Holding

A retrospective amendment of the service rules is valid as it does not affect any vested or accrued right, and the High Court's order striking down the retrospective effect is set aside.

Summary

The Supreme Court examined the retrospective amendment of the Delhi High Court Establishment (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1972, which altered the selection process for Assistant Registrar by creating three separate seniority lists and a rotational promotion scheme. The amendment, notified on 7 August 1995, was given retrospective effect from 1 July 1993 and was challenged in writ petitions on the ground that it violated vested rights of consideration and Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The High Court struck down only the retrospective aspect, but the Supreme Court held that no vested or accrued right to be considered for promotion existed, promotion is not a guaranteed right, and the amendment did not affect any crystallised benefit. Consequently, the retrospective amendment was upheld, the High Court’s order was set aside, and the writ petitions were dismissed. The appeals were allowed.

Issues considered

Whether a retrospective amendment to service rules that changes the mode of selection for promotion infringes a vested right of consideration.
Whether the right to be considered for promotion constitutes a vested or accrued right under service law.
Whether the amendment violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.
Whether the amendment can be applied retrospectively when no promotion or seniority has yet been crystallised.

Legislation cited

Constitution of Indias. 14, s. 16, s. 309

Subjects

retrospective amendmentservice rulespromotionvested rightconsiderationArticles 14 and 16Delhi High CourtAssistant Registrarseniority listconstitutional law

Judgment

....,., [2009] 9 S.C.R. 437

·~
HiGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. A
v.
A.K. MAHAJAN & ORS.
(Civil Appeal Nos. 6397-6398 of 2001)

MAY 15, 2009
B
.......
,_ [TARUN CHATTERJEE AND V.S. SIRPURKAR, JJ.]

Delhi High Court Establishment (Appointment and
Conditions of Service) Rules, 1972 - rr. 3 and 7 - Schedule,
-?- c
II - Amendment of, with retrospective effect - Selection to post
of Assistant Registrar to be made by selection on merit from'
confirmed officers by rotation - First vacancy to be filled from.
Private Secretaries, second and third from amongst
~ Superintendent and Court Master - Candidates already'
~
interviewed not called after retrospective amendment - D
.r'
Retrospective nature of amendment, challenge to - High
Court quashing amendment to the extent of retrospectivity - ,
Held: When amended Rules affect the benefit already given,
then alone such Rules would not be permissible to the extent
of retrospectivity - Retrospective effect was given after E
consideration of material statistics-imbalance in between three
~ parallel posts of Private Secretaries, Court Masters and
" Superintendents - Date fixed was immediately after the last
promotion was effected - Promotional opportunities never
became crystallized - There was no absolute accrued or F
vested right of consideration, which could be affected by
retrospective amendments - Therefore, there is no fault with
the retrospective aspect - Order of High Court not sustainable ,

.... ~\
and set aside .

By notification dated 7.8.1995, the Delhi High Court G
Establishment (Appointment and Conditions of Service)
Rules, 1972, Schedule II was amended with effect from
1.07.1973. Rule 7 as amended provided that the selection

437 H
438 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009) 9 S.C.R.
~

A to the post of Assistant Registrar could be made by
selection on merit from confirmed officers of the
categories 5, 6 an_d 7 of class II in Schedule I by rotation.
First vacancy in the post of the Assistant Registrar would
be filled from Private Secretaries, the second and third
B would be filled from amongst Superintendent and Court
Master. The last appointment to the post of Assistant ,,.
~
Registrar under the Rules was made on 1.6.1993.
Interview of some of the candirlates was already held but
were not called after the amendment was made applicable
c retrospectively. Some of the employees of High Court of
Delhi filed writ petitions challenging the retrospective
·amendment to the Rules. High Court allowed the writ
petitions to the extent that only the retrospective effect
of the amendment was invalidated. Hence the present
D
appeals. •
~
Allowing the appeals, the Court

HELD: 1. Law regarding the retrospectivity or
retroactive operation regarding the Rules of selection is
E that where such amended Rules affect the benefit already
given, then alone such Rules would not be permissible
to the extent of retrospectivity. The judgment of the High ~

Court cannot be concurred with .and is set aside. The Writ _,.>.

Petitions are also dismissed. [Paras 23 and 24] [462-B-C]
F 2.1. High Court obs~rved that the ·benefit of
consideration, which was available to the writ petitioner
no. 8 prior to the retrospective amendment of the Rules,
was not available to him after the amendment of the
Rules. This is an.incorrect notion. There can be no benefit
G of consideration. To be considered is a right of employee F
but merely being considered, in itself, is not a benefit as
it may or may not result in the selection or promotion of
an employee and hence it is in the nature of a chance. A
mere chance of promotion being affected by amendment
H
HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. AK. MAHAJAN & 439
ORS.

-<~. is inconsequential. This Court has time and again held A
that since promotion is not a right of the employee, a
mere chance of promotion if affected cannot and does
not invalidate the action on the part of employer. [Para
11] [452-F-H; 453-A]
B
2.2. The right of consideration may accrue at a
particular point of time or subsequently thereto. Merely
.. . because at a particular· point of time the employee is not
~
considered, does not mean the total denial of the
consideration of the employee. In the instant case, it is
not as if writ petitioner no. 8 was altogether denied the c
benefit of consideration for ever. He was undoubtedly
considered later on and was promoted also. Therefore,
·it is incorrect to say that the amendment had the effect
of denying him the benefit of consideration, which was
available to him. He did continue with that benefit and was D
~
actually benefited under the same. The concept of
• consideration is an uncertain concept. One can
understand a pension amount which is already decided
or the promotion which is already granted or the seniority
which is already conferred upon or the substantive E
appointment which is already made. If the amendment
has the effect of denying this crystallized promotion,
seniority or substantive appointment, then certainly the
amendment could be held as arbitrary. In the instant case,
,..
no promotion was already granted or seniority already F
fixed, or any substantive appointment already made were
affected by the retrospective amendment. [Paras 12 and
13] [453-8-F]

2.3. In the writ petition, though originally the whole
G
amendment was challenged, the challenge to the
\ substantive amendment creating three separate seniority
lists and providing a principle of rotational promotion was
given up. If the writ petition had to be allowed, then it was
imperative that the fault should have been found not only
H
440 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 9 S.C.R.

