Imposition of a minor penalty of censure does not justify blocking consideration for promotion for three years under the sealed cover procedure.

JUDGMENT :

Bharati H. Dangre, J.

1. Heard. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard by consent of parties.

2. The petitioner, working as Assistant Accounts Officer (Group II) in the Directorate of Accounts, Panaji, Goa, the respondent no.3 seek a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to open the sealed cover containing the recommendations of the DPC held in the year 2015 for the post of Deputy Director of Accounts / Account Officer and on the basis of the recommendations, seek his promotion to the said post with effect from 31/12/2015 being the date on which his juniors were promoted. Consequent thereto, he seek direction to the respondent to open the sealed cover containing the recommendations of the DPC held in the year 2020 for the post of Joint-Director of Accounts (Group "A" Gazetted) and seek his promotion to the said post subject to the recommendations of the DPC, from 22/07/2020 i.e. the day on which his juniors were promoted. The petitioner also seek a prayer in the alternative of direction to the respondents to open the sealed cover containing the recommendations of DPC held on 07/02/2020 and subject to the said recommendations promote the petitioner to the post of Deputy Director of Accounts w.e.f. 06/02/2020.

3. The controversy involved in the petition and the backdrop in which the aforesaid reliefs are sought lies in a narrow compass and is culled in the following paragraphs. We say so since we are not expected to delve into the merits of the proceedings initiated against the petitioner or the justification of the penalty imposed.

The petitioner was appointed to the post of Accountant in the office of respondent no. 3 on 23/06/2000. He was promoted to the post of the Assistant Accounts Officer (Group “B” Gazetted) on 15/03/2011. While he was holding the said post he was directed to submit the full particulars of the immovable properties inherited by him or owned by him and his family. It is the case of the petitioner that he filed the annual statement of the immovable property for the year ending on 31/12/2011. A complaint was filed by one person where it was alleged that the petitioner was also engaged in the business of hiring vehicles belonging to him but the person who made the said complaint subsequently clarified that he has not filed any such complaint against the petitioner but some unknown person, by impersonating him, had lodged the complaint. The case of the petitioner as set up in the petition and also submitted before us is that the Government had already issued a circular extending the time limit regarding disclosure of full particulars of the property and this was in form of a one time amnesty scheme for disclosure of details of movable and immovable properties.

4. On 31/12/2014, the petitioner was served with a memorandum accompanied by the statement of articles of charges, and the enquiry was proposed to be held into the four charges. The petitioner responded to the same by submitting his detailed reply on 12/01/2015. On 01/10/2015, i.e. after a passage of about 10 months the Enquiry Officer and the Presenting Officer came to be appointed for conduct of enquiry. The petitioner has set out the details of the enquiry proceedings and allege that it was being delayed inordinately and he also made grievance to the authorities from time to time. Since we are not concerned with the aspect as to what caused the delay, but we take on record the fact that it was only on 10/01/2019, the enquiry report dated to 02/11/2018 was submitted by the Directorate of Vigilance, Goa. On 23/10/2019 a minor penalty of censure was imposed on the petitioner in terms of Rule 11 (i) of the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965. The petitioner has assailed the said order in an appeal before the appellate authority, His Excellency Governor of Goa and the said appeal, is informed to be pending till date.

5. In nutshell the grievance of the petitioner is that on the enquiry being completed and since the name of the petitioner app