Akshay Purohit vs REVENUE on 14 October 2026

CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL JABALPUR Order Sheet Item no.: 59 O.A./220/2026 (JABALPUR) [ PROMOTION ] With M.A./1204/2026 FOR URGENT HEARING Court No.: 1 No of Adjournment: 7 Order Dated: 14/10/2026 AKSHAY PUROHIT Vs REVENUE

For Applicant(s) Advocate : SHRI PRINCE GUPTA THROUGH V C

For Respondent(s) Advocate : SHRI N K MISHRA Order of The Tribunal Hon’ble Shri Rajinder Singh Dogra, Member (Judicial) connected through VC. The applicant has filed M.A. No. 1204/2026 for urgent hearing. As the matter is taken up today the M.A. No. 1204/2026 is accordingly disposed of. The applicant has also prayed for hearing the matter on interim relief. The applicant has sought for the following interim relief in this O.A. "9. In view of the facts and grounds stated in paras 4 and 5 above the applicants humbly pray that this Hon'ble Tribunal be pleased to pass an interim order to provisionally include their names in the upcomingDPC 2026 and consider their names for promotion with such condition as this Hon'ble Tribunal may impose.They rely on the similar interim order granted by the Principal Bench of this Hon'ble Tribunal as can be seen from Annexure A11. The applicants submit that every year the DPC is convened in the last week of December and the promotion orders are issued enabling the applicants immediately on 1st January of the next year. Under these circumstances if this Hon'ble Tribunal is pleased to grant the interim order then the respondents would not be inconvenienced as the cases would merely be placed for consideration by ensuing DPC. However, if this Hon'ble Tribunal is not pleased to grant the interim order then the applicants will be put to great prejudice and hardship which cannot be compensated in any manner and their promotion would be delayed by more than a year. Further if the interim order is not granted then even if they succeed in the OA that will not benefit the applicants in any manner and the very institution of the proceedings would be futile. Under the circumstances it is just and necessary that this Hon'ble Tribunal be pleased to grant the interim order as sought for." Counsel for the applicants submitted that the prescribed eligibility criteria for promotion from Tax Assistant to Office Superintendent is 3 years of regular qualifying service as on the crucial date of eligibility, which is 01.01.2026. All the applicants have passed the aforesaid examination in the year 2023 to 2025. The delay in grant of promotion is due to conduct of Rojgar Mela in January 2023 as a result of which the applicants’ joining got delayed. The learned counsel for the applicants further submits that the respondents initiated the exercise for conduct of DPC in the upcoming December 2026, for which the cut of date for eligibility is 01.01.2026. The applicants have fallen short by 20-50 days in the clause of qualifying service as on 1st January 2026. Therefore, they have prayed for an interim order to provisionally include their names in the upcoming DPC 2026 and consider their names for promotion for the post of Office Superintendent. Learned counsel for the respondents have contradicted the contentions of the applicant and stated that there has been no delay in issuing the offer of appointment to the applicants. It is further submitted by the respondents that the process of recruitment in respect of the applicants concluded on 20.01.2023. Further, there is no provision for relaxation of the recruitment rules to the post of Office Superintendent. They have also relied upon the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of State of U.P. & Ors. Vs. Vikash Kumar Singh & Ors., in Civil Appeal No. 6868/2021, in which the Hon’ble Supreme Court has stated that relaxation cannot be prayed as a matter of right. Having considered the submissions advanced by learned counsels for the parties, this Tribunal is of the view that the applicants are required to fulfil the prescribed eligibility conditions, including the requisite qualifying service, as on the crucial date of eligibility, i.e., 01.01.2026. The fact that the applicants passed the Ministerial Staff Examination during the years 2023 to 2025 does not, by itself, dispense with the requirement of completing three years of regular qualifying service for promotion to the next level. We also take note of the offer of appointments which were issued vide letter No. F.No.PR CCIT/MP&CG/BPL/CS/CGLE 2020/TA/2022-23 dated 20.01.2023 wherein the applicants were directed to join on or before 06.02.2023 and they have all joined thereafter. Therefore, we are of the considered view that the applicants have not met the mandatory conditions of having 3 years of regular service as on 01.01.2026. The plea of the applicants that the appointments were delayed due to the ongoing Rojgar Mela has not been supported by any documentary evidence. It is a well settled law that the conditions of eligibility prescribed under the applicable rules are required to be adhered to, and no direction contrary to such conditions can ordinarily be issued merely on equitable considerations. It is also pertinent to observe that the order passed by the Principal Bench was rendered in the context of the facts and circumstances detailed in the O.A. before them and cannot be construed as conferring an automatic right upon the applicants in every case involving a shortfall in qualifying service. The entitlement of the applicants to relaxation must be examined with reference to the applicable recruitment rules and the relevant facts of the present case. At this interlocutory stage, the applicants have failed to establish a prima facie entitlement to the interim relief. Accordingly, the prayer for interim relief seeking provisional inclusion in the zone of consideration for the DPC for promotion to the post of Office Superintendent is rejected. List the case for final hearing on 22.12.2026 as before.

Smt Mallika Arya Member (A) RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA Member (J) Rajul Namdeo ( steno 'c' )