Merit-Cum-Seniority Principle, Seniority Cannot Be Applied Mechanically Without Assessing Merit: Chhattisgarh High Court

The dispute arose from the promotion process in the Jail Department of Chhattisgarh where the appellant was serving as Jail Superintendent since 1994 and was inducted into the cadre in 2000. The respondent entered service much later in 2009. A vacancy for the post of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) (Jail) led to a Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting held in February 2023 to evaluate eligible officers under the principle of…