 21, 2016, Sonawane was among 15 recruits. There were nine others in the waiting list. Sonawane received an appointment letter from CIDCO on September 22, 2016 and was asked to join before October 21, with the conditions that not joining within 30 days would lead to him losing his seniority, and that an incapability to join within the said period would require written permission from CIDCO.

However, Sonawane was required to serve a notice period of three months at his bank. He wrote to CIDCO for an extension and accordingly, his joining date was extended to January 20, 2017. Sonawane managed to join CIDCO early on November 10, 2016, and CIDCO confirmed his service on November 9, 2017, at the end of the probation period.

Inter-se seniority

In CIDCO's provisional seniority list of August 17, 2021, Sonwane was placed at the 11th position, below his colleagues who used to be below him in the select list. Three candidates from the initial waiting list were also reflected as senior to Sonawane. The provisional list appeared contradictory to the select list of 2016.

According to Panchal, the Second Proviso to Rule 22 of the CIDCO Recruitment, Seniority and Promotion Rules, 1977, states, "The inter-se seniority of candidates selected at the same selection shall be in the order of merit in the waiting/select list prepared by the Selection Panel/performance Evaluation Panel, as the case may be. This proviso shall apply only if there is no undue delay in joining. The delay of 30 days shall be permissible." A CIDCO Board resolution dated March 3, 2020, adopted the Maharashtra Civil Service Rules 1982, which provides a similar principle of determining seniority.

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Gave up bank job

Panchal said, "As a married man, Sonawane was not keen on transferring to other branches across the country. Then he came across CIDCO's advertisement for professionals with over five years' experience in the managerial cadre. Sonawane not only fit the bill, but he also performed well in the examination. For no fault of his, my client is being deprived of his rightful promotion from ADO to DO. He is not only deprived of the higher pay scale but also other perks/benefits. The post of DO gets vacant only on retirement, which means a wait of eight to 10 years."

Panchal added, "The right to promotion as per seniority has been recognised as a fundamental right stemming from Article 14 (right to equality before the law) and 16 (right to no discrimination for employment in an office under the State). Hence, the determination of seniority is a vital aspect. The principle is that inter-se seniority is always according to the rank in the select list provided that the candidate joins the duty within the specified time or the extension provided by the appointing authority. Sonawane joined within the stipulated time, his seniority should be fixed as per his rank. Placing Sonawane's colleagues - earlier below him in the select list - above him in the seniority list violates his fundamental right. We have filed a writ petition against CIDCO and Sonawane's colleagues placed above him in the seniority list."

The Division Bench of Justice Sunil Shukre and Justice Firdosh Pooniwalla of Bombay High Court heard the civil writ petition and directed to issue notices to the respondents. The matter is slated for hearing on September 27.

Oct 21
Joining date in 2016 given by CIDCO