The DPC has discretion in making its own assessment based on CRs and must apply uniform standards to all candidates.

R. V. RAVEENDRAN, J.

( 1 ) LEAVE granted. Union of India has filed this appeal by special leave against the judgment and order dated 27. 5. 2005 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in civil W. P. No. 4455/2004.

( 2 ) RESPONDENT was appointed as Deputy Superintendent of Police in the central Reserve Police Force (CRPF for short) on 1. 12. 1971. He was promoted as Assistant Commandant on 23. 7. 1983. Promotion from the post of Assistant Commandant to the next higher post of Second-in-Command is on the basis of selection.

( 3 ) THE O. M. dated 10. 3. 1989 issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public grievances and Pension laid down the procedure of selection where the recruitment Rules required promotions to be made by selection. It provided that where vacancies to be filled are more than four, the number of officers to be considered by the Departmental Promotion Committee ('dpc' for short) shall be three times the number of vacancies. It authorized the DPC to decide its own method and procedure for objective assessment of the suitability of the candidates. It excluded interviews, unless specifically provided for in the relevant recruitment Rules and directed that Confidential reports (CRs) were to be the basic inputs for assessment. The O. M. required the DPC to follow the procedure laid down therein to ensure that the evaluation of the CRs was fair, just and non-discriminatory. A summary of the relevant portions of the procedure laid down in the OM is given below:

(i) Suitability should be assessed on the basis of service record, with particular reference to CRs for five preceding years. CRs. of equal number of years should be considered in respect of all officers.

(ii) DPC should not be guided merely by the overall grading that may be recorded in the CRs but should make its own assessment on the basis of entries made in the CRs. If the reviewing authority or the accepting authority had overruled the reporting authority or the reviewing authority as the case may be, the remarks of the latter authority should be taken as the final remarks for purposes of assessment provided it is apparent from the relevant entries that the higher authority had come to a different assessment consciously after due application of mind. If the remarks of the reporting authority, reviewing authority and accepting authority are complementary to each other, and one does not have the effect of overruling the other, then final assessment should be made by the DPC, by reading the remarks together.

(iii) DPC should give an overall grading to each officer whose CRs are assessed, as outstanding, very good, good, average or unfit. The panel of promotion should be prepared by the DPC based on the overall grading assigned to each of the candidates considered by the DPC. Officers graded as 'outstanding' would rank en bloc senior to those who are graded as 'very good' and officers graded as 'very good' would rank en bloc senior to those who are graded as 'good' and placed in the select panel accordingly. Officers with the same grading would maintain their inter se seniority in the feeder post. Appointments from the panel should be made in the order of names appearing in the panel.

(iv) For promotion to posts which are in the level of Rs. 3700-5000 and above, the benchmark grade should be "very good". For promotions to Group 'a' posts carrying lesser scales of pay, the benchmark grade should be "good".

( 4 ) A Departmental Promotion Committee ('dpc' for short) was convened to fill up 48 vacancies of Second-in-Command on 13. 6. 1990. The dpc considered the CRs of 144 eligible Assistant Commandants. The benchmark for promotion to the rank of Second-in-Command was 'very good'. As per the parameters adopted by the DPC held on 13. 6. 1990 on the basis of their prevailing instructions, a candidate should have four 'very good' reports of ACRs out of last 5 ACRs including the ACR for the latest year and should have no adverse remarks in CRs for the other years under co