Dismissed¶52

P. Dhasarathan v. the Director of Fire and Rescue Service

Madras HC21 Nov 2025WP(MD)/25187/2019

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

notional promotion; retrospective promotion; Leading Fireman; Station Fire Officer; Fire and Rescue Services Tamil Nadu; parity with junior; delay of ten years; laches; settled seniority list; State-wide Seniority List; G.O. (Ms)No.179 Home (Police-XVII) Department dated 20.03.2019; W.P.Nos.16219 & 28407 of 2018; Article 226; writ of mandamus; Madurai Bench of Madras High Court; dismissal with no costs.

What did the court decide?

None; both writ petitions dismissed with no costs. ¶52

P. Dhasarathan Vs the Director of Fire and Rescue… — Writ and Judicial Review | Madras HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

None; both writ petitions dismissed with no costs.

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Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioners are entitled to notional promotion to the post of Leading Fireman with effect from 25.10.2009 on par with their junior Mr.Jeyachandran, with consequential monetary benefits including re-fixation of pay and pension. +2 more

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Court's answer

The claim for retrospective/notional promotion as Leading Fireman fails because the writ petitions were filed in 2019, more than a decade after the junior Mr.Jeyachandran's promotion on 25.10.2009, and only after the petitioners' superannuation in 2018; the junior's promotion was never challenged during that period.

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Ratio / Principle

A seniority list exists from the year 2009; directing retrospective promotions would affect the settled Seniority List, and the Court declined to interfere on that ground.

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Key takeaways

The claim for notional promotion to the post of Station Fire Officer on par with the junior Mr.V.Ganesan cannot be considered at this length of time, because in W.P.Nos.16219 & 28407 of 2018 this Court had directed that employees already working in the cadre of Leading Fireman shall not be reverted on account of the revision of the State-wide Seniority List.ratio¶51
The petitioners, belonging to Ramanathapuram and Sivagangai Districts, cannot seek parity with those who were appointed in other Districts and obtained promotion at an earlier point of time.ratio¶51

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Madras High Court, Madurai Bench (C. Kumarappan, J.), dismissed two writ petitions by retired personnel of the Fire and Rescue Services Department (one petitioner having died, with legal representatives substituted) seeking notional promotion as Leading Fireman from 25.10.2009 in parity with their junior Mr.Jeyachandran and as Station Fire Officer from 31.01.2018 in parity with their junior Mr.V.Ganesan, together with monetary benefits. Held: the claims, raised in 2019 after superannuation and over a decade after the junior's promotion, would disturb the settled seniority list drawn from 2009. Parity with Station Fire Officer promotees of other districts is unavailable following the State-wide Seniority List introduced vide G.O. (Ms)No.179, Home (Police-XVII) Department, dated 20.03.2019 (list published 07.04.2020) and the Court's earlier directions in W.P.Nos.16219 & 28407 of 2018 protecting serving Leading Firemen from reversion. Writ petitions dismissed; no costs.

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W.P(MD)Nos.25187 & 25191 of 2019 BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT

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DATED: 21.11.2025

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CORAM

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THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C.KUMARAPPAN

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W.P.(MD)Nos.25187 & 25191 of 2019

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W.P.(MD)No.25187 of 2019

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1.P.Dhasarathan (Died)

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2.Muneeswari

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3.D.Rajeswari 4.D.Bhuvaneswari

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...Petitioners

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(Petitioners 2 to 4 are substituted vide Court order dated 28.08.2024 in W.M.P.(MD)No.12932 of 2020 in W.P.(MD)No.25187 of 2019)

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vs.

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1.The Director of Fire and Rescue Services, No.12, Rukmani Lakshmipathi Road, Egmore, Chennai - 600 008.

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2.The Deputy Director of Fire and Rescue Services Department, Southern Region, Madurai.

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3.The Divisional Fire Officer, Fire & Rescue Service Department, Ramanathapuram Division, Ramanathapuram District.

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4.The Station Fire Officer, Paramakudi Fire & Rescue Station, Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram District. ...Respondents

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Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of Constitution of India, praying 1/8

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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W.P(MD)Nos.25187 & 25191 of 2019 to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents 1 to 3 to grant notional promotion to the petitioner in the post of leading Fireman w.e.f. 25.10.2009, the date on which his junior Mr.D.Jeyachandran was promoted and also grant notional promotion to the petitioner in the post of Station Fire Officer from the date on which his immediate junior was promoted, at least on par with Mr.V.Ganesan who was promoted on 31.01.2018 and consequently grant all monetary benefits including re-fixation of pay and pension with retrospective effect from the date of promotion and pay all consequential arrears and other benefits.

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W.P.(MD)No.25191 of 2019

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S.K.L.Lakshmikaandan ...Petitioner

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vs.

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1.The Director of Fire and Rescue Services, No.12, Rukmani Lakshmipathi Road, Egmore, Chennai - 600 008.

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2.The Deputy Director of Fire and Rescue Services Department, Southern Region, Madurai.

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3.The Divisional Fire Officer, Fire & Rescue Service Department, Sivagangai Division, Sivagangai District.

