Centre stares at crisis as babus file cases seeking retrospective promotions, pay revisions

NEW DELHI: The Centre is staring at a “chaos” of government officials, even those who have retired, filing cases seeking retrospective promotions and pay or pension revisions by filing representations against any poor grading given to them in the past in Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs). To arrest this, the Centre could soon go to the Supreme Court seeking clarity whether a 2013 judgement by it be treated as prospective.

SC in a judgement in 2013 gave relief to a government employee, allowing him to make a representation to government for retrospective promotion after he pleaded that a ‘Good’ grading in his ACR in 2001 instead of ‘Outstanding’ in previous years was not communicated to him, costing him a promotion as he could not challenge the said grading.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar has now given an opinion to the central government to file an application in SC on whether the 2013 SC order would be treated as prospective, and not as retrospective. “In this regard, the Cabinet Secretariat has sought information with all facts and figures including the likely chaos in number of cases due to retrospective effect of the above,” the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in a letter to all Ministries on June 20.

They have been asked to give details of cases which have already arisen or are likely to rise and their “consequent implications” like requirement of conducting review Dep a r t m e n t a l P romotion Committees (DPCs), revisiting of seniorities, re-fixation of pay and revision of pensions. Centre has also asked for details of the number of representations and CAT/Court cases already filed by present or retired officials since 2013.