B S Chauhan v. State of Uttarakhand

I N THE HI GH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAI NI TAL

HON'BLE THE ACTI NG CHI EF JUSTI CE SRI MANOJ KUMAR TI W ARI AND HON'BLE SRI JUSTI CE VI VEK BHARTI SHARMA

W RI T PETI TI ON ( S/ B) NO. 7 0 6 OF 2 0 2 4

1 4 TH NOVEMBER, 2 0 2 4

B.S. Chauhan

…… Petitioner

Versus

State of Uttarakhand & others

…… Respondents

Counsel for the petitioner : Mr. Subhash Upadhyaya, learned counsel through video conferencing with Mr. Sandeep Kothari, learned counsel

Counsel for the respondents : Mr. C.S. Rawat, learned Chief Standing Counsel assisted by Ms. Puja Banga, learned Brief Holder for the State

Th e Cou r t m ade t h e follow in g:

JUDGMENT: ( per Hon 'ble Th e Act in g Ch ief Ju st ice Sr i Man oj Ku m ar Tiw ar i)

Petitioner is serving as Joint Excise Commissioner, Kumaun Region, Haldwani, District Nainital.

2) By means of this writ petition, petitioner has sought the following reliefs :

"(i) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to approve the result / recommendation of the DPC held on 16th November 2023 for considering the case of promotion of the petitioner on the post of Additional Excise Commissioner, State of Uttarakhand, Dehradun, and consequently to act in accordance with recommendation of DPC dated 16.11.2023 and to issue order of promotion of the petitioner, promoting him to post of Additional Excise Commissioner (contained as Annexure no. 6 to this petition).

(ii) Issue a writ, order or direction in nature of mandamus directing the respondents to promote the petitioner on the post of Additional Excise Commissioner w.e.f. 16.11.2023 and to grant him all consequential benefits from the said date and the arrears of salary so accrued be paid along with the interest @ 12% per annum."

3)

According to the petitioner, a promotion exercise was held in October 2023 for promotion to the post of Additional Excise Commissioner, and petitioner's claim was considered for such promotion by the DPC held on 16.11.2023. Counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner's name was recommended for promotion,

however, the recommendation made by the DPC is pending consideration before the department of Appointment and Personnel since 16.11.2023. It is further the contention of learned counsel for the petitioner that the promotion exercise was initiated during the last selection year, i.e., 2023-2024, and now, the next selection year 2024-2025 is also about to come to an end in the month of June, but no decision has been taken on the recommendation made by the DPC.

4)

Mr. C.S. Rawat, learned Chief Standing Counsel, on instruction, submits that the Department of Appointment and Personnel is ceased of the matter, and it will take some time to complete the promotion exercise.

5)

The inordinate delay caused by Department of Appointment and Personnel do not appear to be justified. When the name of the petitioner has been recommended by the duly constituted DPC, decision to promote, or not to promote, has to be taken by the competent authority within a reasonable time. Almost one year has gone by since the DPC was held, therefore, we do not approve of the manner in which the Department of Appointment and Personnel has dealt with the matter.

A 2024:UHC:8507-DBe 6) The writ petition is, accordingly, disposed of with a direction to the Secretary, Department of Appointment and Personnel, to take decision on the recommendation made by the DPC within three weeks from the date of production of certified copy of this order. o o ooooooooo o o o o o o oooooooooooooooooooo__________________________o MANOJ KUMAR TI WARI , A.C.J.

___________________

VI VEK BHARTI SHARMA, J. ooooooo o

THDt: 14 NOVEMBER, 2024 Negi - HIMANSHU NEGI e DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, - ou=HIGH COURT OF HIMA UTTARAKHAND, e 2.5.4.20=bb3b60774012c1e f1dae20d13aaf116e73351f daf6878326386908a7f90d5e 757, postalCode=263001, NSHU st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=75BD9D0FB 7F4A80990FC51A722A6BC 552D470EB4FD2F88DDF7C 18DB2A1524A4D, NEGI cn=HIMANSHU NEGI Date: 2024.11.20 20:22:52 +05'30' 4e