Service Law
Denial of promotion on ground of pendency of criminal case against petitioner—Writ—State Government Circular indicate that procedure of maintaining a sealed cover and refusing promotion can be adopted by the respondent only in case where charge-sheet has been filed or Articles of Charge has already been issued as against the alleged delinquent official as on the date of DPC Meeting—Material on record indicate that as on the date of DPC Meeting, neither charge-sheet had been filed nor Articles of Charge had been issued to the petitioner—Charge sheet was filed on a subsequent date—There was no warrant for the respondents to adopt a sealed cover procedure and deny promotion to the petitioner in its Meeting particularly in absence of either the Articles of Charge being issued or the charge-sheet being filed against petitioner—Impugned order passed by the Tribunal is contrary to the judgments of the Apex Court which held that mere pendency of criminal proceedings cannot be made the basis or come in the way of the promotion of the person who is otherwise eligible—Impugned order set aside—Petition allowed. [Constitution of India, 1950, Article 226]
[Para 6]