Central Administrative Tribunal - Bangalore
Manjunath Araleshwar vs D/O Posts on 19 March, 2024
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OA.No.170/00017/2022/CAT/BANGALORE
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
BANGALORE BENCH, BENGALURU
ORIGINAL APPLICATION NO.170/00017/2022
AND
MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATION NO.170/00020/2022
DATED THIS THE 19TH DAY OF MARCH, 2024
CORAM:
HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE S. SUJATHA, MEMBER (J)
HON'BLE MR. RAKESH KUMAR GUPTA, MEMBER (A)
Sri Manjunath Araleshwar
(Alias Manjunath R Araleshwar)
S/o Ramesh Araleshwar
Age: about 24 years,
Occ: Presently Private Service,
R/o: Akki-Alur 581 102,
Tq: Hangal, Dist: Haveri,
Karnataka State .... Applicant
(By Shri K. Govindaraj, Advocate)
Vs.
1. Union of India
Represented by its Secretary,
Ministry of Communication & Technology,
Sanchar Bhavan, 20 Ashoka Road,
New Delhi 110 001
2. Post Master General of India
Dak Bhavan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi 110 001
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OA.No.170/00017/2022/CAT/BANGALORE
3. Chief Post Master General
Karnataka, Palace Road,
Bangalore 560 001
4. Post Master General
North Karnataka Region,
Saptapur Road, Dharwad 580 001
5. Inspector of Posts,
Shiggaon Sub-Division,
Shiggaon, Haveri District 581 205 ... Respondents
(By Shri S. Prakash Shetty, Senior Panel Counsel - through video
conference)
O R D E R (ORAL)
PER: JUSTICE S. SUJATHA, MEMBER (J)
This application is filed by the applicant under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 seeking the following reliefs:
"1. Pass an appropriate order quashing the Office Order dated 10.04.2018 passed by Respondent No. 5 as per Annexure-A7.
2. Consequently, direct the respondents to reinstate the applicant to his original post with all consequential reliefs including continuity of service and arrears of salary/back wages.
3. Pass any other appropriate order in favour of the applicant to meet the ends of justice."3
OA.No.170/00017/2022/CAT/BANGALORE
2. Briefly stated the facts as narrated by the applicant are that pursuant to the notification dated 05.05.2016 published by the respondents calling applications for the post of Gramin Dak Sevak Mail Deliverer/Mail Carrier (GDS MD/MC), Sheshagiri BO account with Akkialur SO, the applicant submitted his application and got selected. Consequently, the applicant was issued with a provisional engagement order dated 22.07.2016. Later on, a fresh/revised provisional engagement order dated 11.01.2018 came to be issued to the applicant by withdrawing the earlier order dated 22.07.2016. Unfortunately, on 10.04.2018, Respondent No. 5 passed an order terminating the services of the applicant. Being aggrieved, the applicant has approached this Tribunal.
3. Learned counsel Shri K. Govindaraj representing the applicant submitted that the action of the respondents in terminating the services of the applicant is wholly arbitrary and discriminatory. The applicant was terminated without giving any prior notice and the reason assigned for termination that the applicant was appointed on temporary basis is arbitrary. Though the applicant has completed two years of service satisfactorily without any complaint, removing the applicant abruptly, without following the principles of natural 4 OA.No.170/00017/2022/CAT/BANGALORE justice, is unjustifiable. Accordingly, seeks for interference of this Tribunal.
4. Learned counsel Shri S. Prakash Shetty representing the respondents submitted that the applicant has approached this Tribunal with inordinate delay. On the ground of delay and laches alone, OA deserves to be rejected in limine. Learned counsel further submitted that one Shri Jagadeeshwar G. Gadadar, resident of Honkana Taluk, Hangal was engaged as GDS MD/MC, Sheshagiri Branch Post Office account with Akkialur SO provisionally vide memo dated 14.12.2005. He was placed under Put Off Duty (POD) (suspension) with effect from 22.10.2014 vide memo dated 22.10.2014 in contemplation of a disciplinary action. A charge sheet was issued to Shri Jagadeeshwar G. Gadadar vide Adhoc Disciplinary Authority (ADA) and Assistant Superintendent of Posts (ASP), Haveri Sub Division, Haveri vide memo dated 02.07.2015. Thereafter, Shri K. Balaraju, then ASP (HQ), Gadag Division was appointed as ADA. As such, Respondent No. 4 conveyed approval for filling up the vacant post of GDS MD/MC at Sheshagiri BO account with Akkialur SO under Haveri HO for operational reasons on provisional basis subject to guidelines issued in para 3 of 5 OA.No.170/00017/2022/CAT/BANGALORE Directorate letter dated 06.01.2012 and Circle Office letter dated 27.08.2014.
