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2025 Supreme(Online)(CAT) 4375
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
Kumar Rajesh Chandra, ACJ, Rajveer Singh Verma, J
Avinash Kumar – Appellant
Versus
Union of India – Respondent
OA/051/00778/2023|MA/050/00249/2024
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Shri Kumar Sundaram, Shri Sameer Ranjan
For the Respondents: Shri Praveen Kumar Pandey, ASC for UOI, Shri Faiz-Ur-Rahman for UPSC
Under Regulation 5(4)/(5) of the IPS Promotion Regulations, the Selection Committee must base promotion decisions on an overall relative assessment and may rely on revised ACRs communicated to the UPSC; courts review only for procedural safeguards and arbitrariness, not as appellate over ACR findings.
Headnote:(A) IPS (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations, 1955 - Regulation 5(4), Regulation 5(5) - Regulation 3 - Union Public Service Commission - Regulation 6 and 6(A) - Regulation 7 - IPS (Recruitment) Rules, 1954 - Rule 9 - Final Select Lists for State Cadre Officers to IPS. The Selection Committee classifies eligible officers as ‘Outstanding’, ‘Very Good’, ‘Good’ or ‘Unfit’ on an ‘overall relative assessment’ and “is not merely guided by the overall grading but makes its own objective assessment on the basis of the entries in the ACRs” (Regulation 5(4); Regulation 5(5)). Appointments to the IPS are made from the Select List by the Government of India, MHA during the validity period of the Select List, with assessment spanning the preceding five years ( paras 5.2-5.5 ). The communication of adverse remarks and the expunction of remarks, and the upgraded ACRs, form part of the assessment framework. The proceedings of the Selection Committee and the final list are subject to judicial review only for legality of the process and safeguards, not as an appellate reweighing of ACR ratings (paras 5.5-5.6). The instant case concerns revision of an ACR from ‘Good’ to ‘Excellent’ for 2019-20 and non-consideration of that revised ACR in the 2020 SCM, resulting in exclusion from the 2020 IPS select list despite eligibility. (Facts: para. 2; 5.2; 5.3; 5.4; 6-7; 9). The Court held that the Annexure A-III entry recording the overall assessment as ‘Good’ was to be quashed and set aside, and instructed re-consideration within three months (paras 10-11). (Paras 10(a)-(e), 11). The order records disposal of the OA with no costs. (Order: para 11).
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. revised acr affects ips eligibility (Para 2) |
| 2. applicant's contentions on non-consideration and fairness (Para 3 , 4 , 6) |
| 3. promotion regulations and selection process (Para 5) |
| 4. judicial analysis of procedure and safeguards (ratio embedded in reasoning) (Para 7 , 8 , 9 , 10) |
| 5. court's final order and disposal including ratio context (Para 11) |
ORDER
Per Kumar Rajesh Chandra, A.M. :- This OA has been filed by the applicant seeking the following relief:-
“(i) For direction(s) upon the respondents to call upon the relevant records of the present case pertaining to the Final Select List/ Notification issued by Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India vide F. No. 1 14011/23/2021-IPS-I(E) (I) dated 19.07.2023 whereby and whereunder the name of the applicant has not been included with respect to promotion/ appointment of State Cadre Police Officers of the State of Jharkhand into I.P.S. Cadre in the year 2020 (meeting held on 19.06.2023) in-spite of the applicant being fully eligible as per the applicable Regulations and the names of the juniors of the applicant/ private respondents has been included in the said list in violation of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India and upon being satisfied direct the respondents to take all corrective measures to do justice with the applicant.
(ii) For quashing and setting aside the decision of the selection committee as provided by the respondents as contained in UPSC file no. 7/26/2022-AIS assessment made by them for the select list of 2019 (Annexure-II) and in particular the assessment for the select list for 2020 (Annexure-III) in relation to the applicant in which the applicant has been assessed as "Good" in- spite of no adverse remarks having been communicated for 2018- 19 and also in-spite of the remarks having been expunged and grading revised for the year 2019-2020 as "Excellent".
(iii) For quashing and setting aside the notification contained in F no. I-14011/23/2021-IPS-I(E) (I) dated 19.07.2023 whereby and whereunder the respondents have, by way of superseding and omitting the consideration of the name of the applicant notified the private respondent nos. 6, 7 and 8 as appointed in the Indian Police Service for the vacancies of the year 2020 while ignoring and discarding the fact that the adverse remark of the ACR of the applicant for 2018-19, if any, was never communicated and even if that aspect is not considered then so far as the adverse remarks recorded in the ACR of 2019-20 is concerned, same stood expunged and grading revised as "Excellent which, if considered, would have placed the applicant above Manish Toppo/ respondent no. 6 in any case,
(iv) For direction upon the respondents to reconsider the entitlement of the applicant for being appointed in the Indian Police Service against the notified vacancies of the year 2020 and his ranking above Manish Toppo/ respondent no. 6 with appropriate legal consequences upon the other private respondents while treating the adverse remarks recorded in the ACR of the applicant of the year 2019-2020 as expunged and grading revised as "Excellent" instead of "Good" as appears to have been considered by the respondents wrongfully.
(v) For any other appropriate relief or reliefs to which the applicant is found entitled in the facts and circumstances of this case.”
2. The facts of the case, as narrated by the applicant in the OA and in written notes of arguments submitted during hearing, are as follows:-
(i) The applicant was appointed to the State Police Service in 2010 through the Jharkhand Public Service Commission. After completing his training, he was posted as Dy. S.P. at Jharkhand Jaguar (Special Task Force) from 11.12.2012 to 22.11.2013. After serving on different posts at different places, the applicant was promoted to the category of the Senior Deputy Superintendent of Police with effect from 24.12.2020 vide notification no. 12/P-1004/2019 dated 08.07.2022.
(ii) According to the applicant, he has had an excellent
