A S GREWAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY means of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has prayed for a writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to reconsider him for promotion to the rank of Lt. Colonel treating him as a fresh case for promotion ignorning the earlier rejections by the Selection Boards.

(2.) THE facts necessary to highlight the controversy involved in the present case are these. THE petitioner was commissioned into the Army on 17-12-1961. He was promoted to the regular rank of Major in the year 1971. He was considered for further promotion to the rank of Lt. Colonel in September 1976, April 1978 and February 1980 but each time he failed to get promotion, it is alleged, on the ground of certain remarks in his Annual Confidential Report pertaining to the year 1973-74. Representation against the said adverse entry in his Annual Confidential Report 1973-74 was however, allowed on 25-8-1982 and therefore due to change in over-all record of service occurring on account of expunction of the adverse entry pertaining to the year 1973-74 in his Annual Confidential Report, he was granted opportunities by way of special review, the first of which to a place in December 1982, the second in March 1983 and the third in October 1984, but again he came a cropper in order to get promotion to the rank of Lt. Colonel. Aggrieved, he has come up to this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking the reliefs stated supra.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the petitioner has contended before me that after the expunction of the adverse remarks from his Annual Confidential Report 197J-74, the petitioner ought to have been treated as a fresh case for promotion and not merely a case for review and further that non-consideration of Annual Confidential Report for the years subsequent to the year 1978-79 upto the period his case was being considered by the Special Review Board, has vitiated the decision of the Special Review Board refusing to promote the petitioner to the rank of Lt. Col. THE rival contention made before me by the learned counsel for the Union of India, is that since the petitioner was given a special review due to change in his over-all record of service on account of expunction of the adverse remarks from the Annual Confidential Report pertaining to the year 1973-74 he was not entitled to be taken as a fresh case for promotion and further that it being a case of review the petitioner was not entitled to be considered for promotion in the light of Annual Confidential Reports pertaining to the years subsequent to the year 1978-79 upto the time when his matter was up before the Special Review Board on three occasions as stated hereinbefore.