PRABHA TOPPO Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition has been preferred by the petitioner being aggrieved by the arbitrary, unjust, and erroneous action of the respondent authorities, whereby despite the Inquiry Committee/D.P.C. in its meeting held on 20/10/2022 having recommended the petitioner's promotion from the post of Sub- Engineer to Assistant Engineer in the Municipal Corporation, Raigarh, the respondents have withheld the promotion by keeping it in a sealed cover envelope solely on the ground of pendency of a criminal case, which itself has remained stagnant and unprosecuted for several years due to inaction and delay attributable entirely to the respondent authorities.

(2.) By way of this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for following reliefs:-

(3.) Facts of the case are that the petitioner was initially appointed as Sub-Engineer at Municipal Corporation, Raigarh (C.G.) on 24/11/2011 and was later transferred to Municipal Corporation, Zone-I, Bhilai. During her service at Raigarh, certain allegations of misconduct and corruption were levelled against several employees, including the petitioner, on the basis of which a letter dtd. 27/10/2016 was issued by the Under Secretary, Urban Administration & Development Department, and prosecution sanction was granted by the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Raigarh on 7/11/2016. An FIR was thereafter registered at P.S. City Kotwali, Raigarh under Ss. 420, 409/34 IPC and Ss. 13(1)(d), 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, for which the petitioner was granted anticipatory bail by this Hon'ble Court on 6/1/2017. However, no charge sheet, show cause notice, or departmental inquiry was ever initiated against her. Despite being granted Time Scale Pay (Level-12) on 27/5/2022, her case for promotion considered in the DPC meeting dtd. 20/10/2022 was kept in a sealed cover owing to the pending proceedings from 2016. Subsequently, in the Mayor-in-Council meeting dtd. 26/4/2023, it was resolved to continue the proceedings related to the alleged misconduct, resulting in the petitioner's promotion being kept in abeyance arbitrarily for an indefinite period.