Service Matters

Adverse Remarks in Annual Confidential Report (ACR)

Reporting Authority and Reviewing Authority write adverse remarks in Annual Confidential Report (ACR) about employee’s work proficiency.

Sometimes Reporting Authority downgrade overall grading and awards less marks than marks awarded in last year.

Reporting Authority also write adverse remarks while filling up of ACR of the Employee.

Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) considers such adverse remarks and marks awarded for selection of employee for promotion.

Employer must communicate Adverse Entries to the Employee

If Reporting Authority writes adverse remarks, it must be communicated to the employee to provide opportunity to represent against adverse remarks, if so required.

It is necessary to communicate the remarks made in ACR to employee in compliance of principle of natural justice.

The purpose of communicating adverse entries to government servant is to inform him regarding his deficiency in work.

And also to afford him an opportunity to make amend and improvement in his work.

Further, if entries are not justified the communication afford him an opportunity to make representation.

If the adverse remarks awarded to a government servant are communicated to him after several years, the object of communicating entries is defeated.

Therefore, it is imperative that the adverse remarks/ entries awarded to a government servant must be communicated to him.

Adverse Entry without giving opportunity of hearing is illegal

It is well settled law that an adverse remarks / report in a confidential roll cannot be acted upon to deny promotional opportunity unless it is communicated to a the person concerned to so that he has an opportunity to improve his work and conduct or explain the circumstances leading to the report.

Such opportunity is not an empty formality, its object, partially, being to enable the superior authorities to decide on a consideration of the explanation offered by the person concerned, whether the adverse report is justified.

Officer with Clean Record stand a Better Change of Promotion

In one of the matter of employee, the full bench of Hon’ble Orissa High Court held that adverse entries would not be wiped out in the matter of promotion.

The officer who has a clean record throughout would stand a better change of promotion.

Adverse Remarks, against which a representation is pending, should not be taken into consideration by Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC)

If reporting authority has made adverse remarks in the ACR and the employee filed representation against the adverse entries.

In such situation these adverse remarks should not be taken into consideration by DPC.

Compulsory Retirement by Review Committee under Rule 48 (1) (b) of CCS Pension Rules, 1972 is not proper where no adverse entries in previous ACR

The entries in confidential report speaks that the performance of employee was appraised as ‘Good’ prior to passing compulsory retirement. Such, compulsory retirement is not proper.

However, it is not applicable in the case where Order of Compulsory Retirement has been passed under Disciplinary Proceedings.

Where the Competent Authority has issued charge sheet, the Order of compulsory retirement is not proper being short cut to avoid delay in departmental proceedings.

Petition is maintainable before Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) for expunction of adverse remarks

Employee can file petition before CAT against the adverse remarks made in the Annual Confidential Report.

Employee can seek prayer of expunction of adverse remarks made in ACR.

Before approaching to CAT, it is necessary that his representation against adverse remarks has been disposed of by Competent Authority.