Punjab & Haryana High Court Sets Aside SC Commission’s Promotion Directions; Holds Commission Has No Adjudicatory Power to Order Retrospective Promotions After Two Decades

Case Name: State of Punjab and Another v. Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Others
Date of Judgment: 12 December 2025
Citation: CWP-16755-2022
Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Namit Kumar

Held: The Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed the writ petition and quashed the orders passed by the Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes directing retrospective promotion of the private respondents to the post of Senior Assistant. The Court held that the Commission is a recommendatory body under Article 338 of the Constitution and the Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes Act, 2004, and lacks jurisdiction to issue binding or adjudicatory directions relating to service promotions. The Court further held that employees who have accepted promotion and service benefits without protest for over two decades cannot seek retrospective promotion by invoking the jurisdiction of the Commission.

Summary: The State of Punjab challenged orders passed by the Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes accepting complaints filed by two employees belonging to the Scheduled Castes category and directing their promotion to the post of Senior Assistant against reserved vacancies allegedly available during an earlier promotion cycle. The Commission also rejected the State’s application for review and reiterated allegations of discrimination.

The High Court examined the service history of the private respondents and found that they had been appointed as Steno-typists, promoted as Auditors after clearing the requisite typing tests, and had accepted those promotions without any protest. They continued in service, earned further promotions, and raised no grievance for nearly twenty years. During this period, they also approached the High Court in separate proceedings concerning seniority, implicitly accepting their cadre position as Auditors.

The Court held that the Commission exceeded its statutory and constitutional remit by issuing mandatory directions for promotion with retrospective effect. Referring to Article 338 of the Constitution and Section 10 of the 2004 Act, the Court clarified that the Commission’s role is limited to investigation, monitoring, and recommendation, and it does not possess adjudicatory powers akin to a service tribunal or court.

The Court further observed that an employee cannot pursue parallel remedies simultaneously and that stale claims relating to promotion cannot be revived after long acquiescence. It was also noted that service jurisprudence does not permit reopening settled promotions, particularly where the employees had already progressed further in the service hierarchy.

Decision: The writ petition was allowed. The impugned orders passed by the Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes directing promotion of the private respondents were set aside. The Commission was held to have acted beyond its jurisdiction, and no consequential service benefits were permitted to flow from the impugned directions.