K S RAJPUT Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner complains that he has been arbitrarily superseded for promotion from Senior Management Grade Scale-IV to Senior Management Grade Scale V by the respondent Punjab National Bank. His petition for review having been rejected vide order dated July 16, 1992, he has approached this Court through the present writ petition. He prays for the quashing of the order dated July 16, 1992 by which the review petition was rejected and for the issue of a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to "promote" him with all consequential benefits. A few facts may be noticed.

(2.) The petitioner was recruited as a Probationary Officer in the year 1971. In 1976, the petitioner was promoted to the Middle Management Grade Scale II. In 1981, he was promoted to Middle Management Grade Scale III. Finally, in the year 1984, the petitioner was promoted to the Senior Management Grade Scale-IV. The petitioner claims that he has had a consistently brilliant record and has held positions of responsibility and discharged his duties ably. He has handled five assignments as Regional Manager, Himachal Region, Chief Manager, Hazarat Ganj, Lucknow, Regional Manager, Varanasi, Regional Manager, Amritsar and Regional Manager, Ferozepur. During his posting at Amritsar and Ferozepur the petitioner was on the list of the terrorists. In spite of the threat, he had shown excellent results.

(3.) In the year 1991, the respondent-Bank considered the claims of various of ficers for promotion to Senior Management Grade Scale V. The petitioner was' interviewed by the Directors' Promotion Committee on December 24, 1991. On December 28, 1991, the petitioner came to know that he had been over-looked for promotion. Consequently, he submitted a representation on December 29,1991.A copy of this representation has been produced as Annexure P-3 with the writ petition. The Committee met to consider the representation on April 18, 1992. Vide order dated May 8, 1992, it rejected the petitioner's representation. However, before the order of rejection could be ratified and conveyed to the petitioner, he filed the present writ petition on July 16, 1992. It appears that the order of rejection was ratified and issued on July 16, 1992 and reached the petitioner during the pendency of the writ petition. He, consequently, amended the writ petition so as to even impugn the order rejecting his petition for review.