Keyol, a post graduate in Mine engineering, was appointed in Brihat India Ltd (BIL) in June, 2020 in B-2 Grade and joined the same in July 2020 at Chhattisgarh. On a personal request made by Keyol, the HR Manager of the

The facts of the case are similar to that of Navin Kumar Singh V. Coal India Limited. Hon, ble Supreme Court in this case observed that on a fair reading of clause 11 of the policy, there is nothing to indicate that the transferee would lose his past service rendered in the parent company for all purposes. The policy of forfeiture of seniority in the parent company, however, is limited to the executives who seek inter-company transfer on personal grounds. That is to ensure that no prejudice is caused to the executives already working in the transferred company. For that reason, the seniority of the executives seeking inter-company transfer on personal request is fixed as if he had entered the concerned Grade on the date of assumption of charge in the transferred company. It has been made explicitly clear that the executive seeking inter- company transfer on personal grounds will lose his past seniority in the Grade. No more and no less. In the present case, there is no dispute that the respondent had rendered service in E-2 Grade on regular basis in DCC from where he was transferred to CMPDIL, on personal grounds. The service rendered by him in DCC can be and ought to be taken into account for all other purposes, other than for determination of his seniority in E-2 Grade in the new company i.e., CMPDIL. Indeed, his seniority in CMPDIL in E-2 Grade will have to be reckoned from the date of his assumption of charge on 15th May, 1991, but that can have no bearing while determining his eligibility criterion of length of service in E-2 Grade for promotion to E-3 Grade. For determining the eligibility for promotion to E-3 Grade, the service rendered by him in DCC in E-2 Grade with effect from 4th August, 1990, ought to be reckoned. The view so taken by the High Court commends to us. Hence, no fault can be found with the direction given by the High Court to assign notional date of promotion to the respondent in E-3 Grade with effect from 12th November, 1993. As regards the Office Memorandum dated 5th June, 1985, the same does not militate against the respondent. It is a different matter that it addresses the difficulty expressed about the denial of opportunity of promotion to the executives who opted for inter-company transfer. On a fair reading of this Office Memorandum, it is discernible that the department has clarified the position that if the concerned excutive has already completed service for a specified period including the period of service with the old company, would become entitled to be considered for promotion to the higher Grade. If so, not granting similar advantage to the executive who opted for inter-company transfer on personal request and who incidentally enters at number one position in the seniority in the new company would be anomalous. Concededly, what is affected in terms of the policy for intercompany transfer on personal request, is only the seniority position in the new (transferred) company which would commence from the date of assuming office thereat. By no stretch of imagination, it can affect the length of service in E-2 Grade in the parent company. The two being distinct factors, neither the policy nor the office memorandum would be any impediment for reckoning the period of service rendered by the respondent from August, 1990 in DCC, albeit a case of inter-company transfer on personal request. As a result, these appeals may fail.