Madhya Pradesh Government Set To Resume Employee Promotions After Nine Years

In a significant move, the Madhya Pradesh government has cleared the way for promotions for its employees, ending a nine-year delay.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's cabinet approved a key proposal on Sunday (15 June), paving the path for promotions that have been on hold since 2016 due to a legal dispute concerning reservations in promotions, reported India Today.

The issue originated in 2002 when the then Digvijaya Singh-led Congress government introduced provisions for reservations in promotions. For years, the government granted promotions based on these rules.

However, some employee organisations later alleged that reserved category employees were benefiting from quicker promotions, while authorities were overlooking general category officials.

This discontent triggered legal challenges.

In April 2016, the Madhya Pradesh High Court struck down the Madhya Pradesh Public Service (Promotion) Rules, 2002, effectively stopping the system of reservation in promotions.

Subsequently, the then Shivraj Singh Chouhan government moved the Supreme Court against the High Court's verdict.

The Supreme Court then ordered the maintenance of status quo, which stalled all promotions across departments.

With Sunday’s cabinet approval, the Yadav government has taken a significant step toward resolving the issue and resuming the promotion process for thousands of eligible state employees.