The Himachal Pradesh High Court has ruled that the mere pendency of a criminal case, where no charge sheet has been filed, cannot be a valid ground to deny promotion to an employee who has already been exonerated in departmental proceedings.
Justice Sandeep Sharma delivered the ruling while allowing a petition filed by Bir Singh, an honorary head constable with the Himachal Pradesh Police. Singh had approached the high court after being denied promotion to the post of honorary assistant sub-inspector (ASI) on the basis of a pending criminal case against him.
In its order dated September 3, the detailed copy of which was recently made available, the court directed the police department “to consider the case of the petitioner (Bir Singh) for promotion to the post of honorary ASI from the due date when his immediate juniors were promoted.”
The bench noted that while a magistrate had on multiple occasions ordered further investigation in the case after rejecting untraced reports filed by the investigating agency, this could not be treated as a ground to deny promotion.
“Admittedly no charge sheet has been served upon the petitioner. Though the Magistrate concerned is well within his/her right to order further investigation, such fact, if any, cannot be a ground for the respondents to deny promotion to the higher post, especially when charge has not been framed till date,” the order observed.
The high court further reiterated that “once an employee stands exonerated in departmental proceedings, he/she is required to be considered for promotion to the higher post, subject to eligibility.”
Bir Singh had argued that despite his exoneration in the departmental inquiry, he was denied promotion, while other similarly situated employees named in the same FIR had been promoted and granted retiral benefits such as leave salary, commutation, and death-cum-retirement gratuity.
In June 2011, Bir Singh and seven others were booked for criminal breach of trust in connection with a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. While the case has remained pending for over a decade, the investigating agency has thrice filed untraced reports, none of which have resulted in the framing of charges.
With this ruling, the court has effectively removed the hurdle in Singh’s career progression, clarifying that unproven allegations cannot indefinitely stall an employee’s right to promotion.
