State government in a soup over ad hoc promotion by high court order, ADC however regularizes ad hoc promotion

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, September 20, 2025

In a setback for the state government the high court of Tripura has ruled ad hoc promotions being given by the government to officers and employees as temporary and can not have validity for over two years . Besides , the high court has also ruled that the policy of ad hoc promotion introduced by the state government since the year 2021 will be reviewed . The case will come up for hearing next on October 29. On the appointed next date the advocate general Shaktimay Chakraborty will apprise the high court of the government’s position on ad hoc promotions and the steps being contemplated by the government.

The case came up for hearing in the high court on the basis of a writ petition filed by Dr Nazaru Debbarma , challenging the ad hoc promotion given to Dr Chandan Tripura by the general administration , health and family welfare department. It was contended by the petitioner’s lawyer that ad hoc promotion can not be a permanent affair and should be a temporary matter for administrative convenience. The division bench of the high court headed by chief justice M.S.Ram Chandra Rao and Justice Sabyasachi Datta Purkayastha heard the case and gave the ruling after hearing the submission of the government advocate Mangal Debbarma who also said that ad hoc promotion can not be permanent by nature and is a temporary expedient.

Sources in the high court said that the problem has come to the fore because the inordinate delay by the supreme court in hearing and disposing the reservation in promotion case on which the division bench of the Tripura high court headed by the then chief justice Deepak Kumar Gupta had given clear verdict in 2015. Since then the case has been hanging fire in supreme court and in the mean time the state government has introduced the ad hoc promotion policy since 2021 to keep the administration going but now the matter of ad hoc promotion will have to be decided afresh in view of ruling given by the high court of Tripura. “There is no alternative to raising the matter afresh in the supreme court for quick disposal of the reservation in promotion case” said the source.

Meanwhile, the ADC authority in violation of the legal position has decided to regularize all ad hoc promotions given since the year 2021. Sources in the ADC said that the controversial decision of the ADC may create fresh problems in view of the observation made by the high court and a final decision on the matter pending in the supreme court.

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