Delhi Jal Board vs Mahinder Singh on 1 September, 2000
7. The issue involved is simple. It is by now a well established principle of administrative jurisprudence that if an employee of the Government is exonerated in departmental proceedings, sealed cover regarding consideration by the DPC for promotion would be opened and if the Government employee has been recommended for promotion by the DPC, he/she would be promoted from the date his/her immediate junior was promoted. The Honourable Supreme Court has clearly articulated this in the judgement in Delhi Jal Board Vs. Mahinder Singh (supra). The contention of the Respondents that the Recruitment Rules of 1985 had contemplated promotion after eight years of regular service in the grade of A.E. is totally unsatisfactory. This rule cannot be applied only to the Applicant, while similarly situated employees, junior to him on the basis of the record have been promoted. This is a clear case of discrimination and violation of Article 14 of the Constitution. The contention that the letter of promotion on ad hoc basis mentioned that the Applicant could not claim seniority on its basis is also in the nature of hair splitting. This argument cannot be advanced solely in the case of the Applicant, when others, similarly situated, have been given the same advantage, which is denied to the Applicant. It is unfortunate that the learned counsel for the Respondents should have denied the existence of item number 20, dated 27.03.2002 (Annex. P-16) with such asperity, though the self same item is placed in the file DJB/AC(T)90-2000, given by the Respondents to us, at least at a half-a-dozen places in the file. This item is in fact a reproduction of a detailed note, from page 24 to 27 of notes portion of the file, written by the Member (Administration), Sh. A.K. Paitandy, dated 24.03.2002 in which it was proposed thus: