The Orissa High Court has quashed the promotion of a few unreserved category employees in the Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) department to the higher post under the reserved category.

The single judge bench of Justice Sashikanta Mishra directed the Keonjhar district administration to convene a fresh departmental promotion committee (DPC) meeting to carry out promotion on the basis of merit, suitability and seniority of all eligible candidates.

The petitioners (reserved) were deprived of competing on merit with other candidates. Besides, their inherent seniority in the cadre, as per the gradation list, was also ignored.

Thus, the very principle envisaged in the rule was ignored, the HC observed.

“Had the petitioners been so permitted and found to be less meritorious and unsuitab

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