Withdrawn charge memo may still keep disciplinary proceedings pending and bar promotion consideration if reissued on same misconduct.

A withdrawn charge memo does not automatically extinguish disciplinary proceedings where the withdrawal is for a technical defect and a fresh memo is issued on the same misconduct as a continuation of the earlier proceeding. On the facts, the second charge memo followed without any gap, so the proceedings were treated as pending on the relevant date. Since pendency of Rule 17(b) disciplinary proceedings disentitled the employee from consideration for promotion under the applicable guidelines, denial of inclusion in the promotion panel and consequential promotion was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to inclusion in the promotion panel and consequential promotion notwithstanding the pendency and subsequent withdrawal of the first charge memo, in the light of the second charge memo issued on the same incident.

Analysis: The petitioner's case rested on the plea that withdrawal of the first charge memo obliterated the disciplinary proceeding from the beginning and that no charge was pending on the crucial date. The Court held that a charge memo once withdrawn does not necessarily vanish in all circumstances, and that where the withdrawal is linked to a technical defect and a fresh proceeding is initiated on the same misconduct, the later memo may be treated as a continuation of the earlier one. On the facts, the second charge memo was issued during the subsistence of the first proceeding and there was no hiatus between them. The Court also noticed the earlier round of litigation, where it had already been held that pendency of disciplinary proceedings under Rule 17(b) disentitles consideration for promotion in terms of the applicable government guidelines.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to the relief sought, as the disciplinary proceedings were treated as pending on the relevant date and the challenge to denial of promotion failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A withdrawn charge memo does not obliterate disciplinary proceedings where the withdrawal is for a technical reason and a fresh memo on the same misconduct is issued as a continuation of the earlier proceeding; during such pendency, consideration for promotion can be withheld.

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