Non-submission of online self-appraisal cannot automatically disqualify an employee from EPP financial upgradation.

The applicant, a retired SDO of BSNL, sought time-bound financial upgradation from the E-3 to E-4 IDA grade under the BSNL Executive Promotion Policy (EPP).

He voluntarily retired on 31 January 2020.

Although he claimed to satisfy the EPP requirement of five years’ regular service with requisite “Good” APARs, his case was not considered because he had not submitted his APAR self-appraisal online for specified periods in 2016–17 and 2017–18.

The applicant contended that, after his transfer from Jabalpur to Narsinghpur on 2 May 2017, technical and administrative difficulties in transferring his ESS/ERP service records prevented online submission of the APAR.

The General Manager, BSNL, Jabalpur recommended consideration of his manually submitted APAR.

The respondents maintained that the applicant had failed to comply with repeated instructions and extended deadlines for online APAR submission.

By order dated 4 September 2020, the respondents rejected his claim for EPP upgradation.

Whether an employee otherwise eligible for time-bound financial upgradation under the BSNL EPP can be denied consideration solely for failing to submit the online self-appraisal portion of his APAR?

Whether the respondents were required to complete and assess the applicant’s APAR under the applicable procedure, including consideration of his manual self-appraisal, before determining his eligibility for EPP upgradation?

The Tribunal applied the BSNL Executive Promotion Policy, under which eligible executives may receive time-bound upgradation to the next higher IDA scale based principally on prescribed performance ratings in the APAR/ACR record and other stipulated conditions.

It distinguished between an employee’s self-appraisal and the APAR itself, holding that non-submission of self-appraisal does not automatically extinguish the Reporting Officer’s duty to prepare the APAR under the applicable APAR procedure.

The Tribunal further relied on the principle in Dev Dutt v. Union of India, (2008) 8 SCC 725, that adverse ACR entries affecting promotion or service benefits must be communicated to the employee and accompanied by a fair opportunity of representation.

Accordingly, failure to submit an online self-appraisal could not be treated as an additional disqualification unless expressly prescribed by the EPP or binding instructions.

The Tribunal held that the substantive criterion under the EPP was the applicant’s assessed performance reflected in the prescribed APARs, not merely the technical mode by which his self-appraisal was submitted.

Even assuming that the applicant had failed to submit the online self-appraisal within time, the respondents were required to follow the applicable APAR procedure, permit the Reporting and Reviewing Authorities to prepare the assessment on the basis of available material, and then assess the applicant’s fitness under the EPP.

Since the respondents identified no express EPP provision making online self-appraisal an automatic condition precedent to financial upgradation, rejection of the applicant’s claim solely on that ground introduced an impermissible additional eligibility condition.

The Tribunal also considered that the applicant’s manual self-appraisal could have been taken into account while determining his suitability.

The respondents were directed to reconsider his case for E-3 to E-4 financial upgradation in accordance with the prescribed EPP eligibility conditions, after properly completing and assessing the APAR record.

If found fit and otherwise eligible from the due date, the applicant was to receive consequential benefits under the applicable rules and instructions.

The exercise was directed to be completed within 90 days from receipt of the order.

The Original Application was allowed, with no order as to costs.