5. Accordingly, notification was issued, in response to which, screening committee selected the applicant provisionally for the post of GDS MD/MC, making it clear that the said post is provisional and temporary and is liable to be terminated by the appointing authority at any time without notice and without assigning any reasons. The revised provisional engagement order was issued clearly mentioning that the provisional engagement is tenable till the disciplinary proceedings against Shri Jagadeeshwar G. Gadadar, GDS MD/MC are finally disposed of and he has exhausted all channels of departmental and judicial appeals and petition etc., and in case it is finally decided not to take Shri Jagadeeshwar G. Gadadar, GDS MD/MC back into service, till regular engagement is made.
6. Final order in case of Shri Jagadeeshwar G. Gadadar was issued vide memo dated 02.04.2018 imposing the penalty of reduction of pay to a lower state of two stages for a period of four years with effect from 01.05.2018. Thereafter, SPO of Haveri Division instructed Respondent No. 5 to reinstate Shri Jagadeeshwar 6 OA.No.170/00017/2022/CAT/BANGALORE G. Gadadar as GDS MD/MC by terminating the provisionally engaged incumbent to the post of GDS MD/MC, revoking the suspension order of Shri Jagadeeshwar G. Gadadar, he was reinstated on 12.04.2018. The applicant's notice of termination of engagement was issued in consonance with Rule 8 (2) of Department of Posts, Gramin Dak Sevaks (Conduct & Engagement) Rules, 2011 ('Rules' for short). The representation submitted by the applicant has been considered and rejected. Learned counsel, thus, submitted that the engagement of the applicant has been made in accordance with Rule 8 of the Rules since he had not put in 3 years of service. Justifying the action of the respondents, learned counsel sought for dismissal of the OA.
7. We have carefully considered the submissions of the learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the material on record.
8. The applicant was provisionally engaged to the post of GDS MD/MC, Sheshagiri BO account with Akkialur SO vide letter of selection dated 06.06.2016 on provisional basis. It was made clear that the said provisional engagement is purely temporary and on contract basis and is liable to be terminated by the appointing 7 OA.No.170/00017/2022/CAT/BANGALORE authority at any time without notice and without assigning any reasons. In the revised provisional engagement order dated 11.01.2018, it was further made clear that the provisional engagement is tenable till the disciplinary proceedings against Shri Jagadeeshwar G. Gadadar, GDS MD/MC (POD), Sheshagiri BO account with Akkialur SO is finally disposed and he has exhausted all channels of departmental and judicial appeals and petition, etc., and in case it is finally decided not to take Shri Jagadeeshwar G. Gadadar as GDS MD/MC back into service, till regular engagement is made. It was further made clear that if it is decided to take back Shri Jagadeeshwar G. Gadadar, GDS MD/MC into service, the provisional engagement will be terminated without notice.
9. Rule 8 of the Rules provides for 1) the engagement of a Sevak who has not already rendered more than three years continuous service from the date of his engagement shall be liable to be terminated at any time by a notice in writing given either by the Sevak to the Recruiting Authority or by the Recruiting Authority to the Sevak; 2) the period of such notice shall be one month; provided that the service of any such Sevak shall be terminated forthwith and on such termination, the Sevak shall be entitled to claim a sum 8 OA.No.170/00017/2022/CAT/BANGALORE equivalent to the amount of Basic Time Related Continuity Allowance plus Dearness Allowance as admissible for the period of the notice at the same rates at which he was drawing them immediately before the termination of his service, or, as the case may be, for the period by which such notice falls short of one month.
10. As Shri Jagadeeshwar G. Gadadar was reinstated to the post of GDS MD/MC, Sheshagiri BO account with Akkialur SO, after final disposal of disciplinary proceedings initiated against him, the engagement of the applicant was terminated since he had not put in three years of service.
11. It is well settled that provisional engagement does not confer any right on the applicant to seek for regularisation and such provisional engagement could be terminated any time within three years of such service. The applicant, knowing well the conditions of provisional engagement, opted for appointment and now cannot challenge the order of termination on the ground that the said action is arbitrary and discriminatory. The conditions of appointment are binding on the applicant. No vested right being accrued to the applicant by such provisional engagement, termination order passed 9 OA.No.170/00017/2022/CAT/BANGALORE in accordance with Rules cannot be held to be irregular or illegal. We find no exception with the impugned order.
12. The applicant has approached this Tribunal with an inordinate delay of 401 days after deducting the period from 15.03.2020 to 02.10.2021 in terms of the order made by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Miscellaneous Application No. 665/2021 in SMW (C) No. 3/2020 during Covid-19. The explanation offered for the said delay of 401 days, in our considered view, is not satisfactory. We would have taken a lenient view if the applicant had merits in the main OA. Having analysed and found that the main OA is devoid of merit, MA No. 20/2022 filed by the applicant seeking for condonation of delay in filing the main OA deserves to be rejected.
13. In the result, OA No. 17/2022 and MA No. 20/2022 stand dismissed. No order as to costs.
(RAKESH KUMAR GUPTA) (JUSTICE S. SUJATHA)
MEMBER (A) MEMBER (J)
/ksk/