The main legal point established is that advisory remarks in an employee's ACR should not be construed as adverse and do not put the employee at a disadvantage for future service benefits.

ORDER :

ARUN MONGA, J.

Grievance of the petitioner, working as a Clerk in this Court, is against recording of an entry by her Reporting Officer i.e. Assistant Registrar in Column No.8 of her Annual Confidential Report (“ACR”) for the year ending December, 2018, which reads as under :

2. On receipt of the above information, petitioner submitted a representation on the administrative side of this Court to respondent No.2/Registrar General. Request was to look into the matter while seeking specific reasons from the officer concerned as to what type of improvement is needed. Respondent No.2 declined the said request vide an order dated 01.06.2019 (Annexure P-5). The petitioner thereafter appealed vide dated 09.07.2019 (Annexure P-6) before the competent authority/Registrar General seeking to expunge the aforesaid remarks given by the Reporting Officer.

3. Vide appellate order dated 21.09.2019 (Annexure P-7) appeal representation of the petitioner was rejected as not maintainable, leading to filing of instant writ petition, inter alia, impugning the appellate order.

4. Learned counsel for respondent-High Court at the outset submits that the petitioner seems to have been misled and wrongly informed that the aforesaid remarks in her ACR are adverse. Learned counsel argues that not only the remarks in the ACR in question are not adverse, but the same, in any manner, cannot be construed as penalty. He relies on Rule 35 of the High Court Establishment (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1973, relevant of which is extracted herein below for ready reference :

“Penalties 35. (1) The following penalties may be imposed upon officers and servants serving on the staff attached to the High Court namely:-

(a) Censure;

(b) Withholding of increments of promotion including stoppage at an efficiency bar, if any;

(c) Reduction to a lower post or time scale or to a lower stage in the time-scale;

(d) Recovery by deduction from pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused to a Government by negligence breach of orders;

(e) Suspension;

(f) Compulsory Retirement ;

(g) Removal from the Civil Service of the Government with no disqualification for future employment ;

(h) Dismissal from the Civil Service of the Govt. with a disqualification for future employment ;

Provided that the discharge of a person appointed on probation, during or at the end of the period of probation or before his confirmation in a substantive capacity in accordance with the terms of appointment shall not amount to removal or dismissal within the meaning of this rule.

NOTE: An order of temporary appointment referred to in the note under sub-rule (2) of rule 36 as non-appeal able shall not be deemed to be an order withholding promotion or adversely effecting the rights of any person for a permanent vacancy.

(2) Any of the above penalties may be imposed by the authorities specified in Schedule II hereto annexed ; Provided that the Chief Justice alone shall have power to impose any penalty on the Registrar of the High Court.

(3) The rules or orders regulating enquiries into allegations against Government servants in the service of the Punjab Government 32 shall apply with necessary modifications and adaptations to enquiries into the conduct of officers and staff attached to the High Court. 2

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained to the contrary in the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1970 where the Enquiry Officer is other than the Disciplinary authority himself, the copy of the inquiry report shall be furnished to the delinquent officer, to enable him to represent to the Disciplinary Authority within the time specified as to why the enquiry report should not be accepted and acted upon by the D