Recording Adverse ACR Against Govt Employee During COVID Medical Leave Is Arbitrary: J&KL High Court Quashes Performance Report

The Jammu & Kashmir High Court quashed a “below average” Annual Confidential Report (ACR) recorded against a government employee for the year 2020, observing that the entry was made while the petitioner was on sanctioned medical leave due to COVID-19.

A bench of Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal, Justice Rajesh Sekhri held that such an adverse remark, made without any observable basis of work performance or misconduct during the reporting period, is not only legally untenable but also violative of principles of natural justice and administrative propriety.

“When an employee is on sanctioned leave, particularly for medical reasons such as COVID-19, he or she is not actively discharging duties and therefore cannot be evaluated on performance metrics during that time,” the Court observed.

It further noted that the principles of fairness demand that any entry in the ACR that could adversely affect promotion or career advancement must be grounded in actual performance and must be duly communicated to the employee.

Citing the Supreme Court's decision in Dev Dutt v. Union of India [(2008) 8 SCC 725], the Court reiterated that even “average” entries require communication if they have a bearing on career progression, and hence a “below average” entry made without prior communication or representation opportunity was procedurally and substantively defective.

The petitioner had submitted that she was on duly sanctioned medical leave for a significant portion of 2020, yet her performance was graded “below average” without any substantiating material on record.

“The respondents appear to have mechanically recorded a below average rating without assessing whether she had an opportunity to demonstrate her performance,” the Court held, adding that such an action failed the test of fairness, non-arbitrariness, and application of mind.

The Court also took judicial notice of the extraordinary circumstances posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that many government employees were absent from work due to circumstances beyond their control.

It said that penalising an employee for sanctioned absence during a global health emergency violated principles of equity and humane administration.

The court said, “Recording a 'below average' ACR for the petitioner during her period of sanctioned medical leave for COVID-19 is patently unjustified, arbitrary, and legally unsustainable. The said adverse entry is liable to be set aside, and any reliance on it for denying her promotion is illegal and vitiates the entire process.”

APPEARANCE:

Case-Title: Baseer -Ul- Haq Hussami Vs UT OF J&K & Ors , 2025

Altaf Haqani, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Shakir Haqani, Adv.M.I.Qadiri, Sr. Advocate for Respondent Nos. 2 to 4

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