ANIRUDHA ROUT Vs. ALKA SIROHI & ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application under Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act read with Article 215 of the Constitution of India.

(2.) CASE of the petitioner is that he is an officer of Orissa Civil Service in Super Time Scale. In the year 2003 he became eligible for promotion to I.A.S. under the provisions of Regulations 5 (5) of IAS (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations, 1955. Unfortunately, no selection was held for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 as the selection for the years 2002 and 2003 was challenged in the High Court in various writ applications and the matter being sub -judice, no steps were taken for selection. After the writ applications were disputed of by the High Court, D.P.C. was held on 5th and 6th October 2006. On the basis of the records of service, the petitioner was selected for appointment to I.A.S. in the year 2005. However, the said selection was made provisional on the ground that the disciplinary proceeding was pending against him. The said D.P.C. which selected him for the year 2005 carried forward his selection to 2006 but again kept it provisional for the very same reason. The petitioner thereafter was censured in the departmental proceeding. With the above background of the case, the Tribunal after taking into consideration the stand taken by the State Government as well as U.P.S.C. and the Union of India allowed the Original Application by judgment and order dated 24th August, 2007. The operating part of the judgment of the Tribunal is quoted below:

(3.) ADMITTEDLY , for the years 2005 and 2006, the petitioner had been selected by DPC on the basis of his service records for promotion to I.A.S.. However, his selection was made provisional because of pendency of a departmental proceeding. As is evident from Annexure -3, one vacancy for I.A.S. remained unfilled in 2005 and one vacancy also remained unfilled in the year 2006. Therefore, the learned Assistant Solicitor General could not have made a submission before the Court on 22.7.2009 that the list sent for filling up vacancy in the I.A.S. up to the year 2006 had been exhausted.