Judgment P. K. Mishra and B. K. Roy, JJ. 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned councel for the State. 2. The petitioner is a seargent Major in the Police Establishment of the state of Bihar. He is eligible for promotion as Dy. S. P. in the Bihar Police service. It is stated that his name has been recommended for such promotion but according to him be has been subjected to a departmental proceeding just on time so that the pendency of the proceeding may be used as a ground to deny to him his due promotion. 3. There are serious allegations of mala fide, replied to and again reasser-ted. We do not propose to exemine these allegation. We however, feel that once the petitioner has been released from suspension, which fact is not in dispute and his case has been recommended for promotion to the Bihar Police service, pendency of the departmental proceeding should not be allowed to be used as a weapon to withhold the promotion. If otherwise available to the petitioner. 4. Without prejudice therefore either of the proceeding or the rights of the petitioner to contest the validity or otheewise of such proceeding and without saying one way or the other to the correctness or otherwise of the charges levelled against the petitioner, we do hereby order that the petitioners case for promotion shall be considered without taking into consideration the pendency of the proceeding in question and petitioners promotion shall not be withhold on the ground of such pendency of the proceeding. The Proceeding however shall continue and shall be finally disposed of one way or the other as a result of the proceeding, however, in the event of any punishment awarded to the petitioner, appropriate action may be taken against him. 5. With the direction as above, this application in disposed of. Decided accordingly.