Promotion - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition promotion

Definition :

Promotion, as understood in ordinary parlance and also as a term frequently used in cases involving service laws means that a person already holding a position would have a promotion if he is appointed to another post which satisfies either of the two conditions namely that the new post is in a higher category of the same service or that the new post carries higher grade in the same service or class, Dr. Meera Massey v. Dr. S.R. Mehrotra, (1998) 3 SCC 88.

Means advancement or preferment in honour, dignity, rank or grade. Promotion thus not only covers advancement to higher position or rank but also implies advancement to a higher grade, State of Rajasthan v. Fateh Chand Soni, (1996) 1 SCC 562: 1996 SCC (L&S) 340.

Promotion as understood under the service law jurisprudence means advancement in rank, grade or both. Promotion is always a step towards advancement to a higher position, grade or honour. Opting to come to a lower pay scale or to a lower post cannot be considered a promotion, it is rather a demotion, Tarsem Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR 1995 SC 384: (1994) 5 SCC 392: 1994 SCC (L&S) 113: (1994) 37 ATC 886.

In all services, whether public or private there is invariably a hierarchy of posts comprising of higher posts and lower posts. Promotion, as understood under the Service Law Jurisprudence, is advancement in rank, grade or both and no employee has right to be promoted, but has a right to be considered for promotion, K. Samantaroy v. Natural Insurance Co. Ltd., AIR 2003 SC 4422 (4424).