A with retrospective effect. Then the whole amendment .,. ., .
would have been rendered invalid. But that did not
happen. Writ petitioners severed the retrospectivity part
from the other aspects of formulation of three separate
seniority lists and rotational promotion; thereby they
B gave a complete go-by to the seniority issue. The
/ petitioners contended that they had no difficulty in the
preparation of three seniority lists and the principle of
rotational promotion which substantially affected the
otherwise available chances of promotion to them (private
c secretaries). Their sole contention was "please do not
apply these rules to us. The rules may be alright for
others who may be in the queue." This stance cannot be
understood. [Para 14] [464..A-Ol

2.4. High Court held that a vested right of
D consideration was affected by the retrospective operation
of the amendment and hence the amendment was bad.
;.__
R~spondents also pressed the same contention. The
amendments were necessitated on a~ttHint of the
imbalance in between the three parallel posts of Private
· E Secretaries, Court Masters and the Superintendents. The
statistics itself suggested that out of the 9 existing
Assistant Registrars, 7 were from the category of Private
Secretaries. Once these three posts were held to be the
parallel posts, it was thought unfair that only one
F category of Private Secretaries, sheerly on the basis of
their number, could walk away with the maximum number
of promotional posts. Nothing wrong can be seen in
such thinking on the part of the High Court. It was
perfectly reasonable to make the efforts to remedy the
G imbalance in between the three posts, which were on the
same level. There could be no question about the
bonafides in bringing about these amendments. That was
the need of the day and was rightly done. [Para 15] [454-
.. E; 455-8-E] .
H
HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. AK. MAHAJAN & 441
ORS.

2.5. The last appointment to the post of Assistant A
Registrar was made just about a month. before 1.7.1993.
< Thereafter, there were no appointments of the Assistant
Registrar. Since the 5 posts were to be filled-in in the next
interview as per the existing Rule, it was obvious that the
same imbalance would have been perpetuated further. 8
Once a decision was taken to remedy the imbalance
amongst the three posts, it was pointless to create
"'<

cl further imbalance and, therefore, the High Court was
right in deciding to apply the amendments with effect
from 1.7.1993. At least on this count there is no fault with c
the retrospectivity of the amendments. That was the need
of the day and indeed the imbalance would have affected
the morale of the other two categories, namely,
Superintendents and Court Masters. [Para 16] [455-F-H;
456-A] D
·J
2.6. In S. B. Mathur's case this Court held that ·the
- Rules and more particularly, the Rule regarding equal
status of the three categories were found to be valid
Rules, however, to express that any right to combined
seniority list was created thereto, is completely incorrect. E
There is no such right. What was found by this Court was
that the Rule for the combined seniority list was valid and
nothing more. There was no question of any right to
,k
combined seniority list. Further, there was no question
of any promotional opportunities becoming crystallized. F
The promotional opportunities never became crystallized.
What can be crystallized is a factum of promotion itself
and not a chance of promotion. There was no mandamus
issued by this Court in S. B. Mathur's case. Completely
erroneous observation has been made that a mandamus G
was issued by this Court and that the same could not be
\
nullified by resorting to the Rule making power by
respondent Nos. 1 & 2 since there was no change in the
circumstances. A further observation is also incorrect
that the amendment could only be made when there is a H
442 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 9 S.C.R.

A change in circumstances. The need for the amendment
could even be felt because of the change of the policy. If
the High Court came to the conclusion that there was any
need for amendment on the factual situation, the
amendment could always be made.,ln the instant case,
B the amendment was necessitated on account of the
statistics of promotions to the three categories, where the
Private Secretaries had almost monopolized the same.
Therefore, there was nothing wrong with the
amendments. [Para 20] [458-8-G]
c 2.7. This Court in S. B. ·Mathur's case had also not
given any mandamus that the promotions would only be
in the light of the existing Rules and in no other. The
Court had simply approved of the Rules, as they then
stood, providing for the equal status of the three
D categories and the combined seniority list for them. This
did not mean that this Court direct~d that there could be
no change in the modality or that there could be no three
separate seniority lists from the three categories. The
judgment is completely misunderstood by the High Court.
E [Para 20] [458-H; 459-A]

2.8. If High Court found that the Rule could not be
changed by amendment, the High Court could have and
shoul~ have found fault with the whole amendment, not
F only tt-.e ret.rospectivity aspect thereof. The High Court
has not irivalidated the amendments, creating three
seniority lists' for, the three categories and introducing the
:p·rincipJe pf rotational promotion. It has only found fault
wi'th· the retrospectivity. The retrospective effect given to
G the amendments was after consideration of material
statistics. The date fixed was also relevant, as it was
immediately after the last promotion was effected.
Therefore, there is no fault with the retrospective aspect
and the High Court has wrongly found fault with the
retrospective aspect on the incorrect logic that the
H
"""'
. \
HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. AK. MAHAJAN & 443
ORS .

amendments affected any absolute vested or accrued A
rights of being considered. There is no such absolute
accrued or vested right of consideration, which could not
be affected by the retrospective amendments. The only
condition is that such retrospective amendments should
'(

)..
be constitutionally valid. [Para 21] [459-C-F] B
S. B. Mathur v. Chief Justice of Delhi 1989 Supp. (1)
SCC 34; Chairman, Railway Board and Ors. vs. C.R.
Rangadhamaiah and Ors. 1997(6) SCC 623, explained.

