Central Administrative Tribunal - Jodhpur
Bal Kishan vs M/O Defence on 5 December, 2019
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CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
JODHPUR BENCH
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OA No.290/00441/2015 Pronounced on : 05.12.2019
(Reserved on : 04.12.2019)
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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. SURESH KUMAR MONGA, MEMBER (J)
HON'BLE MR. A MUKHOPADHAYA, MEMBER (A)
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1. Bal Kishan S/o Sh Puran Chand, aged about 35 years, R/o C/o 27
FAD C/o 56 APO PIN-909427. Presently working on the post of
Fire Engine Driver 'A' in the office of Commandant 27 FAD C/o 56
APO.
2. Lal Chand Kamboj S/o Sh. Puran Chand, aged about 32 years,
R/o C/o 27 FAD Co 56 APO PIN-909427. Presently working on the
post of Fire Engine Driver 'A' in the office of Commandant 27 FAD
C/o 56 APO.
...APPLICANTS
BY ADVOCATE : Mr. S.K. Malik
VERSUS
1. Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Sena
Bhawan, New Delhi.
2. Director General of Ordnance Services (OS-8C) MGO's Branch,
IHQ of MOD (Army) New Delhi.
3. Major General Army Ordnance Corps HQ's South Western
Command, Jaipur-908546 C/o 56 APO.
4. Officer-in-Charge Army Ordnance Corps Records, PIN-900453 C/o
56 APO.
5. Commandant 27 Field Ammunition Depot, PIN-909427 C/o 56
APO.
RESPONDENTS
BY ADVOCATE: Mr. B.L. Tiwari for 1-5.
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ORDER
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Per Hon'ble Mr. A Mukhopadhaya, Member (A):-
1. The brief facts of this Original Application, (O.A.), are that the applicants were initially appointed as Firemen with the respondent organisation and were later promoted as Fire Engine Drivers 'A', (FED 'A'). The applicants contend that thereafter the respondents detailed two Firemen junior to them, namely Shri Shish Ram and Shri Vijay Kumar for a General Course in Fire Fighting and Senior Fire Supervisor Courses to the Center for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety, DRDO, Ministry of Defence, Government of India Timarpur Delhi, (CFEES), ignoring the applicants. The applicants contend that taking this course is a prerequisite for further promotions and thus the respondents' aforementioned action denies them the opportunity for further advancement and is bound to lead to a situation in which the said juniors Shri Shish Ram and Shri Vijay Kumar eventually become senior to the applicants on promotion. The applicants represented several times requesting the respondents to send them also for the CFEES Course, but the respondents vide the impugned letter/order of 15.12.2014, (Annexure A1), rejected their representations and stated that while candidates are detailed for the CFEES Course on "centrally seniority basis" in respect of FED and LHF 'B', nevertheless, the said Firemen Shri Shish Ram and Shri Vijay Kumar had been detailed "directly by unit against vacancies released by Comd level" for the course in question.
2. Aggrieved by this, the applicants have now sought the following relief from this Tribunal:-
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"(i). By an appropriate writ order or direction impugned order dated 15.12.2014 at Annexure A1 so far not detailing the applicants for General Fire Fighting Course and Senior Fire Supervisor Course be declared illegal and be quashed and set aside.
(ii) By an order or direction applicants may be allowed to file joint application.
(iii) By an order or direction respondents may be directed to detail the applicants for General Fire Fighting Course and Senior Fire Supervisor Course at CFEES Timarpur New Delhi at an earliest and after completion of said courses entries may be made in the service record of the applicants.
(iv) Any other relief which is found just and proper be passed in favour of the applicants in the interest of justice."
