The court emphasized the importance of considering the overall performance and the corrective nature of ACR remarks in evaluating the petitioner's claim.

( 1 ) THIS writ petition is directed against a judgment and order dated 20. 05. 1999 passed by the Central Administrative tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi ( hereinafter referred to as the Tribunal ) in O. A. No. 1911 of 1998 whereby and whereunder the application filed by the petitioner was at all material times, the petitioner was serving as an assistant Director (Technical) in the Intelligence Bureau. He filed the original application questioning his Annual confidential Report ( in short, acr ) for the period April, 199 5/03/1996, which is to the following terms :-

( 2 ) THESE remarks are communicated to enable you to overcome he shortcoming in future. It is hoped that you will take these remarks in the right spirit and show improvement in your performance. If you wish to make any representation in this regard, the same may be addressed to the competent authority through proper channel within one month from the receipt of this memo. Two spare copies of this memo are enclosed. These copies may please be returned after acknowledging the receipt of this memo thereon.

( 3 ) IT may be noted that as per Government instructions on the subject, only one representation against adverse remarks is allowed withi one month from the date of communication of such remarks and no memorial or appeal against rejection of the representation is allowed six months after rejection. It has also been clarified by the DPandt vide their U. O. note no. 2021/91 (5) that no appeal against rejection of a representation by the competent authority lies to an authority within the department.

( 4 ) THE learned Tribunal in its judgment dated 20. 05. 1999 held:-

". . . There would have been no occasion for the communication from the Reporting officer if the applicant had not been duly warned about his conduct. Since the letter in point of time was issued by the Reporting officer, during his reporting period, therefore, the contention that the applicant was given no opportunity to improve his conduct and that he was not warned to improve, cannot be "sustained. "

( 5 ) MR. Trivedi, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, inter aha submitted that the petitioner has been denied promotion only because of the said ACR.

( 6 ) IN view of the aforementioned ACR, the learned counsel would contend that only a verbal warning was given to the petitioner, but in terms of the guidelines issued from time to time by the Government of India, it was obligatory on the to give him a prior advice.

( 7 ) THE ACR is to be read as a whole. No mala fide had been attributed as against the Reporting or Reviewing Officer by the petitioner. It is not in dispute that an oral warning was given to the petitioner and the overall performance has been graded as good and he has been described as good in presentation of cases, fairly resourceful, responsible, motivated and professionally competent officer. It was further recorded that the Reporting Officer had been very fair and objective in recording remarks. Thus, there cannot be any doubt that the Reporting Officer had acted very fairly and objectively in recording the remarks of the petitioner. The remarks, therefore, in our opinion, should be construed to be corrective in nature, instead of adverse in nature.

( 8 ) IT is also not in dispute that the petitioner preferred internal remedies also and the concerned authorities must have considered the same in their proper perspective. If the petitioner had not been promoted, he should have questioned the same before the Tribunal, but having regard to the fact that the ACR cannot be said to be overall adverse, we are of the opinion that no case has been made out for interference with the impugned judgment.

( 9 ) MR. Trivedi has relied upon a decision of the Apex Court in m. A. Rajasekhar v. State of Karnataka and Anr. . Therein adverse remarks to the effect that the concerned employee

"does not act dispossionaely when faced with dilemma" without giving specific in