Calcutta, Feb. 20: Calcutta High Court today said all central departments other than defence were bound to disclose to employees the contents of their annual confidential report on request.
The order could have far-reaching consequences as it would act as a precedent in case of state government employees as well.
The report, better known as ACR, determines the chances of government employees’ promotions and postings.
The division bench of Justices A.K. Banerjee and P. Mondal said: “Central government authorities, other than defence, are bound to communicate the contents of the ACR of an employee whenever he or she asks for it.”
The judges also said that if the ACR was not revealed to an employee, it would be a violation of “natural justice.” “If an employee has no access to his ACR, how will he rectify his errors?”
The private sector, which also conducts an annual assessment of employees, shares it with them.
A senior IAS officer said: “A subordinate should know how his seniors rate his performance. The report will still remain confidential as it will only be between the junior and the senior and not pasted on a notice board.”
The court order followed a petition by Sourin Biswas, who became a senior Geological Survey of India (GSI) chemist after 11 years of service in 1993 but was twice denied promotion thereafter because of the ACR.
In 1998, a list was drawn up on the basis of seniority for promotion to the post of assistant director. “Biswas was at No. 30, but a person listed below him was promoted while he was not. In 2007, Biswas, the No. 2, was denied promotion,” said his lawyer Smarajit Roy Chowdhury.
When Biswas enquired with his bosses why he was being left out, they said his ACR was not good enough. “When he wanted to access its contents, the authorities said it was confidential.”
Biswas first moved the Central Administrative Tribunal. After it turned down his plea, he moved the court.
The GSI’s lawyer asked the court: “How can the authorities communicate the contents of a confidential report to an employee?”
The court rejected the argument, saying employees could not improve themselves if they did not know their drawbacks.
A senior bureaucrat said that before Independence, the ACR used to be called the Confidential Character Report. “The British bosses wanted to keep track of whether employees were engaged in the Freedom Movement or where their sympathies lay.”
Courtesy : The Telegraph
Good and welcoming judgement. It is a long awaited dawn of transparancy in good governance. I also wonder how a Govt. Servant know about his credentials or otherwise unless a report by a higher official (in rank?) is made known to him/her. This should have been happend long back. However, better late than never !
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