The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has paved the way for the promotion of naib tehsildars from the 2016 batch to the rank of tehsildars, ending a year-long delay.
In a crucial ruling, Justice Alok Mathur vacated the stay imposed on promotions since January 23, 2024. The verdict was delivered in response to separate petitions filed by Ashutosh Pandey and Siddhanth Pandey, who had challenged the delay in their career progression.
The petitioners argued that despite clearing the recruitment examination for naib tehsildars following an advertisement on January 11, 2016, their appointments were delayed by the state government. This delay affected their seniority, ultimately excluding them from the promotion list sent by the Revenue Council on November 10, 2023.
Additional Advocate General Kuldeep Pati Tripathi highlighted the severe shortage of tehsildars in the state, stating that 380 positions were currently vacant. He assured the court that the government was willing to consider all eligible candidates for promotion.
Tripathi further informed the court that the Revenue Council had submitted a proposal on October 17, 2024, suggesting a relaxation in promotion conditions. If approved, this proposal would facilitate the promotion of all eligible naib tehsildars, including the petitioners.
Following the arguments, the court directed the state government to expedite its decision on the proposal, ensuring that eligible candidates are not unfairly deprived of their rightful promotions.
This ruling brings much-needed relief to the 2016 batch of naib tehsildars and is expected to ease the administrative burden caused by the shortage of tehsildars in Uttar Pradesh.