Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): High Court, principal bench at Jabalpur, on Tuesday directed state government to submit a comparative chart explaining how lacunae pointed out in R.B. Rai case (2002) have been addressed in new promotion policy, 2025. The next hearing has been fixed for February 3.
The order was passed by division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Anusuchit Jati–Janjati Adhikari Evam Karamchari Sangh (AJJAKS) withdrew its petitions challenging validity of Rules 11 and 12 of Promotion Rules, 2025. Earlier, AJJAKS had questioned the new promotion policy, arguing that it does not provide any mechanism for meritorious reserved category officials to avail promotion benefits under unreserved (UR) category, which should be open to all categories.
Appearing for Samanya Pichhda Alpsankhyak Kalyan Samaj (SAPAKS), advocate Anmol Shrivastava said the government has been given a last opportunity to clarify its stand in next hearing. “State has been directed to submit a comparative chart highlighting how it has removed defects pointed out in R.B. Rai case (2002),” he said.
Shrivastava also informed court that SAPAKS placed gradation lists of various departments on record to demonstrate that if new promotion policy is implemented, officials belonging to UR category would never get benefit of promotion.
Senior advocate Rameshwar Singh Thakur, representing AJJAKS, submitted that impugned rules have been framed strictly in accordance with criteria laid down by Supreme Court in multiple judgments and do not suffer from any constitutional infirmity. The court was also informed that constitutionality of a law can only be examined within framework of constitutional provisions and not merely in light of any individual Supreme Court judgment.
