The HC dismissed the petition and upheld the Tribunal's impugned...

The HC dismissed the petition and upheld the Tribunal's impugned order, finding that the statutory and policy prerequisites for placing the respondent's file in a sealed cover were not satisfied. The court held there is no pending departmental proceeding against the respondent, no charge-sheet filed in any criminal proceeding, no FIR pending by the CBI, and no completed investigation resulting in prosecution; consequently, the limited exception permitting sealed-cover disclosure does not apply. Given absence of admission of guilt, absence of suspension or active disciplinary process, and no charge-sheet antecedent to a DPC meeting, judicial intervention to open a sealed cover was unwarranted and the petition was dismissed.

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