The Supreme Court has dismissed the petition filed by a judicial officer challenging the order passed by the Allahabad High Court wherein the Court has dismissed the writ petition of the petitioner seeking notional promotion to the post of Additional District Judge.
The Bench of Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice Ajay Rastogi, after going through all the facts and hearing the petitioner in person, observed that the order passed by the Allahabad High Court is on merits and there is no reason to interfere with the impugned order.
The petitioner had approached the High Court under Rule 22(3) of the Uttar Pradesh Higher Judicial Service Rules, 1975. He sought this promotion on stop-gap arrangement with effect from 18.02.2016 when it was allegedly given to persons junior to the petitioner. The same prayer was made by the petitioner in his earlier petition bearing, Writ A No. 9146 of 2019 (Abhinitam Upadhyay Vs. Registrar General, Allahabad High Court) but the petitioner did not press the prayer and made a request to the Court to direct the respondent to give him a regular promotion. The petitioner got regular promotion from the date it was given to officers junior to him.
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On the basis of the above-mentioned facts, the High Court held, “The prayer for grant of notional promotion on stop-gap arrangement with effect from 18.02.2016 cannot be accepted as it was not earlier pressed in Writ A No. 9146 of 2019 preferred by the petitioner and decided by this Court on 31.05.2019.”
Being aggrieved by the order of the Allahabad High Court, the petitioner had approached the Apex Court.