UNION OF INDIA Vs. PAL SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Being aggrieved by the judgment and order passed by the learned Single Judge in SCA 3650 of 1998 on July 23, 1998, the present appeal is filed by the Union of India and others. Respondent was the original petitioner. He preferred Special Civil Application No. 3650 of 1998 for appropriate writ, order or direction in terms of para 11 which reads as under:

(2.) The case of the petitioner was that he was appointed in 1970 with the present appellants . In 1983, he was working at Central Industrial Security Force Unit, at Srinagar. On 9/08/1983, theft was committed and the petitioner was placed under suspension. He preferred a petition in the High court of Jammu and Kashmir which was allowed and the action taken against the petitioner was quashed and set aside. In April, 1988, he was promoted as Head Constable with effect from 1/04/1988. It was his case that in the cadre of Head Constable, he was senior to one Jai Shanker. For that, our attention was invited by the learned counsel for the petitioner to the fact that the date of appointment of the petitioner was 4/10/1970; whereas, Jai Shanker was appointed on 14/10/1970.

(3.) The next promotional post from the post of Head Constable was Assistant Sub-Inspector ("ASI"). According to the petitioner, his case was required to be considered for promotional post of ASI and if found fit, he was to be promoted in the year 1988. He was,however, not promoted to the post of ASI on the ground that a departmental inquiry was pending against him. The case of the petitioner was, hence, considered for promotion to the post of ASI but was kept in a sealed cover and the inquiry proceeded further. In October 1991, inquiry proceedings were over and he was exonerated. In the light of the said fact, sealed cover was opened.According to the department,however, the petitioner was found fit to be promoted to the post of ASI in the year 1990 and accordingly, he was promoted to the said post on November 15, 1991, but was given deemed date of promotion from 1/09/1990. On the other hand, Jai Shanker who was junior to the petitioner came to be promoted as ASI earlier and was further promoted to the post of Sub Inspector ("SI") in 1994. The petitioner, therefore, felt aggrieved and filed the above petition .