RAJHUNS UPADHYAYA MEMBER BOARD OF REVENUE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE applicant seeks direction to the respondents to give him promotion in the Super Time Scale of IAS w.e.f. 22.1.98, the date on which other members of the service including the officers junior to him of 1981 batch were given promotion, with all consequential benefits. It is also prayed that the remarks/action against law of the land to downgrade the APARs of the applicant since 1993-94 should be set aside.

(2.) The applicant is a member of All India Service (IAS) and after completing the requisite period of service he was granted Senior Scale in the year 1985. He was promoted to the Selection Grade of IAS w.e.f. 1.7.94 vide order dated 31.12.94 in accordance with the criteria provided under Rule 2-A of the Indian Administrative Service (Pay) Rules, 1954 (for short, Pay Rules, 1954). It is averred that as no adverse remarks were ever entered in the APARs of the applicant, no such remarks have been communicated to him.

(3.) IN the rejoinder, the applicant has stated that no administrative guidelines have been issued by the Government for making assessment of the officers regarding merit of the officers for promotion to Selection Grade and there could not be any basis of adopting the criteria for assessing the merit as mentioned in the reply by the Government. It is stated that Shri M.L. Mehta, the then Chief Secretary, and Shri Arun Kumar, the then Additional Chief Secretary, were prejudiced against the applicant and they had conspired to harm the applicant by illegally misreading the APARs with an intention to deny him promotion.