Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 31: A Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal has held that benefit of promotion and consequential monetary benefits cannot be taken away in an arbitrary and whimsical manner without providing an opportunity of being heard to the effected person.
The DB was handling the petition filed by Sonam Dolma challenging the show case notice issued by the BSNL on 05.02.2018 wherein the petitioner was required to show cause within 15 days as to why the benefit of promotion as Junior Accounts Officer given vide order dated 16.12.2013, inadvertently, be not withdrawn along with the consequential benefits with a further direction to the petitioner that in case, if the statement of facts/explanation not received within the time so allowed, the matter will be decided under rules with the presumption that the petitioner has nothing to say in her defense.
“From the record, it is emphatically clear that although show cause notice has been issued on 05.02.2018 with a view to withdraw her promotion as Junior Accounts Officer given on 16.12.2013, then subsequently, how and under what circumstances, the petitioner was further promoted in the grade of Accounts Officer on 29.06.2018 by the respondents has not been explained nor respondents could justify their stand”, the DB observed.
“The respondents have miserably failed to justify her subsequent promotion as Accounts Officer. Even the petitioner has subsequently retired on 31.01.2020 under BSNL Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2019 as Accounts Officer and as per Pension Payment Order, her pension has been fixed on the basis of last pay drawn as Accounts Officer and the petitioner is continuously drawing her pension even as on today and no grouse was ever raised by the respondents with regard to fixation of her pension as Accounts Officer or her promotion”, the DB further observed.
Stating that the issuance of show cause notice was without any basis and cannot sustain in the eyes of law and liable to be set aside, the DB said, “the petitioner was allowed to appear in the test as one time dispensation and hence in her case, no fresh applications had to be invited from such candidates and like and reliance placed by the respondents on communication dated 25.08.2005 superseding previous communications dated 22.11.2004, 23.12.2004 and 19.05.2005 would apply only to the candidates with respect to whom, fresh applications were invited after 27.12.2005”.
The DB further said that since the BSNL is wholly a State Corporation, it has not only to act as a model employer but has also to conduct itself in such a way, which is in consonance with equity, just and fair play.
“We have gone through the impugned show cause notice and there is no whisper with regard to the fact that the petitioner was not entitled to exemption nor there is any reference to such exemption. It is nobody’s case that the promotion has been accorded to her by any suppression or misrepresentation of fact which has resulted in her promotion to the post of Junior Accounts Officer and subsequently as Accounts Officer even after the issuance of show cause notice”, the DB said.
The DB held that the benefit of promotion and consequential monetary benefits cannot be taken away in an arbitrary and whimsical manner without providing an opportunity of being heard to the effected person.
“No enquiry, whatsoever has been conducted by the respondents in this regard. The respondents have failed to take any stand to justify her subsequent promotion as Accounts Officer and release of pension as Accounts Officer”, the DB said while quashing the impugned show cause notice.
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