The State of Haryana v. Ashok Khemka & Anr.

Judgment

[2024] 3 S.C.R. 393 : 2024 INSC 190 The State of Haryana v. Ashok Khemka & Anr. (Civil Appeal No. 3959 of 2024) 11 March 2024 [Vikram Nath and Satish Chandra Sharma,* JJ.] Issue for Consideration Whether the High Court was right in interfering with the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal which approved the decision of Accepting Authority altering the Personal Appraisal Report score under All India Services (Performance Appraisal Report) Rules, 2007. Headnotes The Principal Secretary, State of Haryana challenged before Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Chandigarh branch, Chandigarh the decision of the Accepting Authority, Chief Minister of Haryana downgrading his Performance Appraisal Report (the “PAR”) score - No provision in the PAR Rules indicating that a contravention thereof would render the PAR in question invalid or would be met with any identified immediate consequence.

Held: When a provision declares no serious consequences for non-adherence of timelines then it becomes directory- The Authority has met the timelines prescribed under Rule 5(1) of the PAR Rules and complied with the mandatory timelines prescribed - No reason to expunge the remarks and overall grades awarded to 1st Respondent. [Paras 19-21] Constitution of India - Art. 226 - Whether the interference of the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) by the High Court was warranted – Principles discussed. Held: The overall grading and assessment of IAS Officers requires an in-depth understanding of different aspects of an administrative functionary such as their personality traits, tangible and quantifiable professional parameters which may include inter alia the competency and ability to execute projects; adaptability; problem- * Author 394 [2024] 3 S.C.R. solving and decision-making skills; planning and implementation capabilities; and the skill to formulate and evaluate strategy - High court erred in entering into a specialized domain, i.e., evaluating the competency of an IAS officer - No requisite expertise and administrative expertise to conduct such an evaluation - Appeal allowed [Paras 27-28 & 31] Case Law Cited Caretel Infotech Ltd. v.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, [2019] 6 SCR 950 : (2019) 14 SCC 81; State of Jharkhand & Ors. v. Linde India Limited & Anr, [2022] 17 SCR 858 : (2022) 107 GSTR 381 - Relied on.