Tamil Nadu Teachers Association vs. State of Tamil c
Nadu AIR 1998 SC 2267; N. T. Devin Katti and Ors. Vs.
Karnataka Public Service Commission and Ors. 1990 (3)
,, SCC 157; Marripati Nagaraja and Ors. Vs. Government bf
). Andhra Pradesh and Ors .. 2007 (11) SCC 522; Virender Singh
Hooda and Ors. vs. State of Haryana and Anr. 2004 (12) SCC D
588; State of J&K vs. Triloki Nath Khosa 1974 (1) SCC 19,
referred to.

Case Law Reference:
1989 Supp. (1) SCC 34 Explained Para 3, 18, 19, 20 E
;i; 1997 (6) sec 623 Explained Para 10, 17
AIR 1998 SC 2267 Referred to. Para 19
1990 (3} sec 157 Referred to. Para 22 F
2001 (11) sec 522 Referred to. Para 22
2004 (12) sec 588 Referred to. Para 22
\ 1974 (1) sec 19 Referred to. Para 22
G ,
CIVIL AP PELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nos.
6397-6398 of 2001.

From the Judgment & Order dated 01.03.2001 of the High
Court of Delhi in C.W.P. No. 2944 of 1995 and C.W.P. 500 of
1999. H
~
;,..
444 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 9 S.C.R.
j.
A WITH

C.A. Nos. 6399-6400 of 2001.

P.P. Rao, Maninder Singh, Prathiba Singh, Gaurav
Sharma, Surbhi Mehta, Sumeet Bhatia, Naveen R. Nath, Lalit
B Mohini Bhat and Hetu Arora for the Appellants. )"

~

Rani Chhabra, Rajesh Goyal, Shrish Kumar Misra,
Pushkin, Sunita Gautam and S.P. Sharma for the Respondents.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
c
V.S. SIRPURKAR, J. 1. This judgment shall govern Civil
Appeal Nos. 6397-6398 of 2001 and Civil Appeal Nos. 6399-
6400 of 2001. Civil Appeal Nos. 6397-6398 are filed by the ~

High Court of Delhi and Civil Appeal Nos. 6399-6400 by some -t_
D employees of the High Court of Delhi. In all the Appeals, a
common judgment passed by the High Court is in challenge.
By the said judgment, Writ Petitions filed by some of the High
Court employees were allowed. In the said Writ Petitions,
notification dated 7.8.1995, making amendment in Schedule II
E of the Delhi High Court Establishment (Appointment and
Conditions of Service) Rules, 1972 (hereinafter called "the ~

Rules of 1972" for short), that pertain to the selection to the .'(
}
posts of Assistant Registrar, was in challenge. Rule 3 of these
Rules dealt with joint inter-se seniority of confirmed employees
F in categories of equal status posts. There was a joint seniority
list for three categories of employees, they being:-

(1) Superintendents
-i-
(2) Court Masters I

G
(3) Private Secretaries.

Rule 7 provided the mode of appointment. It provided that
the appointment to the post of Assistant Registrar could be
made by selection on merit from confirmed officers of
H
- _.._
HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. A.K. MAHAJAN & 445
ORS. [V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]
/

categories 5, 6 and 7 of Class I mentioned in Schedule I. These A
categories were none other, but the Superintendents, Court
Masters and Private Secretaries, meaning thereby that these
were the feeder posts to the post of Assistant Registrar. The
last appointment to the post of Assistant Registrar under the
said Rules of 1972 was made on 1.6.1993. In the year 1994, B
1 "' 5 vacancies arose in the post of Assistant Registrar and the
selection process was initiated and a Committee, consisting
two Hon'ble Judges of that Court, was constituted. However,
on 2. 7 .1994, a representation came to be made by the
Superintendents and the Court Masters that if the promotions c
were made as per the existing-., Rules on the basis of the.
combined seniority list, all the 5 post ~ere likely to be filled only
by the Private Secretaries, since they were much more in
). number and they were promoted in large numbers. It was,
> therefore, necessary to correct the imbalance. On 12. 7.1994, D
the Hon'ble Chief Justice of the High Court directed the
representation to be placed before the Committee constituted
for selection to the post of Assistant Registrar.

2. On 7.11.1994 and 8.11.1994, the Committee
interviewed 14 senior most officers for the aforementioned 5 E
posts of Assistant Registrar. However, no decision was taken.
J The said representation made by the Superintendents and Court
Masters, however, came to be considered on 19.4.1995 and
the Committee, therefore, recommended that the existing Rules
should be amended, providing for 1/3rd quota each for F
Superintendents, Court Masters and Private Secretaries. It was
also observed that if the recommendations were not accepted,
then the vacant posts of Assistant Registrar could be filled from
\ the candidates already interviewed. On 19.4.1995, the Hon'ble
Chief Justice of that Court directed the then pending promotions G-
to be made on the basis of the existing Rules and also heJd
that the amendment of the said Rules should be made.
However, that was to be only for the future posts. Another
representation came to be filed on 26.4.1995 by the
Superintendents and the Court Masters, pointing out that over H
446 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009} 9 S.C.R.

