TMI Blog2000 (4) TMI 797X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nal Engineer in the Telecom Department - is that his promotion to the next tier in the cadre (senior time scale in the Indian Telecommunication Service Group A) has been temporarily sealed on account of erroneously adhering to the Sealed Cover Procedure. The Central Administrative Tribunal (for short the Tribunal) before which he approached for redressal of his grievance has upheld his contentions and directed the appellants to open the sealed cover and give effect to the recommendations made by the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC). Union of India and the Chief General Manager of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. have filed these appeals by special leave challenging the aforesaid direction issued by the Tribunal. The background of pass ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt of India, Deptt. Of Per. Trg., Office Memo No.22011/2/86-Estt.(A) dated the 12th January, 1988). At this stage, it is relevant to extract paragraph 2 of the said Office Memorandum. It reads thus: Cases where Sealed Cover Procedure applicable:- At the time of consideration of the cases of Government servants for promotion, details of Government servants in the consideration zone for promotion falling under the following categories should be specifically brought to the notice of the Departmental Promotion Committee: (i) Government servants under suspension; (ii) Government servants in respect of whom disciplinary proceedings are pending or a decision has been taken to initiate disciplinary proceedings. (iii) Government servants in re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nce only officiating arrangements could be made against the vacancies available because of cases of senior officials being in sealed cover, there may not be any difficulty in terminating some officiating arrangements if necessary and giving promotion in such cases). (ii) If any case is in a sealed cover on account of any of the other conditions mentioned in para 2(I) to 2(iii) of the O.M. dated 12.1.88, the case will continue to be in the sealed cover. (iii) On opening of the sealed cover because of deletion of para 2(iv) if an officer is found to have been recommended as unfit by the DPC no further action would be necessary. Some further developments which took place in the meanwhile are also relevant. CBI completed and submitted a repor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hri Anil Kumar Sharma, learned counsel for the respondent contended that appellants are debarred from adopting such a contention as the Department stated in the affidavit filed in this Court that the Minister had given approval only on 10.9.1991 and by then clause (iv) in the aforesaid second paragraph of the Sealed Cover Procedure was already deleted. Without conceding to the above position, Shri Mukul Rohtagi, Additional Solicitor General, adopted an alternative contention based on Paragraph 7 of the Sealed Cover Procedure which reads thus: Sealed cover applicable to officer coming under cloud before promotion:- A Government servant, who is recommended for promotion by the Departmental Promotion Committee but in whose case any of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Department had willfully and deliberately avoided to comply with the said Office Memo dated 31.7.1979, and hence appellants should not be permitted to take advantage of their own wrong. We are not impressed by the said arguments for two reasons. One is that, what the Department did not do is not the yardstick indicated in paragraph 7 of the Sealed Cover Procedure, what is mentioned therein is that it cannot apply to the Government servant who is not actually promoted by that time. Second is that, the stand taken up by the Department is that in spite of deletion of clause (iv) of the second paragraph, the recommendations of the DPC must remain in the sealed cover on account of the conditions specified in clause (iii) of the said parag ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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