High Court Ruling: Ad Hoc Service Counts for Promotion

The Allahabad High Court ruled that ad hoc services count toward promotions if initial appointments were lawful and service was continuous. The decision upheld the promotion rights of two petitioners, Anil Kumar and Shailendra Singh, over the state government's appeal, emphasizing the injustice of denying similar benefits.

The Allahabad High Court in Lucknow confirmed that ad hoc service cannot be omitted when considering employee promotions if the initial hiring process was valid and the employee served continuously.

Justices Shekhar B Saraf and Manjeev Shukla rejected the state government's appeals, supporting an earlier ruling favoring the petitioners, noting that service regularization must be included in promotion eligibility calculations.

The verdict acknowledged unfairness in denying promoted status to two engineers appointed in 1986 as juniors, underscoring the Supreme Court principles supporting their case.

(With inputs from agencies.)