K.P.S. RAGHUVANSHI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioner, a serving Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in the Coast Guard, has challenged the recommendations of the Departmental Promotional Committee (DPC) for promotion to the rank of Inspector General (IG) held on 23.07.2009 as illegal, arbitrary and conducted on the basis of amended selection policy just a month prior to the holding of Selection Board. The Petitioner also seeks to challenge the actions of the Respondent No.2 (Director General) in endorsing an Annual Confidential Report of the Petitioner covering the period from 1st February, 2008 to 31st January, 2009 despite not having observed the performance of the Petitioner for the mandatory period of 90 days as required under the extant policy, as contained in Coast Guard Order No.4/2005 and other policy instructions regarding writing of confidential reports issued from time to time. The following prayers are made in the writ petition:

(2.) THE Petitioner joined the Coast Guard in the rank of Assistant Commandant in January, 1984. The career graph of the Petitioner as delineated in the petition is as follows. Ever since the date of his joining the Coast Guard and in the course of his unblemished service career spanning nearly 2 scores of years, the Petitioner had an outstanding career and maintained an ascending career graph earning promotion to various ranks at first look based on his ACR grading. The Petitioner was placed first in the merit during the DPC held in the year 2005 for promotion to the rank of DIG. He is presently holding the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) to which rank he was promoted in the year 2005. The next promotion to which he is eligible to be considered is Inspector General.

(3.) ON 16.02.2009, post the 26/11 attack on Mumbai, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved one post of Addl. DG, three posts of IG (GD) and one post of IG (Tech) and communicated the same to the CGHQ through the letter of the Ministry of Defence dated24.02.2009. The sanction of these new posts necessitated holding of DPC by the Department to fill these posts. The relevant selection year being from 1st April to 31st March of the following year, a proposal dated 01.04.2009 for conducting DPC on 18.04.2009 for one post of IG (GD) with restricted zone of consideration, i.e., 4th Batch of General Duty, was forwarded to MoD vide CGHQ Note dated01.04.2009. The said proposal was however rejected by the MoD at the level of Director (Navy -II) on 02.04.2009. Again on 13.04.2009, a proposal for the composition of DPC reiterating the earlier proposal of 01.04.2009 along with two amendments to CGO 02/2005 was forwarded by CGHQ to MoD. The Ministry of Defence again rejected the proposal on 16.04.2009 but this time it was at the level of Defence Secretary. The MoD once again directed CGHQ to follow the CGO 02/2005 and to conduct the DPC expeditiously. The relevant portions of the notings of the Director (Navy -II) dated 15th April, 2009 and that of the Defence Secretary dated 16th April, 2009 are reproduced hereunder: -