Possessing qualification alone not ground for promotion: Madras high court

The Madras high court has set aside a single judge's order directing the promotion of superintendents in the Department of Public Libraries as district library officers. A division bench comprising Justices S M Subramaniam and N Senthilkumar held that mere possession of requisite qualifications is not a ground to claim promotion and that no writ seeking a direction to promote an employee is maintainable.

The court also upheld the December 2025 amendment to the ad hoc rules, which provides for promotion to Grade-I librarians and inspectors of libraries, and by deputation from librarians at Anna Centenary Library and Kalaignar Centenary Library. The single judge's October 2024 order had held superintendents eligible for promotion on par with Grade-I librarians. The bench noted that similar writ petitions challenging these amendments were dismissed by the Madurai bench.

Separately, the Supreme Court cleared the way for promotions to 42 deputy collector posts in Madhya Pradesh after nearly a decade. A bench of Justices Kumar Aravind and Vipul B Pacholi dismissed special leave petitions filed by direct-recruit deputy collectors, finding them premature. The court directed the state to proceed with the departmental promotion committee, granting eligible officers notional seniority and benefits retrospectively from January 1, 2016.