Punjab & Haryana High Court Invalidates Sealed Cover Applied Without Chargesheet; Directs State to Promote Agriculture Officer and Release All Consequential Benefits
Case Name: Gurdial Kumar vs. State of Punjab & Others
Date of Judgment: 02 December 2025
Citation: CWP-11702-2022
Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Namit Kumar
Held: The Punjab and Haryana High Court set aside the State’s decision to keep the petitioner’s promotion in a sealed cover, holding that sealed cover procedure cannot be invoked merely because an FIR exists. Since no chargesheet in the criminal case and no departmental chargesheet had been issued, the Court held that no proceedings were “pending” in law, making the sealed cover action unsustainable.
Summary: The petitioner, an Agriculture Development Officer eligible for promotion, was denied advancement solely on the basis of an FIR registered against him under offences relating to extortion and corruption. Despite being reinstated long ago and despite no charge memo or chargesheet ever having been issued, his case was withheld under the sealed cover mechanism. The Court held that this directly contravened the settled principle laid down by the Supreme Court in K.V. Jankiraman and reaffirmed in Anil Kumar Sarkar that sealed cover consideration is permissible only when a charge memo is served in departmental proceedings or a chargesheet is filed in criminal proceedings. Mere investigation or FIR pendency cannot deprive an employee of promotion.
The Court also held that the State’s reliance on the FIR lacked legal foundation since the petitioner’s eligibility, seniority and performance were never disputed. In the absence of any substantive proceedings, the State’s action amounted to an unjustified stagnation of the petitioner’s career progression.
Decision: The High Court allowed the writ petition and directed the State to consider and grant the petitioner promotion to the post of Agriculture Officer from the date his juniors were promoted, along with full consequential benefits, to be released within three months.