Promotion cannot be denied on a pending complaint or mere proposal to start disciplinary action without a charge sheet or prosecution.

Promotion could not be withheld on the basis of a pending complaint or a mere proposal to initiate major penalty proceedings where no charge sheet had been issued, no criminal prosecution was pending, and no suspension or disciplinary proceeding existed at the time of the DPC. The applicant had been found eligible and cleared by vigilance, and the case did not fit the recognised categories for keeping promotion in abeyance under the applicable instructions. The later receipt of first stage advice for disciplinary action did not create a concluded disciplinary situation. The promotion denial was therefore unjustified, with entitlement flowing from the date the immediate junior was promoted, along with consequential benefits.

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Issues: Whether the applicant could be denied promotion to the post of Commissioner of Income Tax on the basis of a pending complaint and an uncrystallised proposal to initiate major penalty proceedings when no charge sheet had been issued, no criminal prosecution was pending, and no suspension or disciplinary proceeding existed at the time of the DPC.

Analysis: The applicant was found eligible and was cleared by the vigilance authorities at the time of the DPC. The material on record showed that the case did not fall within the recognised categories for keeping the promotion in abeyance under the applicable promotion instructions, namely suspension, pending charge sheet in disciplinary proceedings, or pending criminal prosecution. The subsequent reference to a complaint and the receipt of first stage advice for initiating major penalty proceedings did not amount to a concluded disciplinary situation. A pending complaint or a mere intention to start proceedings was held insufficient to deny promotion, and the principle laid down in the cited Supreme Court decision was applied to the facts.

Conclusion: The denial of promotion was unjustified. The applicant was held entitled to promotion from the date his immediate junior was promoted, together with consequential benefits.

Ratio Decidendi: Promotion cannot be withheld merely on the basis of a pending complaint or a preliminary proposal to initiate disciplinary action unless the case falls within the recognised categories warranting sealed cover or non-consideration.

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