Hardev Singh vs Union Of India & Anr

The Supreme Court held that the change in promotion policy from 'value-judgment' to 'quantification method' as per the new policy dated 31.12.2008 was impermissible for officers whose promotion process had already commenced under the previous policy. The Court emphasized that once the Special Selection Board (SSB) was constituted for the 1973 batch, the new policy could not be applied retroactively. The appeal was allowed, and the Tribunal's order was set aside, affirming the appellant's right to be considered for promotion under the old policy.