A the years on account of the existing Rules, the feeder category
of Private Secretaries had gained maximum promotions to the
posts of Assistant Registrar at the cost of the two remaining
feeder posts, namely, Superintendents and Court Masters. It
was pointed out that in the last 10 years, out of 28 promotions
B made to the post of Assistant Registrar, 15 were from the
Private Secretaries, while only 13 came from the categories
of Superintendent and Court Master combined. It was also
pointed out that out of the 9 Assistant Registrars already
working, 7 were from the category of Private Secretary and only
c 2 were from the Superintendents and Court Masters. This
representation was directed to be placed before the same
Committee. On 10.5.1995, the Committee recommended that
suitable amendment should be made to the Rules and also
noted that if the present vacancies were allowed to be filled on
the basis of the existing Rules and the interviews already held,
0
it would lead to·a lot of frustration amongst the Superintendents/
Court Masters. The Committee, therefore, reiterated its earlier
recommendation that a quota should be provided for each
feeder category. The recommendations were approved by the
E Hon'ble Chief Justice of that Court. Thereafter, the draft
amendments were considered by the Committee. Those
amendments were recommended to be effective from 1.7.1993,
as the last appointment to the post of Assistant Registrar was
made only on 1.6.1993. On 7.8.1995, the Hon'ble Chief Justice
of that Court approved the amendment to the Rules, so
F suggested with retrospective effect from 1. 7 .1993. By that
amendment, existing Rule 7 was amended and it was provided
that the first vacancy in the post of Assistant Registrar would
be filled from Private Secretaries and the second and third
vacancies would be filled from amongst the Superintendents
G and Court Masters. For that purpose, separate seniority list of
Private Secretaries and Superintendents/Court Masters would
be prepared. A fresh selection process thereafter was started
on 9.8.1995 and on 11.8.1995. First senior most 8 officers from
amongst the Private Secretaries and 11 officers from the ·
H
-/.
HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. AK. MAHAJAN & 447
ORS. [V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]
seniority list of Superintendents/Court Masters were shortlisted A
for interview. The Committee was reconstituted on account of
the retirement of Hon'ble P.K. Bahri, J., who was replaced by
Hon'ble Arun Kumar, J. On 11.8.1995, the Committee
interviewed candidates and made the recommendations. It was
.,., on the same day that Writ Petition No. 2944 of 1995 was filed B
by Shri AK. Mahajan & Others, who belonged to the category
of Private Secretaries. By that Writ Petition, the retrospective
amendment to the Rules was challenged. On 19.8.1995, the
.( Chief Justice of that Court granted approval to the promotions
f
of 7 persons to the posts of Assistant Registrar with effect from
c
- ;._
17.8.1995. Another Writ Petition, being CW No. 500 of 1996
came to be filed by Shri S.D. Sharma, wherein again the same
amendment with retrospective effect was challenged. His
grievance was that though he was called for the interviews held
" in November, 1994, he was not so called for the interview held
in August, 1995. The Writ Petitions came to be allowed by the D
High court to the extent that only the retrospective effect of the
amendment was found fault with and was invalidated. It is this
common judgment, disposing of both the Writ Petitions, which
has fallen for our consideration in the present matters.
E
_, 3. Shri P.P. Rao, Learned Senior Counsel appearing on
» behalf of the appellants urged that the judgment of the High
.....
Court is not correct and proceeds on the wrong premise that
the amendments took away the crystallized rights of the Writ
Petitioners. The Learned Senior Counsel urged that there is no F
question of there being any crystallized rights as there can be
no right for the promotion. According to Shri Rao, the extensive
reliance by the appellants on decision in S.B. Mathur Vs. Chief
--\ Justice of Delhi reported in 1989 Supp. (1) SCC 34 was totally
uncalled for and the ratio in that judgment was completely G
"'(
. misunderstood by the High Court. Shri Rao further argued that
there can be no question of there being any crystallized right
or vested right in favour of the Writ Petitioners. It is further
pointed out by the Learned Senior Counsel that the whole
exercise was bonafide and taken with the sole objective of
H
448 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 9 S.C.R.
- )-

A avoiding injustice to a part,icular class of employees like
Superintendents/Court Masters in comparison to the Private
Secretaries.

4. As against this, Shri Shrish Kumar Mishra, Learned
Counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents pointed out
B that the amendments and more particularly, the retrospective
"'.It
effect given thereto, completely annihilated the vested rights for
being considered for the promotion. The argument of Shri
Mishra was that in 1994 interviews, one of the Writ Petitioners
was called, the interviews were also held and it was at that )..
c juncture, that the High Court chose to change the parameters
of the selection, which was totally incorrect. He further pointed
out that the said amendments resulted in completely wiping out
. the chances of one of the Writ Petitioners particularly and the
.i.
Private Secretaries generally for being considered for the
D promotion, which was a fundamental right under Articles 14 and --'
16 of the Constitution of India. According to the Learned
Counsel, therefore, the said amendments were unconstitutional.

5. It is on these rival pleadings that we have to consider
the present controversy.
E
6. Before we take up the contested issues for ~
~
consideration, few things must be noted:- )r:
.,..,
(i) At this juncture, one of the original Writ Petitioners,
F who was called for interview in 1994, but was not
called for the interviews held in 1995 due to the
amendment, has actually been promoted to the post
of Assistant Registrar, though subsequently.
Therefore, his grievance now remains only insofar ...
G as the seniority is concerned.
I

,.
~'
(ii) That at the stage of the argument, though the Rule
was extensively amended, the challenge was
restricted only to the retrospective operation of the
Rule, s~ amend~d.
H
*· , HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. AK. MAHAJAN & 449
ORS. [V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]
The other changed structure of the Rule was not assailed 'A.
by the writ petitioners.

