Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate
Published on: 10 May 2023 at 20:18 IST
While displaying absolute zero tolerance for corruption by public servants, the Rajasthan High Court in a most learned, laudable, landmark, logical and latest judgment titled Madan Lal vs State of Rajasthan and Ors in S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 8952/2022 and cited as [2023/RJJD/013897] that was delivered as recently as on May 8, 2023 and then downloaded on 09/05/2023 has dismissed an employee’s petition seeking consideration for promotion to the post of Additional Office Superintendent in the Home Department.
It must be mentioned here that the employee is facing disciplinary inquiry in connection with bribery allegations. By the way, while dismissing the petition, the Single Judge Bench of Hon’ble Mr Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur observed that, “In such cases, no mercy can be shown to such persons who are indulged in grave misconduct and they are required to be dealt with iron hands in order to culminate the ills prevailing in the government departments today.”
The Court further observed that corrupt officials have a demoralizing effect on honest public servants and corruption by public servants has become a “gigantic problem”.
In addition, the Court also observed that any indulgence at this stage would be putting a premium on the misdeeds of the petitioner. This definitely cannot be allowed under any circumstances and so corrupt officials have to be dealt with strictly in accordance with law and not allowed to get away lightly!
At the very outset, the Single Judge Bench comprising of Hon’ble Mr Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur for the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan at Jodhpur sets the ball in motion by first and foremost putting forth in the opening para itself that, “Heard learned counsel for the petitioner.”
While dwelling on the prayers made for which the present writ petition has been filed are laid bare in the next para stating that, “The present writ petition has been filed with the following prayers:-
“i) by an appropriate writ, order or directions, the respondents be directed not to consider the case of the petitioner for promotion to the post of Assistant Administrative Officer 2022-2023 and further they be directed to consider the case of the petitioner for promotion to the post of Additional Office Superintendent on and from the date person junior to the petitioner are so promoted with all congenital benefits.
ii) by an appropriate writ, order or directions, it may declared that the petitioner had already joined the duties on the post of Assistant Administrative Officer pursuance to the order dated 20.07.2020 (Annex.2) and further the FIR dated 08.08.2020 will not come in the way of the petitioner in granting promotion to the post of Additional Officer Superintendent against the vacancies of the year 2022-2023.””
To put things in perspective, the Bench then while dwelling on the facts briefly envisages in the next para that, “Briefly, the facts to be noted in the present writ petition are that the petitioner was initially appointed on the post of LDC in the respondent-Department and thereafter, vide order dated 30.06.2015 he was promoted to the post of UDC. After promotion on the post of UDC, the case of the petitioner was further considered for promotion to the post of Assistant Administrative Officer against the vacancies of the year 2020-21 and the promotion order was issued on 20.07.2020, mentioning therein that the promotion to the post of Assistant Administrative Officer will be made effective from 01.11.2020. In the meantime, an FIR was registered against the petitioner on 06.08.2020. The petitioner was arrested and thereafter was released on bail. Thereafter, the petitioner was suspended and a departmental inquiry was instituted against him. The respondent-Department has now again initiated the promotion exercise for the post of Assistant Administrative Officer for the vacancies of the year 2022-23 and in the seniority list prepared on 14.06.2022, the name of the petitioner is reflected and the petitioner is shown as ‘Senior Assistant’.”
On the one hand, the Bench then states in the next para that, “Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that since the petitioner has already been promoted vide order dated 20.07.2020, therefore, showing the name of the petitioner as ‘Senior Assistant’ in the seniority list prepared for promotion to the post of Assistant Administrative Officer for the vacancies of 2022-23 is arbitrary and illegal. He further submits that in the seniority list prepared, the designation of the petitioner is shown as ‘Senior Assistant’, whereas he already stood promoted on the post of Assistant Administrative Officer vide order dated 20.07.2020. He, therefore, prays that the present writ petition may be allowed and the petitioner may be ordered to be promoted as Assistant Administrative Officer w.e.f. 01.11.2020 in pursuance of the promotion order dated 20.07.2020 for the vacancies of the year 2020-21. Alternatively, the learned counsel prays that the name of the petitioner may be kept in a sealed cover as the year of promotion could not be changed until the disciplinary inquiry is finalized against him.”
