MADHAV KHANDERO AMBIKAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Petitioner challenges the order of relating to expunge the adverse remarks made against him and also the order reversion based on such adverse remarks.

(2.) The Petitioner joined the services in the Law and Judiciary Department of the Government of Maharashtra (hereinafter referred to as the "Respondent".) in December, 1960 and has been continuously working as a permanent employee of the State Government. He was promoted from time to time and in 1981 was promoted to the post of Under Secretary which post he held till the day he was reverted on September 2, 1985. Petitioner's case is that on June 24, 1985 he received a memo containing adverse remarks against him for the years 1981-82, 1982-83 and 1984-85. He made a representation by a letter dated August 29, 1985 and requested that the adverse remarks be expunged. It was his case that although rules require that the adverse remarks should be communicated to him within two months, the adverse remarks in question were not communicated to him till June 24, 1985. When his representation was thus, pending, he received the communication dated September 2, 1985 by which he was reverted to the post of Superintendent. It appears that challenging the order of his reversion he filed the present writ petition which was rejected at the admission stage by this Court on 24th September, 1985. The matter was carried in appeal successfully. In the meanwhile, it appears that the Respondent considered the representation of the Petitioner into the adverse remarks and by an Order dated October 3, 1985 rejected his representation. Thereafter the petition was amended as per the order passed by the Appeal Court on October 5, 1985 to the effect that the order dated October 3, 1985 rejecting his representation refusing to expunge the adverse remarks should also be set aside.

(3.) The Respondent resisted this writ petition on the ground that the Petitioner was promoted purely on temporary basis as Under Secretary with effect from June 1, 1981. He, therefore, continued to hold the said post on temporary basis till he was reverted on the recommendation of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission. About the adverse remarks the contention of the Respondent is that the adverse remarks for the years 1981-82 and 82-83 were not communicated to the Petitioner in time. But after the representation was made which was pending consideration the present Writ Petition was filed and, therefore, the same could not be considered in time. The Respondent also contended that no opportunity for being heard was asked for by the Petitioner in the matter of considering the representation and this is how no personal hearing was granted to him when his representation for expunging the adverse remarks was rejected.