7. This means that what falls for our consideration is only
the effect of retrospective operation of the amendment.

8. We have already pointed out the original Rule No. 7 in 8
the opening paragraphs of this judgment. We will point out now
as to what the amendment was and for that purpose, we will
quote the Original Rule No. 7, as amended, from Schedule II:-

"AMENDMENT IN SCHEDULE II
c
S. Category of Minimum Mode of
No. Post Qualification appointment
1 2 3 4
D
3. Assistant By selection on merit
Registrar from confirmed officers
(Selection of the category
·' 5, 6 & 7 Post) of Class II
mentioned in Schedule I E
by rotation in the following
manner:-

(a) First vacancy shall be
filled in from the
F
officers of category 7
of Class II mentioned
in Schedule I (Private
Secretary).
(b) Second and third
vacancies shall be
filled in from the
officers of categories
5 & 6 of Class II
mentioned in·
450 · SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 9 S.C.R.

•
A Schedule I (Superin-
tendent and Court
Masters) and so on.
For the purposes of
selection, two senio-
B rity lists, one of the
officers of category 7
of Class 11 mentioned
in Schedule I (Private
Secretary) and other
c jointed seniority list of
officers of categories
5 & 6 of Class I
(Superintendent and
Court Master) shall be
D maintained.

Provided that if there be no officer available or found not
fit for promotion out of the officers falling in consideration zone
in any one of the above said categories, the vacancy may be
E filled from the other category by rotation as above subject to
adjustment at the future selection/selections but without
prejudice to the seniority of the person (s) already appointed.

The above amendment shall come into force w.e.f.
01.03.1993."
F
A glance at the Rule, therefore, suggests that the Rule now
provided creation of three separate categories and the
selection on merit shall be distributed in the three categories
by rotation. Very surprisingly, this part of the Rule, which
G challenged the whole tenor of the earlier Rule, was not
challenged before the High Court at the stage of the argument
and the challenge was only limited to the retrospective nature
of the amendment, which was to come in force with effect from
1.7.1973.
H
.J
HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. A.K. MAHAJAN & 451
ORS. [V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]
~ ~ 9. At the beginning of the debate itself, Shri Mishra, A
Learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the
respondent, very fairly stated that the respondents were not
subscribing to some uncharitable remarks in the judgment
regarding the amendment process, as well as, the interviews,
which remarks were also directed against the Committee B
formulated by the Hon'ble Chief Justice of that Court and Chief
Justice himself. It is unfortunate that such remarks have been
"¥ passed. The Learned Counsel submitted that the respondent
J
did not question the bonafides in the matter. In that view, we
will leave the matter at that.
/
c
10. The only question that has remained to be decided is
as to whether because of the retrospective nature of the
amendment, the amendment itself could be invalidated to the
extent of retrospectivity. In our opinion, the answer is negative.
The High Court has mainly relied on the reported decision in D
.A.
1997(6) SCC 623 Chairman, Railway Board & Ors. Vs. C.R_
>- Rangadhamaiah & o,-s. and more particularly, para 24 thereof.
Shri Mishra, Learned Counsel for the respondents also very
heavily relied on this decision. The said para 24 is as follows:-
E
"24. In many of these decision the expressions "vested
rights" or "accrued rights" have been used while
striking down the impugned provisions, which had
been given retrospective operation, so as to have
1- an adverse effect in the matter of promotion,
:F
seniority, substantive appointment, etc. of the
employees. The said expressions have been used
in the context of a right flowing under the relevant
rule, which was sought to be altered with effect from
an anterior date and thereby, taking away the
benefits available under the rule in force at that time. G
~ It has been held that such an amendment having
retrospective operation which has the effect of
_,
-..-
taking away a benefit already available to the

..
employee under the existing rule is arbitrary,
H
~

452 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2009] 9 S.C.R.

A discriminatory and violative of the rights guaranteed ~~

under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. We
are unable to hold that these decisions are not in
consonance with the decisions in Roshal Lal
Tandon (AIR 1967 SC 1889), B.S. Yadav (AIR
1969 SC 118) and Raman Lal Keshav Lal Soni
B
(1983(2) sec 33)."

The Learned Counsel pointed out as held uy the High f
).c.
Court that any provision with retrospective operation, having an
adverse effect in the matter of promotion, seniority, substantive
c appointment etc. of the employees would be bad in law and
would be in breach of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of
India. The High Court also proceeded to hold that since one of
the Writ Petitioners, who were invited for interview in the year
1994 was not invited in the year 1995, the vested right of the
D Writ Petitioner had been adversely affected by the retrospective
~
operation of the Rules. We must observe that the para is being
interpreted in an erroneous way. Its clear language suggests ~

that where the amendment, having retrospective operation,
which has the effect of taking away a benefit already available
E to the employee, then such a provision is arbitrary,
discriminatory and violative of the rights guaranteed under
Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. ..
11. Now, we find no discussion in the whole judgment as "
to what was the benefit which was available to the said ...
F employee. The High Court has observed that the benefit of -<'

consideration, which was available to the Writ Petitioner No. 8
prior to the retrospective amendment of the Rules, was not
available to him after the amendment of the Rules. In our
opinion, this is an incorrect notion. There can be no benefit of
G consideration. To be considered is a right of employee but
merely being considered, in itself, is not a benefit as it may or

-
1-
may not result in the selection or promotion of an -employee and
hence it is in the nature of a chance. A mere chance of ......
promotion being affected by amendment is in our opinion
H
·"-
HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. AK. MAHAJAN & 453
ORS. [V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]
-A._ inconsequential. This Court has time and again held that since A
promotion is not a right of the employee. a mere chance of
promotion if affected cannot and does not invalidate the action
on the part of employer.