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4.The Station Fire Officer, Fire & Rescue Station, Thirupathur, Sivagangai District. ...Respondents

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Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of Constitution of India, praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents 1 to 3 to grant 2/8

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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W.P(MD)Nos.25187 & 25191 of 2019 notional promotion to the petitioner in the post of leading Fireman w.e.f. 25.10.2009, the date on which his junior Mr.D.Jeyachandran was promoted and also grant notional promotion to the petitioner in the post of Station Fire Officer from the date on which his immediate junior was promoted, at least on par with Mr.V.Ganesan who was promoted on 31.01.2018 and consequently grant all monetary benefits including re-fixation of pay and pension with retrospective effect from the date of promotion and pay all consequential arrears and other benefits.

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In both cases, For Petitioner : Mr.N.Dilip Kumar

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For Respondents : Mr.J.Ashok, Additional Government Pleader

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ORDER

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Both the Writ Petitions have been filed seeking retrospective promotion to the post of Leading Fireman with effect from 25.10.2009 and to the post of Station Fire Officer with effect from 31.01.2018.

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Heard both sides.

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Since the petitioner in W.P.(MD)No.25187 of 2019, namely,

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P.Dhasarathan died pending this Writ Petition, his legal representatives are substituted as petitioners 2 to 4.

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The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners would submit that Mr.Dhasarathan (deceased) / petitioner in W.P.(MD)No.25187 of 2019 and 3/8

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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W.P(MD)Nos.25187 & 25191 of 2019 Mr.Lakshmikaandan / petitioner in W.P.(MD)No.25191 of 2019 were

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appointed in the services of the Fire and Rescue Department on 15.02.1991. Mr.Dhasarathan was promoted to the post of Leading Fireman on 01.07.2011 and Mr.Lakshmikaandan was promoted to that post on 31.01.2012. After attaining superannuation, Mr.Dhasarathan retired on 31.10.2018 and Mr.Lakshmikaandan retired on 30.11.2018. The main ground urged by the learned counsel is that the petitioners' junior one Mr.Jeyachandran was granted notional promotion to the post of Leading Fireman on 25.10.2009. Therefore, the petitioners must also be given notional promotion in the post of Leading Fireman with effect from 25.10.2009.

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At this juncture, the learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the respondents 1 to 4 submitted that the petitioners are seeking notional promotion from the year 2009 on par with their junior, who was granted notional promotion to the post of Leading Fireman on 25.10.2009. It is his specific submission that challenge to such promotion after a lapse of 10 years is not acceptable and if the petitioners' prayer is considered, it would have impact upon the Seniority List. Hence, he prayed to dismiss the Writ Petitions.

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I have given due consideration to the submissions made on either

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sides.

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4/8

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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W.P(MD)Nos.25187 & 25191 of 2019

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As rightly submitted by the learned Additional Government Pleader, while looking at the prayer, the petitioners seek retrospective promotion with effect from 25.10.2009 on the ground that one Mr.Jeyachandran, junior to the petitioners was promoted on that date. The present Writ Petitions were filed in the year 2019 and they have not challenged the promotion of Mr.Jeyachandran for more than a decade. Even the present Writ Petitions have been filed only after the superannuation of the petitioners in the year 2018. There would be Seniority List from the year 2009 and hence, interfering with the same by directing the respondents to grant retrospective promotions to the petitioners would definitely affect the settled Seniority List and this Court is not inclined to do so.

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Apart from that, the learned Additional Government Pleader would submit that in respect of promotion to the post of Station Fire Officer, there was a seniority dispute before this Court in W.P.Nos.16219 & 28407 of 2018 and after filing of Contempt in the above Writ Petitions, the Government has taken a policy decision to issue State-wide Seniority List and vide G.O. (Ms)No.179, Home (Police-XVII) Department, dated 20.03.2019, the Government has accepted for an amendment to the Service Rules to have a State-wide Seniority List. In pursuance thereof, State-wide Seniority List was published on 07.04.2020. Therefore, the prayer sought for by the petitioners 5/8

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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W.P(MD)Nos.25187 & 25191 of 2019 in regard to the notional promotion to the post of Station Fire Officer on par

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with their junior one Mr.V.Ganesan cannot be considered at this length of time because in W.P.Nos.16219 & 28407 of 2018, this Court has directed the respondents therein not to revert the employees already working in the cadre of Leading Fireman on account of the revision of the State-wide Seniority List. It is his further contention that the petitioners belong to Ramanathapuram and Sivagangai Districts. Therefore, they cannot seek parity with those who were appointed in other Districts and got promotion at an earlier point of time. I am in full agreement with the above submission.

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In view of the above detailed discussions, this Court is of the view that there are no grounds to grant the reliefs as sought for by the petitioners. In the result, the Writ Petitions are dismissed. No costs.

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21.11.2025

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Speaking / Non-speaking order Index : Yes/No NCC : Yes/No

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mbi

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1.The Director of Fire and Rescue Services, No.12, Rukmani Lakshmipathi Road, Egmore, Chennai - 600 008.

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2.The Deputy Director of Fire and Rescue Services Department, Southern Region, Madurai. 6/8

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