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Mohd. Jamil Warsi's Past Not Erased by Promotion:
The has firmly held that a government servant's promotion does not automatically expunge past when his case is examined for . Dismissing the petition of Mohd. Jamil Warsi, a former Class IV employee of the district judiciary, Justice Anish Kumar Gupta ruled that the entire service record—including pre-promotion years—must be weighed to determine whether an employee has become a liability to the institution.
The Battle Over 'Washed Out' Theory
Warsi was initially appointed in in District Farrukhabad and was later transferred to District Kannauj after bifurcation. He was promoted to the post of Daftari on a permanent basis in . However, on , upon turning 50, he was compulsorily retired under . The order was based on a 's report assessing his overall performance over the preceding ten years.
Aggrieved, Warsi challenged the retirement order and the subsequent refusal to provide a copy of the committee's report. His core argument: the promotion had "washed out" all earlier in his , rendering them inadmissible for the assessment.
High Court's Examination of Service Record
The State, through Additional Chief Standing Counsel, countered that the has repeatedly negated the "washed out" theory in cases of . Counsel pointed to an earlier order of the High Court itself—dated —which, after summoning the original record, recorded that Warsi's service record for the last ten years was "unsatisfactory" and that a fine had been imposed. This finding was never challenged by Warsi.
Justice Gupta examined the original records and noted that the District Judge had considered Warsi's overall performance for ten years before passing the retirement order.
"The claim of the petitioner that since the petitioner has already been promoted in between in the year
, therefore, the previous conduct of the petitioner has been washed out is unsustainable in law,"
the court observed.
Precedents That Overruled the 'Wash-Out' Doctrine
The judgment traced the evolution of the legal position. While earlier decisions had accepted the 'washed out' theory, a three-Judge Bench in State of Orissa v. Ram Chandra (1996) 5 SCC 331 explicitly negated it. The court quoted the key passage:
"Merely because a promotion has been given even after were made, cannot be a ground to note that of the government servant could not be ordered. The evidence does not become inadmissible or irrelevant... That material undoubtedly would be available to the Government to consider the overall expediency or necessity to continue the government servant in service after he attained the required length of service or qualified period of service for pension."
This principle was reaffirmed in State of Gujarat v. Umed Bhai M. Patel (2001) 3 SCC 314 and State of UP v. Vijay Kumar Jain (2002) 3 SCC 641, where the Apex Court held that the "vigour or sting" of an adverse entry is not wiped out merely because it belongs to the remote past. Furthermore, in Piyare Mohanlal v. State of Jharkhand (2010) 10 SCC 693, the clarified that the 'wash out' theory applies only when an employee's case is considered for further promotion—not for retention in service.
Relying on
Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation v. Babu Lal Jangir
(2013) 10 SCC 551, the High Court concluded that
"entire service record is relevant for deciding as to whether the government servant needs to be eased out prematurely."
Even a Single Can Be Fatal
The court underscored that an isolated adverse entry relating to integrity could be sufficient to compulsorily retire an employee. In the counter-affidavit, the State had alleged repeated and doubtful integrity against Warsi. The screening report dated , placed on record, confirmed that his entire service history was reviewed.
On the ancillary issue of the copy of the committee's report, the court held that the order rejecting it
"has lost its efficacy because entire record has been brought on record in this proceedings."
Final Decision: Petition Dismissed
Finding no illegality in the order, Justice Gupta dismissed the writ petition with costs. The judgment reinforces the position that public interest demands an honest and efficient workforce, and even promotional milestones cannot shield an employee from scrutiny of the full arc of their service for the purpose of .
Case Title: | Writ-A No. 48336 of 2005
