Orissa High Court Orders Fresh Look at Judicial Officer's Adverse CCR After Disciplinary Penalty Was Quashed

The petitioner joined service as a Civil Judge (Junior Division) in 1997 and was Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court until 14 February 2021. The then Chief Justice, who assumed office on 4 January 2021, recorded adverse remarks for the 42 days from 4 January to 15 February 2021 (paras 25, 28). No entry was made for 17 February to 26 July 2021, and the Administrative Judge of Kalahandi graded him ‘Good’ for 30 July to 31 December 2021 (para 25). The Full Court approved an overall grading of ‘Average’ for 2021 by a resolution of 23 August 2022 (para 26), and his representations were rejected.

A Division Bench of Justices Manash Ranjan Pathak and Sibo Sankar Mishra noted that a minimum of four months is required for a CCR assessment under Clause 5(a) of the GRCO, as held in Malaya Ranjan Dash (para 29), but declined to decide whether that procedure had been strictly followed (para 33). It found no fault with the then Chief Justice's assessment, which rested on the record of a departmental proceeding involving serious charges then before him (paras 30, 33). That proceeding, and the punishment imposed in it, were quashed on 27 May 2026 in W.P.(C) No. 9958 of 2024. The adverse materials, "having failed to withstand the scrutiny of law are washed away", so the foundation of the entry no longer survived (para 30). The entire matter therefore had to be reviewed in the light of that judgment (para 33). The Registrar General was directed to place the petitioner's representations of 2 December 2022 and 17 August 2023 before the Chief Justice to decide whether the matter should go to the Full Court for expunging the adverse remark; the Court expected the exercise to be concluded within one month (para 34).