12. That right of consideration may accrue at a particular B
point of time or subsequently thereto. Merely because at a
particular point of time the employee is not considered, does
~ not mean the total denial of the consideration of the employee.
i
In the present case, it is not as if the concerned Writ Petitioner
No. 8 was altogether denied the benefit of consideration for
ever. He was undoubtedly considered later on and was
c
promoted also. Therefore 1 it is incorrect to say that the
,,,.. amendment had the effect of denying him the benefit of
consideration, which was available to him. He did continue with
.- that benefit and was actually benefited under the same.
D
... 13. This is apart from the fact that the concept of
>- consideration is an uncertain concept. One can understand a
pension amount which is already decided or the promotion
which is already granted or the seniority which is already
conferred upon or the substantive appointment which is already E
... made. If the amendment has the effect ·of denying this
crystallized promotion, seniority or substantive appointment,
then certainly the amendment could be held as arbitrary. But
that has not happened here. Here, no promotion was already
~-

1-
granted or seniority already fixed, or any substantive p
appointment already made were affected by the retrospective
amendment. The observations in above quoted para 24 have
to be understood in that sense.

14. The Writ Petitioners did not challenge the creation of
three seniority lists. Earlier, there used to be one single G
{., seniority list for the three categories of employees. After the
. amendment, it was converted into three separate seniority lists,
also introducing the rotational promotion, vis-a-vis, the post.
This made a huge difference in the inter-se seniority of the three
H
'I=

454 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2009] 9 S.C.R.

~

A categories. In fact, in the Writ Petition, though originally the j
"'
whole amendment was challenged, the challenge to the
substantive amendment creating three separate seniority lists
and providing a principle of rotational promotion was given up. •'
If the Writ Petition had to be allowed, then it was imperative
8 that the fault should have been found not only with retrospective
effect. Then the whole amendment would have been rendered
invalid. But that did not happen. The Wri! Petitioners severed
the retrospectivity part from the other aspects of formulation of t-
A.
three separate seniority lists and rotational promotion; thereby
c they gave a complete go-by to the seniority issue. In short the
petitioners contended that they had no difficulty in the
preparation of three seniority lists and the principle of rotational
promotion which substantially affected the otherwise available :r-
chances of promotion to them (private secretaries). Their sole ~
contention was "please do not apply these rules to us. The rules ·
D ~
may be alright for others who may be in the queue." We fail to
understand this stance.
... I
~-
i
--'.
15. The High Court then proceeded to hold that a vested
right of consideration was affected by the retrospective
E operation of the amendment and hence the amendment was
~
bad. Shri Mishra, Learned Counsel for the respondents also J
pressed the same contention. According to the Learned r-
Counsel, the denial of consideration was writ large, particularly
in respect of the Writ Petitioner No. 8 since he was actually -· ~

F called for interview in the year 1994, but not in 1995, after the -t
amendments were made applicable retrospectively. It was -·- '
pointed out that a particular individual, after the amendments,
was pushed back substantially. The Learned Counsel also .
~

grudged that even when the interviews were conducted in
G 1994, yet no appointments were made and instead, the
Committee recommended framing of fresh Rules with the result
that some persons who were the Private Secretaries were ?
denied the chance of being considered for promotion. The
Learned Counsel feebly complained against this and tried to
- i

address us that the recommendations of the Committee should
H
/
.
;
HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. A.K. MAHAJAN & 455
.,._
ORS. [V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]
1 - have been accepted by the Hon'ble Chief Justice of that Court A
and no amendments should have been made, affecting the
rights of those who were interviewed in 1994. At this juncture
itself, we must make it clear that such was not the challenge.
We have already clarified that it is difficult to find out any lack
of benefits on the part of either the Committee or the Hon'ble B
ttie Chief Justice. The amendments were necessitated on
·~ account of the imbalance in between the three parallel posts
1
of Private Secretaries, Court Masters and the Superintendents.
The statistics itself suggested that out of the 9 existing Assistant
Registrars, 7 were from the category of Private Secretaries. c
Once these three posts were held to be the parallel posts, it
was thought unfair that only one category of Private Secretaries,
sheerly on the basis of their number, could walk away with the
maximum number of promotional posts; We do not see
anything wrong in such thinking on the part of the High Court. It
... D
was perfectly reasonable to make the efforts to remedy the
,.. imbalance in between the three posts, which were on the same
level. As we have already pointed out, there could be no
question about the bonafides in bringing about these ·
amendments. That was the need of the day and was rightly
done. E

16. The only question is as to whether the amendments
could be introduced with effect from 1.7.1993. Here, it must be
~
pointed out that the last appointment to the post of Assistant
Registrar was made just about a month before that date. .F
Thereafter, there were no appointments of the Assistant
Registrar. Since the 5 posts were to be filled-in in the next
interview as per the existing Rule, it was obvious that the same
imbalance would have been perpetuated further. Once a
decision was taken to remedy the imbalance amongst the three G
posts, it was pointless to create further imbalance and,
therefore, the High Court was right in deciding to apply the
amendments with effect from 1.7.1993. At least on this count,
we do not find any fault with the retrospectivity of the
amendments. That was the need of the day and indeed the H
,
).