3. In reply, the respondents contend that there is no order on record giving rise to any cause of action in this OA. Further they state that the applicants do not fall within the seniority zone for consideration of their candidature for any subsequent promotion. For both these reasons, the O.A. is premature. The respondents also aver, (Para 4.7 of reply to OA refers), that the CFEES course in question is not a prerequisite under the relevant service rules for subsequent promotion. They also state that, as mentioned in the impugned order, they have been sending eligible persons for this course strictly in accordance with seniority (Para 4.9 of reply to OA refers), and reiterate that the persons named by the applicants, i.e. Shri Shish Ram and Shri Vijay Kumar were sent for this course by their respective units against vacancies released for/by Command Headquarters, (Para 4.6 of reply to OA and impugned order at Annexure A1 refer). The respondents accordingly plead that the OA be dismissed.
4. Heard learned counsels for the applicants and the respondents and perused the record available. In their arguments, learned counsels 4 for the applicants and the respondents reiterated the arguments made in the OA and its reply respectively.
5. Learned counsel for the applicants also drew this Court's attention to the impugned order of 15.12.2014, (Annexure A1), and reiterated that the respondents, while stating on the one hand that employees are being detailed for the CFEES Course on "centrally seniority basis", nevertheless admit in the same order that Shri Shish Ram and Shri Vijay Kumar, whose juniority vis-à-vis the applicants has not been disputed, were detailed directly for this course by their Units against vacancies released by command level. He argued that this is in direct violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.
6. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondents pointed out that the applicants are presently working as FED 'A' and for promotion to the next higher post of FED 'B', and even thereafter for promotion to the post of Fire Master, the CFEES course in question is not a prior requirement and the applicants are under a misconception about the qualification requirements for such promotions; (Para 5 of reply to OA also refers).
7. In rebuttal, learned counsel for the applicants reiterated the argument advanced in his rejoinder to the reply to the OA and pointed out that one of the applicants has already been promoted as FED 'B' while the second applicant is likely to be promoted soon and that as per SRO 93, (Annexure A6), i.e. the rules relating to recruitment and promotion, further promotions will become difficult for the applicants seeing that it will be observed at that point that they have not undertaken the CFEES course. Learned counsel for the applicants stated that the applicants would be satisfied if a direction was given to 5 the respondents to enable them to participate in the next available CFEES Course.
8. A perusal of the record in this case validates the contention of the applicants that while on the one hand the respondents aver that personnel are detailed for this CFEES Course on some kind of central seniority basis, ('Annexure A1 refers'), they nevertheless effectively admit in the impugned order itself that this system has been breached by the nomination of the said Shri Shish Ram and Shri Vijay Kumar, (whose juniority vis-à-vis the applicants has not been disputed), by the unit directly for this course. It is also observed that Shri Shish Ram is shown in the impugned order as belonging to the 27 FAD Unit to which both applicants who are senior to him also belong; ('Annexure A1 refers'). This contradicts the contention of the respondents that they are detailing personnel in the CFEES course on some kind of central seniority basis.
9. Again, while the reply to the OA filed by the respondents, (Para 5 refers), states that personnel who are likely to be considered for promotion to Station Officer are detailed for the courses named in the recruitment Rules of 2006 as per seniority on meeting certain standards of assessment in their APAR. This is clearly at variance with the impugned order which appears to suggest that only some kind of central seniority is the yardstick for deputation to such courses. In any case, the impugned order makes no mention of the applicants being overlooked or rejected for nomination to the CFEES course on account of their APARs not being up to the mark.
10. Given the foregoing position, it is our finding that the impugned order at Annexure A1 is both unclear and self contradictory and prima 6 facie arbitrary in that it gives no valid reason for overlooking the claims of the applicants for being sent for the CFEES course when their seniority vis-à-vis Shri Shish Ram and Shri Vijay Kumar, who have been deputed for this course, has not been disputed and the respondents contend that they make this deputation on the basis of seniority.
11. The OA therefore succeeds. The respondents are directed to detail the applicants for the next available General Fire Fighting Course and Senior Fire Supervisor Course at CFEES Timarpur New Delhi.
12. There will be no order as to costs.
(A MUKHOPADHAYA) (SURESH KUMAR MONGA) MEMBER (A) MEMBER (J) //SV//