2026:UHC:3190 SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS WPSS/1102/2026 Hon’ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J 1. Mr. T.P.S. Takuli, learned counsel for the petitioner. 2. Mr. Rakesh Singh Kunwar, learned Additional C.S.C. for the State of Uttarakhand. 3. Petitioner is a Ministerial employee who was posted as Senior Administrative Officer in the Office of Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division, Roorkee, District Haridwar. He was promoted as Chief Administrative Officer vide order dated 17.04.2026 passed by respondent no. 3. Now, petitioner contends that he should be promoted from the date of his eligibility. 4. The relief, sought in the writ petition, is as follows:- (i) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondent no. 2 & 3 to give promotion to the petitioner, on the post of Chief Administrative Officer, from the date of his eligibility i.e. from 01.11.2025, when the post of Chief Administrative Officer at Ramnagar fell vacant due to the retirement of then Chief Administrative Officer, Ramnagar and being the senior most Senior Administrative Officer, the petitioner was entitled to be promoted on the vacant post of Chief Administrative Officer, Ramnagar, which is still vacant, else the petitioner shall suffer irreparable loss and injury and the same cannot be compensated by any means. 5. Learned State Counsel, on instructions, submits that the post, against which petitioner was promoted, 2026:UHC:3190 fell vacant only on 31.03.2026 on account of retirement of the regular incumbent. He submits that there is no law, which supports the case of petitioner for claiming promotion from the date of eligibility. 6. Learned counsel for the petitioner refers to a letter dated 21.07.2025 issued from the Office of Engineer-in- Chief, Irrigation Department for contending that the said letter created a right of promotion from the date of eligibility in favour of petitioner. 7. Learned State Counsel, however, refers to the opening paragraph of the said letter and also the stipulation made in Clause–I of the letter dated 21.07.2025 for contending that the benefit of seniority on the promoted post shall be available to an employee only from the date of his joining on the promoted post. 8. This Court finds substance in the submission made by learned State Counsel. There is no law, which permits grant of seniority on the promoted post from the date of eligibility of an employee. Even though, the vacancy was available earlier will not create any vested right in favour of petitioner to get promotion. The promotion in Irrigation Department are vacancy based and not time bound, therefore, no one can claim promotion as a right without undergoing the selection process. 9. Thus, the writ petition fails and is dismissed. (Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J) 28.04.2026 Aswal NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL Digitally signed by NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=eacc6757ee7881e933ff8934f07477005aa85f9802a3a08b08d1369512ea30f3, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=44EB54CBF00B7698CB6F10C2CE3D26F5C22DACF4F4610C1FE58A58531726FB B0, cn=NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL Date: 2026.04.28 03:19:47 -07'00' 2026:UHC:3190