On the other hand, the Bench then mentions in the next para of this notable judgment that, “Per contra, the learned counsel for the respondents submits that a bare perusal of the order dated 20.07.2020 shows that the promotion order was to be made effective w.e.f. 01.11.2020 and, thus, the petitioner was not allowed to join or work on the post of Assistant Administrative Officer w.e.f. 22.07.2020. She submits that after passing of the order dated 20.07.2020, the petitioner was found involved in a criminal case and thereafter, was sent to judicial custody. She submits that the petitioner has been placed under suspension and the disciplinary inquiry is underway, therefore, presently the petitioner has no cause of action. She further submits that even no orders adverse to the petitioner have been passed by the respondents so far. She, therefore, submits that the writ petition may be dismissed.”
Needless to say, the Bench then states in the next para that, “I have considered the submissions made at the Bar and have gone through the relevant record of the case.”
As it turned out, the Bench then points out in the next para of this robust judgment that, “The respondent-Department has issued an order on 20.07.2020, whereby the petitioner was promoted on the post of Assistant Administrative Officer but the same was made effective from 01.11.2020. Thus, the Annex.3 showing the fact that petitioner had joined on the post of Assistant Administrative Officer on 22.07.2020 is of no consequence. The petitioner could not have been allowed to join on the post of Assistant Administrative Officer w.e.f. 22.07.2020 as the promotion was to be made effective w.e.f. 01.11.2020. Thus, the contention of the petitioner that he already stood promoted and joined on the post of Assistant Administrative Officer is not sustainable and the same is rejected.”
On a serious note, the Bench then observes in the next para of this extremely commendable judgment that, “The promotional exercise which has been undertaken by the Department for filling up the vacancies of the year 2022-23 is for consideration of the post of Assistant Administrative Officer and since the petitioner had not joined or promoted on the post of Assistant Administrative Officer so far, therefore, his name has rightly been shown as ‘Senior Assistant’ in the seniority list prepared by the Department. The petitioner is facing disciplinary inquiry for a very serious misconduct and is placed under suspension. Thus, it is premature stage for this Court to take into account that what will be the fate of the inquiry and whether after culmination of the inquiry, the petitioner will be entitled to be considered for the vacancies of the year 2021-22. The same will depend upon the outcome of the disciplinary inquiry pending against him.”
Most significantly, most remarkably and so also most forthrightly, the Bench while taking potshots at the endemic corruption prevailing among government servants minces absolutely no words to hold unequivocally that, “This Court is at pains to note that corruption among Government Servants has become endemic and has been eroding the confidence of the common man in governance. Today, corruption in our country not only poses a grave danger to the concept of constitutional governance, it also threatens the very foundation of Indian democracy and the Rule of Law. Corrupt officials have a demoralising effect on honest public servants. Corruption by public servants has become a “gigantic problem”. Large-scale corruption retards nation-building activities and everyone has to suffer on that count. It cannot be disputed that where corruption begins all rights end.”
Most forcefully, the Bench then while displaying zero tolerance for those indulging in corruption mandates in the next para of this stimulating judgment holding that, “In the present case, this Court is primarily of the view that merely because the promotion year of the petitioner is 2020-21 and after passing of the order dated 20.07.2020 which was to be made effective from 01.11.2020, the petitioner was found involved in a serious misconduct and having involved in a bribe of huge amount running in lacs, therefore, any indulgence at this stage would be putting a premium on the misdeeds of the petitioner In such cases, no mercy can be shown to such persons who are indulged in grave misconduct and they are required to be dealt with iron hands in order to culminate the ills prevailing in the government departments today.”
Finally, the Bench then concludes by holding in the final para of this brilliant judgment that, “In the opinion of this Court, the relief prayed for by the petitioner in this writ petition cannot be granted at this stage. The writ petition is devoid of any force and same is, therefore, dismissed.”
By all accounts, one has to be gracious enough to concede candidly that the Rajasthan High Court has certainly very rightly, robustly, remarkably and rationally taken a very serious note of the increasing level of corruption in government departments by public servants which has become so endemic.
It also certainly merits no reiteration that the Court has also while taking a holistic view very rightly termed corruption by public servants a “gigantic problem” and most of all, it has also minced just no words to point out most emphatically that it erodes severely the confidence of common man in governance which can never serve our national interest and so definitely has to be nipped in the bud for which corrupt public servants must be made to face the strictest punishment.
There can be no gainsaying that our lawmakers must also definitely amend the existing laws on corruption without indulging in any dilly-dallying and in case of those public servants who amass crores of rupees by hook or crook must be mandatorily made to spent the remaining life in jail and not allowed to come up after spending just few years in jail as it makes a very big mockery of our legal system as we see most unfortunately right now and the cases also must be tried and decided within a very short span of time so that the corrupt is not able to escape scot free