Rajasthan High Court: Employer Cannot Withhold MACP For Lost APARs

Jaipur, Nov 15 (KNN) The Rajasthan High Court has upheld an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) directing State authorities to grant Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) benefits to a government employee. 

The employee was earlier denied the benefit due to missing Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) and Annual Performance Appraisal Records (APARs).

A division bench comprising Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur and Justice Bipin Gupta held that maintaining APARs is the sole responsibility of the employer, and an employee cannot be deprived of statutory benefits for lapses beyond their control.

The case concerned a Sports Authority of India employee who became eligible for MACP after 20 years of service but was denied the benefit due to missing ACRs.

The employee approached CAT, which ruled in his favour, observing that under Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) guidelines, it is the employer’s duty to preserve and maintain APARs. CAT directed the State to extend the MACP benefit.

Challenging the decision, the State filed a petition before the High Court, which rejected the plea and upheld the Tribunal’s order. The Court noted that denying the benefit amounted to the employer taking advantage of its own failure to maintain mandatory records.

The bench stated that non-availability of APARs cannot be a valid ground to withhold financial upgradation under the MACP scheme, reaffirming that performance records fall within the exclusive domain of the employer.

(KNN Bureau)