456 SUPREME COURT REPORTS- [2009] 9 S.C.Ft

-
)-
';
A imbalance would have affected the morale of the other two
categories, namely, Superintendents and Court Masters.

17. The things do not stop here. The substantial argument
is that in this, the vested right of consideration was being
affected. We have already explained the observations in para
B
24 of the judgment in Chairman, Railway Board & Ors. Vs. ,I
C.R. Rangadhamaiah & Ors. (cited supra). We have also ~

indicated as to how those observations have to be read and
'l
understood. In our opinion, when the Writ Petitioners suggested
that their vested rights or accrued rights were affected beeause
c of the retrospective operation, they completely forgot that the
observations pertained to the benefits which were already
made available. We have, in the earlier paragraphs1 already
explained this concept. ,.

D 18. The High Court has relied on a decision in s,a. Mathur I..

Vs. Chief Justice of Delhi (cited supra). Very significantly, this ...
decision also related .to the selection to the same post of
Assistant Registrar or the same three categories with which we
are concerned here. There, the Writ Petition was filed by the
E Superintendents, objecting to their being treated on par with
Private Secretaries and the Court Masters and being included
~in the joint seniority list alongwith them for the purposes of
promotion to the next higher post of Assistant Registrar. It was
submitted that the three categories could not be treated as -.+

F equal status posts, as the duties etc. for all the three posts were
different. That challenge was repelled by this Court by holding
that it was not necessary that the duties must be same. The
Court held that for treating the certain posts as equated posts
or equal status posts, even the sources of recruitment need not
be the same nor the qualifications for appointment have to be
G
identical. The Court held that all that was reasonably required ;->-
was that there must not be such difference in the pay scales or
qualifications of the incumbents of the posts concerned or in
their duties or responsibilities or regarding any other relevant

H
HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. AK. MAHAJAN & 457
ORS. [V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]
-I ""-.
-
factor, that it would be unjust to treat the posts alike. The Court A
also noted that there was no challenge to the validity of Delhi
High Court Staff (Seniority) Rules, 1971 generally or any other
Rule particularly and, therefore, even if the duties and
responsibilities attached to these posts were not the same, they
were not so materially different as to render it inequitable that B
they should be treated on the same footing for the purposes .of
1t promotion and transfer. Ultimately, the Court repelled the
}
argument that the three posts could not be treated as of equal
status.

19. The High Court has quoted a paragraph from the said
c
judgment and referred to the argument on behalf of the Writ
Petitioners that the issue of selection to the posts of Assistant
Registrar on the basis of joint seniority of Superintendents/
Court Masters and Private Secretaries already stood settled
by this Court and, therefore, the High Court had no power to D
""'
;. amend the Rules by way of retrospective effect. The High Court
also noted the further arguments that by way of retrospective
amendment, the effect of the decision of this Court could not
be set at naught. The High Court also referred to the decision
in Tamil Nadu Teachers Association Vs. State of Tamil Nadu E
reported in AIR 1998 SC 2267. While commenting on the case
of S.B. Mathur Vs. Chief Justice of Delhi (cited supra),. the
High Court observed:-
t
"We have perused the judgment of the Supreme Curt in F
S.B. Mathur's case (supra), heavily relied upon by the
learned counsel for the petitioners. The process of making
appointments to the post of Assistant Registrar in Delhi
High Court was dealt with in details by the Supreme Court.
Right to combine seniority list, as well as, the promotional
G.
~, opportunities provided in the pre-amended rules became
crystallized in the said writ of mandamus issued by the
Supreme Court and the same could not be taken away
by resorting to the rule making power by respondent Nos.
1 & 2. There is no change in the circumstances. The
H
458 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 9 S.C.R ·

-· k
~
A amendment could only be made when there is such a
change in the circumstances that in the given
circum~tances, the Supreme Court would not have passed
such'an order." (Emphasis Supplied) .

20. In our opinion, the observations are erroneous. True it
B
is that in case of S.B. Mathur Vs. Chief Justice of Delhi (cited
supra), this Court came to the conclusion that the Rules and
more particularly, the Rule regarding equal status of the three )

categories were found to be valid Rules, however, to express
that any right to combined seniority list was created thereto, is
c completely incorrect. There is no such right. What was found
by this Court was that the Rule for the combined seniority Ii.st
was valid and nothing more. There was no question of any right
to combined seniority list. Further, there was no question of any
promotional opportunities becoming crystallized. As we have
D explained earlier, the promotional opportunities never became j.

crystallized. What can be crystallized is a factum of promotion .J,
itself and not a chance of promotion. Last but not the least, there
was no mandamus issued by this Court in the aforementioned
judgment. Completely erroneous observation has been made
E that a mandamus was issued by this Court and that the same
could not be nullified by resorting to the Rule making power by
respondent Nos. 1 & 2 (therein) since there was no change in
the circumstances. A further observation is also incorrect that
the amendment could only be made when there is a change in -t
F circumstances. The need for the amendment could even be felt
because of the change of the policy. If the High Court came to
the conclusion that there was any need for amendment on the
factual situation, the amendment could always be made. In the
present case, the amendment was necessitated on account of
G the statistics of promotions to the three categories, where the
Private Secretaries had almost monopolized the same. ;i-
Therefore, there was nothing wrong with the amendments. This
Court had also not given any mandamus that the promotions
would only be in the light of the existing Rules and in no other.
H The Court had simply approved of the Rules, as they then stood,
HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. AK. MAHAJAN & 459
' '~
ORS. [V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]
providing for the equal status of the three categories and the A
combined seniority list for them. This did not mean that this
Court directed that there could be no change in the modality
or that there could be no three·separate seniority lists from the
three categories. In our opinion, the judgment is completely
misunderstood by the High Court. B
,,
.A
21. Further, if this was the situation found by the High Court
that the Rule could not be changed by amendment, the High
Court could have and should have found fault with the whole
amendment, not only the retrospectivity aspect thereof. But that
has not happened. The High Court has not invalidated the
c
amendments, creating three seniority lists for the three
categories and introducing the principle of rotational promotion.
It has only found fault with the retrospectivity. We have a!ready
-I.
pointed out that the retrospective effect given to the
).
amendments was after consideration of material statistics. D
Further, the date fixed was also relevant, as it was immediately
after the last promotion was effected. We, therefore, find no fault
with the retrospective aspect and in our opinion, the High Court
has wrongly found fault with the retrospective aspect on the
incorrect logic that the amendments affected any. absolute E1
vested or accrued rights of being considered. There is no such
absolute accrued or vested right of consideration, which could
+
/ not be affected by the retrospective amendments. The only
condition is that such retrospective amendments should be
constitutionally valid. F

