Kailash Prasad Sahu vs The State Of Jharkhand on 3 December, 2025

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Jharkhand High Court

Kailash Prasad Sahu vs The State Of Jharkhand on 3 December, 2025

For the Petitioner(s) : Mr. Deepak Kr. Dubey, Advocate Ms. Rashi Sharma, Advocate Ms. Ruhi Dubey, Advocate For the Respondent(s) : Mr. Ashwiin Bhushan, AC to Sr. SC-II [W.P.(S) No.5746 of 2025] Mr. Amitesh Kumar Geason, AC to AAG-IA [W.P.(S) No.5759 of 2025]

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        1.          Heard the parties.

2. It is the grievance of the petitioners that their grant of ACP has been rejected on the ground that they have not passed the Regional Language Examination.

3. The issue of qualification / passing of examination, vis- a-viz., the grant of ACP has been set at rest by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the decision of "Amresh Kumar Singh & Ors.

2025:JHHC:36155 Vs. State of Bihar and Ors." reported in 2023 SCC Online SC

496. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that the scheme of ACP provides monetary benefit to the employees on completion of 12 years and 24 years of regular service who are not able to get promotion. The scheme provides for anti-stagnation and envisages placement of the employee in a higher pay-scale. An employee gets only the financial upgradation without grant of any actual promotion to the post. The benefit of ACP, as per the Hon'ble Supreme Court is like grant of non-functional in situ promotion. It is necessary to quote paragraph No.12 of the aforesaid judgment.

" 12. It may be worth noting that the ACP scheme was enforced on the recommendation of the Fifth Central Pay Commission in context with Group C and D employees and it provided monetary benefit to the employees on completion of 12 years and 24 years of regular service who were not able to get promotion. The scheme as such was anti-stagnation and envisages merely placement of the employees in the higher pay scale for the grant of financial upgradation only without grant of actual promotion. The benefit of the ACP as such is like granting non-functional in situ promotion. "

4. Further, the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Paragraph Nos.13 to 20 has held as follows:-

"13. At the cost of repetition, it must be borne in mind that the object of ACP is to avoid stagnation where no promotional avenues are available. The grant of ACP is not technically a grant of promotion but increase in the pay scale to the next higher grade retaining the employee on the post held by him. This is only to accord monetary benefit without disturbing any seniority or actually effectuating promotion to any higher post to avoid stagnation on a particular post or pay scale for a very long period.

14. The object and purpose of ACP/MACP Scheme has been reiterated by this Court in Union of India v. C.R. Madhava Murthy, (2022) 6 SCC 183, as one to relieve the frustration on account of stagnation and it does not involve actual grant of promotional post but merely monetary benefits in the form of next higher grade subject to fulfillment of qualifications and eligibility criteria.

15. In sum and substance, both ACP and MACP Schemes are schemes devised with the object of ensuring that the employees who are unable to avail of adequate promotional opportunities, get some relief in the form of financial benefits. Accordingly, the schemes provide for regular financial upgradation on completion of 12-24 years and 10- 20-30 years of service without promotion. They are incentive schemes for the employees who complete a particular period of service but without getting promotion for lack of promotional avenues. The effect of the schemes must be judged keeping in view the object and the purport of the scheme.

2025:JHHC:36155

16. In Union of India v. G. Ranjana reported in (2008) 14 SCC 721, the three-Judges Bench of this Court held that in situ promotions are made to remove stagnation of grade C and grade D employees by giving them certain monetary benefits.

17. It was further observed that fulfillment of educational qualifications prescribed under the recruitment rules for the purposes of promotion are not necessary for non-functional in situ promotion. In other words, educational qualification required for the purposes of promotion is not necessary for the grant of in situ promotion, i.e., only for extending the monetary benefit where there are no promotional avenues and the employees are likely to be stagnated.

18. In the aforesaid case, the employees were working as malis (Gardeners) and had claimed promotion in the higher pay scale. The Central Administrative Tribunal seized of the original applications observed that the employees cannot claim the scale of the next higher post by way of in situ promotion. On the matter being taken to the High Court by way of a writ petition, the contention of the employees was accepted and it was observed that the object of in situ promotion on non-functional posts, is to ensure that the group C and D employees are not stagnated in the same cadre / pay scale and that they should be provided with certain monetary benefits. Therefore, the rejection of the claim for such nonfunctional in situ promotion on the ground that the employees do not possess the necessary minimum qualification of matriculation as per the rules is not justified and renders the order erroneous in law. The view so taken by the Division Bench of the High Court was affirmed by this Court in the above referred Civil Appeals holding that the High Court has correctly analysed the object of the in situ promotion and fixation of pay scales to Group C and D employees to avoid stagnation.

19. In view of the aforesaid legal position coupled with the fact that the qualification of graduation prescribed is for the promotion to the post of Accounts Officer rather than for the grant of in situ promotion on the non-functional post or for extending the benefit of ACP which is purely and simply in the nature of grant of monetary benefit without actually effectuating any promotion to any higher post, we are of the opinion that the judgment and order of the Division Bench of the High Court impugned in the appeals cannot be sustained. It is accordingly hereby set aside and that the judgment of the writ court dated 28.11.2017 is restored. The appellants are extended the benefit of ACP, as directed by the writ court.

20. We have not considered it necessary to deal with the two cases on the basis of which the Single Judge has allowed the writ petitions and granted the benefit of the ACP to the appellants, as we have independently of those two decisions have considered and held that the appellants are entitled to financial upgradation under the ACP Scheme on completion of requisite regular service ignoring the higher qualification prescribed for the next higher post as grant of such benefit is not actually a promotion but only financial upgradation and if the higher qualification is insisted it would frustrate the purpose of the entire scheme."

2025:JHHC:36155

5. Since the grant of ACP is nothing but an upgradation of scale which takes cares of the stagnation faced by the employees, thus in view of judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, it was not necessary to clear the Regional Langue Examination for the same. Thus, the ground taken by the respondents is negated by this Court.

6. The respondents are directed to consider the case of the petitioners and if there are no other impediments, grant the benefit of ACP to the petitioners along with all the consequential benefits within a period of 12 weeks from the date of receipt of copy of this order.

7. With the aforesaid observation, these writ applications stand disposed of.

(ANANDA SEN, J.) 3rd December, 2025 S.K.D., cp2 Uploaded on 06/12/2025 5

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Jharkhand High Court