The importance of communicating adverse entries in the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) to the employee and the impact of such entries on promotion.

ORDER :

1. The petitioner has filed the instant petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking following relief (S) :-

“7.1. That, this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased issue a writ of certiorari quashing the impugned order dated 02.03.2007 bearing No.B-1/2-1/A/108/2006-07/7127, passed by the Managing Director, Chhattisgarh State Agricultural Marketing Board. The Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to quash the order dated 31.05.2007 (Annexure P-21) and order dated 20.09.2007 (Annex.P-23) passed by the Managing Director.

7.2. That, the official respondents may kindly be directed to consider the case of the petitioner for promotion on the post of Assistant Director, which is equivalent to the post of Secretary (Senior) on the basis of rules and regulations.

7.3 That, this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondents to grant the promotion to the petitioner on the post of Senior Secretary w.e.f. 29.01.2005 and he may kindly be granted all the consequential benefits.

7.4 That, the Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to grant all the consequential benefits to the petitioner.

7.5 That this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to grant any relief, which is deem fit and proper.

7.6 That, this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondents to include the petitioner in the gradation list of Secretary (junior) in pursuance of the order passed by the appellate authority and petitioner may kindly be granted seniority in accordance with rules and regulations.

7.7 The respondents may be directed to consider the case of the petitioner for promotion on the post of Senior Secretary with effect from the date when the juniors of the petitioner were considered. They may further be directed to consider the case of the petitioner without insisting upon the adverse uncommunicated entries. The petitioner may kindly be granted all the consequential benefits.”

2. In the instant petition, the learned co-ordinate Bench of this Court had passed the final order on 26.07.2017 and observed in para 8 as under :-

“8. In the service jurisprudence, known criteria for promotion are selection based purely on merit, promotion on the criteria of merit-cum-seniority, promotion based on seniority-cum-merit, promotion based on seniority-cum-fitness. Promotion is a reward and whenever promotions are made, some kind of criteria is required to be fixed. Ordinarily, while granting promotion in the lower rank of post, comparative merit criteria is not resorted to and subject to fitness, promotions are made on the basis of seniority. When promotions are made to higher posts, merit starts playing role. It is in three parts Firstly, where it is based purely on selection and seniority has no relevance. The other two criteria are merit-cum-seniority and seniority-cum-merit. In most of the public services, while in the matter of promotion to the lower rank of post, subject to fitness, seniority is made a basis, in the matter of promotion to the higher rank of post, carrying higher duties and functions, merit plays a prominent role. The well known jurisprudential concept of merit-cum-seniority and seniority-cum-merit and distinction thereof was considered by the Supreme Court in its authoritative judicial pronouncements in the case of B.V. Sivaiah (supra), the Supreme Court examined the concept of seniority-cum-merit as below-

"17. On behalf of the promoted officers it was urged that for the purpose of promotion on the basis of seniority-cum-merit, seniority means the length of service and that among officers who were appointed on the same date and have the same length of service seniority can have no bearing and promotion has to be made on a comparative assessment of merit of such officers. We are unable to agree. while applying the principle of seniority-cum-merit for the purpose of promotion what is required to be considered is inter se seniority of the employees who are eligible for consideration. Such seniority is normally determined on