To qualify for promotion, it is expected of an employee is to have an unblemished record.
An employee has no right to promotion. He has only a right to be considered for promotion. The promotion to a post and more so, to a selection post, depends upon several circumstances. To qualify for promotion, the least that is expected of an employee is to have an unblemished record. That is the minimum expected to ensure a clean and efficient administration and to protect the public interests. An employee found guilty of misconduct cannot be placed on par with the other employees and his case has to be treated differently. There is therefore, no discrimination when in the matter of promotion, he is treated differently.
6. The least that is expected of any administration is that it does not reward an employee'with promotion retro- spectively from a date when for his conduct before that date he is penalised in presenti. When an employee is held guilty and penalised and is, therefore, not promoted at least till the date on which he is penalised, he cannot be said to have been subjected to a further penalty on that account. A denial of promotion in such circumstances is not a penalty but a necessary consequence of his conduct. [805B-C]
7. While considering an employee for promotion his whole record has to be taken into consideration and if a promotion committee takes the penalties imposed upon the employee into consideration and denies him the promotion, such denial is not illegal and unjustified. If the. promoting authority can take into consideration the penalty or penalties awarded to an employee in the past while considering his promotion and deny him promotion on that ground, it will be irrational to hold that it cannot take the penalty into consideration when it' is imposed at a later date because of the pendency of the proceedings, although it. is for conduct prior to the date the authority considers the promotion.
Supreme Court of India
Union Of India Etc. Etc vs K.V. Jankiraman Etc. Etc on 27 August, 1991
Equivalent citations: 1991 AIR 2010, 1991 SCR (3) 790
Bench: Sawant, P.B.
