Birendra Singh Nabiyal and others v. State of Uttarakhand and others

Learned counsel for t he pet it ioners subm it s t hat t here was no direct ion t o revert t he pet it ioners and t he only direct ion issued by learned Tribunal was t hat a review DPC be conduct ed for considering t he prom ot ion of Shri Dinesh Chandra Pandey t o t he post of Audit Officer from t he dat e his j uniors have been prom ot ed and, if he is found fit , he will also be grant ed prom ot ion t he dat e on which his j uniors was grant ed 3 prom ot ion; t hat , t he present pet it ioners were grant ed prom ot ion on t he recom m endat ion of t he duly const it ut ed Depart m ent al Prom ot ion Com m it t ee by t he concerned depart m ent and t he im pugned order has been passed in violat ion of principles of nat ural j ust ice, as no show cause not ice was issued t o t he pet it ioners and no opport unit y of being heard was afforded t o t he pet it ioners, before passing t he reversion order.

4. Per cont ra, learned counsel t he St at e subm it s t hat , pursuant t o order dat ed 14.08.2023 passed learned Tribunal, t he review DPC was held on

30.01.2025, but due t o non- availabilit y of t he vacancies, t he decision t aken in t he earlier DPC dat ed 04.11.2020, by which pet it ioners were recom m ended for prom ot ion t o t he post of Assist ant Direct or/ Audit Officer, has been cancelled and, t herefore, t he pet it ioners were revert ed t he post of Sahayak Nideshak/ Lekha Parikshak Adhikari ( Grade Pay ₹5400/- Level- 10) t o t he post of Sahayak Lekha Parikshak Adhikari ( Grade Pay ₹4800/- Level- 8) .

5. From t he bare perusal of t he order passed by learned Ut t arakhand Public Services Tribunal, Bench at Nainit al, it is revealed t hat t he Tribunal direct ed t hat a review DPC be conduct ed for considering t he prom ot ion 4 of pet it ioner ( Dinesh Chandra Pandey) t o t he post of Audit Officer t he dat e his j uniors have been prom ot ed and, if he is found fit , he be prom ot ed from t he dat e on which his j uniors have been prom ot ed wit h salary and all ot her consequent ial benefit s.

6. Having considered t he fact s and circum st ances of t he case, we are of t he considered opinion t hat since t he pet it ioners were grant ed prom ot ion on 29.01.2021 t o t he post of Sahayak Nideshak/ Lekha Parikshak Adhikari (Grade Pay ₹5400/- , Level- 10) on t he recom m endat ion m ade by duly const it ut ed Depart m ent al Prom ot ion Com m it t ee and, aft er rendering sat isfact ory service for a period of m ore t han four years on t he prom ot ional post , t hey ought not t o have been revert ed back t o t he post of Sahayak Lekha Parikshak Adhikari (Grade Pay ₹4800/- Level- 8) .

7. Even ot herwise, reduct ion t o a lower post , grade, or t im e scale is a m aj or penalt y, as enum erat ed under Sect ion 3 ( b) ( ii) of t he Ut t arakhand Governm ent Servant ( Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2003, t he procedure for im posing m aj or penalt ies can be im posed only aft er following procedure prescribed under Rule 7 of t he Rules, 2003. I t is set t led proposit ion of law, reversion t o a lower post , grade, or t im e scale ent ails civil 5 consequences, and it could not be inflect ed wit hout following t he procedure, as prescribed under t he law. Adm it t edly, in t he present case, t he pet it ioners have been revert ed wit hout following t he procedure as prescribed under t he law.

8. I n such view of t he m at t er, t he im pugned order dat ed 19.03.2025 cannot be sust ained in t he eyes of law and is liable t o be set aside and is hereby set aside. The writ pet it ion st ands allowed. The respondent s are direct ed t o perm it t he pet it ioners t o discharge dut ies on t he post of Sahayak Nideshak/ Lekha Parikshak Adhikari (Grade Pay ₹5400/- , Level- 10) on which t hey were prom ot ed & had been discharging t heir dut ies before t heir reversion.

9. There shall be no order as t o cost s. ( G. N A REN D A R, C. J.) ( A LOK M A H RA , J.) Dat ed: 30.07.2025 BS BALWANT SINGH DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=fbbd191c8bdb8b16e8ca7937deaf72a17c02fe 2eacbf28cdf4ba7ce8640c5820, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=04E141DF4614F9A4D5F48346EB553DE 5185F418755DC00A7A13C14A680C3FA90, cn=BALWANT SINGH 6