22. In the decision in N. T. Devin Katti and & Ors. Vs.
Kamataka Public Service Commission and & Ors. reported .
in 1990 (3) sec 157, the Court was considering the right of
-1. . the candidates to be considered. The question in that case was
G
that as to which Rules were applicable, particularly, when there
were amendments in the Rules after the advertisement was
issued. The Court clearly held that under such circumstances,
normally the existing Rules on the date of advertisement would
be applicable, however, if there is an amendment in the Rule
H
460 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 9 S.C.R. ,,..
J

A with retrospective effect, then it would be the amended Rules,
which would be applicable. The Court observed that it was on
the date of the advertisement that the right of the candidate
crystallizes. However, the Court observed that he had no
absolute right in the matter. The Court further observed:-
B
" ............ If the Recruitment Rules are amended f.
retrospectively during the pendency of selection, in that ).<

event selection must be held in accordance with the
amended Rules."

c The Court also observed that:-

"a candidate, on making application for a post pursuant
to an advertisement does not acquire any vested right of
selection, but if he is eligible and is otherwise qualified in
~

D accordance with the relevant rules and the terms contained
in the advertisement, he does acquire a vested right of --l
being consi~ered for selection in accordance with the rules
as they existed on the date of advertisement. He cannot
be deprived of that limited right on the amendment of
rules during the pendency of selection unless the
E
amended rules are retrospective in nature." (Emphasis
supplied). I

This judgment was relied upon further in case of Marripati +
Nagaraja & Ors. Vs. Government of Andhra Pradesh & Ors.
F reported in 2007(11) SCC 522. This Court observed:-
"The State, in exercise of its power conferred upon it under
the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution is entitled to
make rules with retrospective effect and retroactive
operation. Ordinarily, in the absence of any rule and that ~
G
too a rule which was expressly given a retrospective effect,
the rules prevailing as on the date of the notification are
to be applied. But, if some rule has been given a
retrospective effect which is within the domain of the State,
unless the same is set aside as being unconstitutional, the
H
HIGH COURT OF DELHI & ANR. v. A.K. MAHAJAN & 461
"- ORS. [V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.]

consequences flowing therefrom shall ensue. In such. an A1
event, the applicable rule would not be the rule which was
existing, but the one which had been validly brought on the
statute book from an anterior date ............... "

In Virender Singh Hooda & Ors. Vs. State of Haryana & B
Ji Anr. reported in 2004(12) SCC 588, in paragraph 45, this Court
.i
recognized the power and competence of the Legislature to
make a valid law and make it retrospectively, so as to bind even
past transactions. In para 67 and 68, the Court explained the
aspect of retrospectivity and came to the conclusion that there
was nothing wrong if the Legislature had removed the basis of
c
the decision of this Court by repealing the circulars. It further
observed that:-

..I " ............ the candidates have the right to the posts that
).. are advertised and not the ones which arise later for which D
a separate advertisement is issued. A valid law,
retrospective or prospective, enacted by the legislature
cannot be declared ultra vires on the ground that it would
nullify the benefit which otherwise would have been
available as a result of applicability and interpretation E
placed by a superior Court.

t The decision in the case of Chairman, Railway Board
(cited supra) was specifically considered in para 70 of the
judgment. The Court reiterated the observation made in that
F
case that a Rule, which seeks to reverse from an anterior date
a benefit which has been granted or availed of e.g. promotion
or pay scale, can be assailed as being violative of Articles 14
and 16 of the Constitution to the extent it operates
J retrospectively. We have already pointed out that it is only to
'
this extent that the retrospectivity can be challenged. However, G
for that there has to be a tangible benefit awarded like
promotion or pay-scale or a rate of pension. Such is not the
state of affairs in the present case. The Court also made
reference to the decision in State of J&K Vs. Triloki Nath
Khosa reported in 1974(1) SCC 19, wherein it was held that H
462 . SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 9 S.C.R.

A impugned R:.iles did not recall a promotion already made or
reduce a pay-scale already granted.

23. In short, law regarding the retrospectivity or retroactive
operation regarding the Rules of selection is that where such
amended Rules affect the benefit already given, then alone
8
such Rules would not be permissible to the extent of f..

retrospectivity. "'

24. We are unable to agree with the judgment of the High
Court and would choose to set aside the same. It is accordingly
C set aside. Accordingly, the Writ Petitions filed before the High
Court are also dismissed. However, in the circumstances, there
shall be no orders as to the costs.

N.J. Appeals allowed.

+

I
,I.