MAJOR AROON KUMAR SINHA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) Dejeted by his successive failures in getting promotion to the rank of Lt. Colonel, the appellant resorted to Judicial proceedings with the object of getting rid of his ACRs which, at all the times, came in his way while making selection on the basis of comparative merit with other eligible persons in the service of the Armed Forces. His ingenuity to overcome the hurdles, namely, his ACRs was prompted by the letter of Army Headquarters bearing No. 32666 dated 22nd June, 1989 which, inter alia, provided that the cases of the officers who had put in complaints against their ACRs and were awaiting decisions in legal course shall be given a definite grading in the Selection Board. The appellant's venture of crossing over the stumbling block in the form of his ACRs was frustrated by Judicial pronouncements by the High Court, firstly by the single Judge and then by the Division Bench vide the order impugned in this appeal.

(3.) The appellant claimed to have been commissioned in the Army as Second Lieutenant on Short Service Commission in the month of September, 1977. He was absorbed as permanent Commissioned Officer as a Captain w.e.f. 1-5-1978 and was posted as Major on 1-5-1989. As he was not promoted to the post of Lt. Colonel, he made a representation to the respondent authorities which were rejected vide the order impugned in the writ petition. Apprehending that he was not promoted on account of the ACRs for the period 1989-90, the appellant made a statutory complaint on 19th March, 1996 which was rejected after examination of the relevant records. It was held that no injustice has been done to the appellant on account of the illegalities alleged in his statutory complaint. It may be mentioned that prior to filing of the statutory complaint, the appellant had availed of the remedy of a nonstatutory complaint which was partially allowed by way of expunction of complete assessment of the IO and SRO in CR 1-87-5/ 88 on grounds of subjectivity. It was also directed that the said aberrations be removed from the CR Dossier of the appellant and he be considered for promotion by any appropriate Selection Board in accordance with the policy.