In Brief
An IFS officer challenged the sealing of his DPC promotion results while facing corruption charges related to alleged contradictory reports on a golf course in forest land. The Supreme Court held that a prosecution is 'pending' for sealed cover purposes only when a charge-sheet is filed in court, not during investigation. Since the CBI charge-sheet was filed before the DPC meeting, the sealed cover was justified. However, the Court found no review had been conducted in nine years despite mandatory six-monthly reviews. Noting that the forest land had been delisted and underlying allegations were substantially resolved, the Court partly allowed the appeal and directed reconsideration for ad-hoc promotion within one month.
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