Central Administrative Tribunal - Delhi
Sh Niranjan Singh Dhama vs Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd on 4 February, 2020
1 OA No-189/2015
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH
OA No-189/2015
MA No-134/2015
MA No-159/2018
New Delhi, this the 04th day of February, 2020
Hon'ble Mr. Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, Chairman
Hon'ble Mr. A.K. Bishnoi, Member (A)
1. Sh. Niranjan Singh Dhama, 60 years
S/o late Sh. Gangai Sahai
R/o III-E-156, Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad, UP
Retired from the post of Divisional Engineer
At Advance Level Telecom Training Center (ALTTC)
Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
2. Sh. Ram Autar, 60 years
S/o Sh. Dhani Ram Singh
R/o House No. H-255, Sector-23
Sanjay Nagar, Ghaziabad, UP
Retired from the post of DGM
At BSNL Corporate Office, New Delhi.
3. Sh. Bal Kishan, 60 years
S/o late Sh. Ram Sahai
R/o House No. 377, Sector-2
Chiranjeev Vihar, Ghaziabad, UP
Retired as Deputy General Manager
At BSNL, Corporate Office, New Delhi.
4. Sh. Jai Prakash Chandra, 62 years
S/o Sh. Ramesh Chandra Goel
R/o House No. 648, Bhagirathi Block
Mahagunpuram, NH-24m Ghaziabad, UP
Retired from the post of Divisional Engineer
At Advance Level Telecom Training Center(ALTTC)
Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
5. Sh. Rajeshwar Kumar, 61 years
S/o Amar Nath
R/o House No. 262, Parmanand Colony
2 OA No-189/2015
Delhi-110009
Retired from the post of Divisional Engineer/AGM
At BSNL Corporate Office, New Delhi.
6. Sh. Charan Singh, 58 years
S/o late Sh. Mangat singh
R/o B-75, HIG Duplex
Sector-23, Sanjay Nagar, Ghaziabad, UP
Working at the post of DGM
At BSNL Corporate Office, New Delhi.
... Applicants
(None present)
Versus
1. Union of India
Through Secretary
Department of Telecommunication
Sanchar Bhawan, 20, Ashoka Road, Delhi-110001.
2. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)
Through its Chairman cum Managing Director
Corporate Office, Bharat Sanchar Bhawan
Janpath, New Delhi-110001.
3. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)
Through its Assistant General Manager (Pers-I)
Corporate Office, Personnel-I Section
Bharat Sanchar Bhawan
Janpath, New Delhi-110001.
4. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)
Through its Chief General Manager
Advance Level Telecom Training Center(ALTTC)
Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
... Respondents
(through Sh. Subhash Gosain for R. No. 1 and Sh. R.V. Sinha
with Sh. Amit Sinha for BSNL)
3 OA No-189/2015
ORDER(ORAL)
Hon'ble Mr. Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, Chairman The applicants were the employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). They were extended the benefit of time bound promotion while in service. The grievance of the applicants is that several officers, who were junior to them, in the post of Divisional Engineer (DE), were drawing higher scales of pay and despite repeated requests, their pay scale was not upgraded. In this OA, the applicants seek the relief of upgradation of their pay scale, to be on par with their juniors, in the post of Sub Divisional Engineer (SDE). The applicants have furnished detailed particulars of their service and the dates on which they have been extended the benefit of the time bound promotion. It is stated that the salary that was being paid to them is far less than what was paid to their juniors in the post.
2. First respondent filed a detailed counter affidavit. It is stated that under the time bound promotion scheme, it is mandatory that an officer must have undergone the training and none of the applicants had undergone the training when the benefit of time bound promotion was extended to them. It is stated that, even while such a promotion is granted, financial benefits cannot be granted 4 OA No-189/2015 unless the training is completed and that, in turn, would have the effect on the pay structure.
3. There is no representation for the applicants. Since, this is one of the oldest cases and has undergone 38 adjournments by this time, we have taken recourse to Rule 15 of the CAT (Procedure) Rules, 1987 and perused the record. We have also heard the arguments of Sh. Subhash Gosain, learned counsel for respondent no. 1 and Sh. R.V. Sinha, learned counsel for BSNL.
4. The applicants, no doubt, were senior to some of the DEs. Many such officers were extended the benefit of time bound promotion. The record discloses that though time bound promotion was extended to the applicants, they did not complete the mandatory training. The other officers, who were junior to the applicants, were extended the full benefit of pay scale, because they completed the training.
5. Across the bar, learned counsel for the respondents has brought to our notice an important development. It is stated that, the seniority of the applicants was fixed on the basis of the judgment of the Ernakulam Bench of this Tribunal, which in turn, was affirmed by the Hon'ble High Court of Kerala, and that the same has been since revised.
5 OA No-189/2015
6. Therefore, we do not find any merit in the OA, and accordingly, the same is dismissed.
Pending MAs, if any, shall also stand disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs.
(A.K. Bishnoi) (Justice L. Narasimha Reddy) Member (A) Chairman /ns/