VERENDRA PAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Col. (Retd.) R. A. Pandey, counsel for petitioner and Sri B. K. S. Raghubanshi, additional standing counsel for respondents.

(2.) Petitioner was enrolled in Military Police (MP) in the Army on 6.10.1978. After recruit training at Kamptee and Bangalore upto 6.4.1979 and 16.3.1980, he was promoted as Lance Naik. Thereafter, he served in various units. The petitioner attended Junior Leadership Course Srl-3 held at Bangalore from 27.3.2000 to 27.5.2000. This is a pre-requisite for promotion cadre for promoted from Havaldar to Naib Subedar.

(3.) The petitioner was considered for promotion to the rank of Naib Subedar by the Departmental Promotion Committee twice on 19.3.2001 and 15.6.2002 but was declared unfit as he was not meeting A.C.R. criteria due to earning of average (2 points) A.C.R. for the year 1997. Petitioner made a representation dated 29.11.2001 followed by a statutory complaint under Section 26 of the Army Act dated 6.12.2001. It is alleged by the petitioner that he was verbally informed that the same was rejected on the ground of lacking A.C.R. criteria. It is alleged that the petitioner's subsequent A.C.Rs. from 1998 to 2001 were graded above average, i.e., Box Grading 4 points, on which he was entitled to the rank of Naib Subedar. He, however, became overage, on attaining the age of 44 years on September 10, 2002. He completed 24 years of service on 6.10.2002 and will have to superannuate in his present rank of Havaldar. By this writ petition, petitioner has prayed for a writ of certiorari quashing the impugned lowered assessment of petitioner's A.C.R. of the year 1996 and 1997 dated 1.10.1996 and 1.10.1997 and a direction to grant promotion to the rank of Naib Subedar with retrospective seniority alongwith his batch mates and all consequential benefits. On 10.5.2002, time was allowed to the respondents to file counter-affidavit. Since no counter-affidavit was filed and the petitioner alleged that he will retire before the date of Departmental Promotion Committee, interim orders were passed as follows :