The Supreme Court on April 23 dismissed the appeal of Kerala cadre IAS officer Dr. Raju Narayana Swamy seeking promotion to the Chief Secretary grade.
The Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi agreed with the Kerala High Court’s earlier order, which denied the promotion. The core reason: Dr. Swamy did not meet the requirement of having 90% of his Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) completed — a mandatory condition for consideration.
“The petitioner is a senior civil servant. He would have been aware that 90% of his ACR was not available... The Screening Committee considered the case of the petitioner with the available records and found that performance was not satisfactory,”
— Kerala High Court, as quoted in the Supreme Court ruling.
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The High Court observed that the Screening Committee could not assess Dr. Swamy’s eligibility due to the lack of ACRs. Although Dr. Swamy claimed he had submitted a self-appraisal form, there was no evidence on record to support this. The court noted that it was Dr. Swamy’s responsibility to ensure his ACRs were available for consideration.
“Nothing prevents the petitioner from generating a self-appraisal form and making the complete ACR available before the Screening Committee... The non-inclusion of the petitioner was for want of ACR,”
— Kerala High Court.
Dr. Swamy, a 1991 batch IAS officer, had a long, unblemished service record. He first approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Ernakulam Bench, challenging the denial of promotion. The CAT upheld the state’s view and dismissed his plea.
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He then moved the Kerala High Court, arguing he was eligible for promotion based on 30 years of service and lack of adverse remarks in his record. However, the High Court ruled that without proof of 90% ACR completion, he was ineligible. It did, however, allow him to apply for promotion again after submitting the required ACRs.
Dissatisfied, Dr. Swamy approached the Supreme Court, which also declined to intervene.
“The present exercise cannot be interfered with... Nothing prevents the petitioner from moving the authorities for the preparation of his ACR and making a request for considering him for the promotion,”
— Supreme Court, quoting the High Court’s rationale.
Case Title: Raju Narayana Swamy vs. State of Kerala & Others (Civil Appeal No. 3215/2025)
