Central Administrative Tribunal - Delhi
Dr Shyam Narayan Jha vs M/O Agriculture on 13 January, 2020
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OA No.109/2020
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH
O.A. No. 109/2020
New Delhi, this the 13th day of January, 2020
Hon'ble Mr. Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, Chairman
Hon'ble Mr. Pradeep Kumar, Member (A)
Dr. Shyam Narayan Jha,
Asstt. Director General, Group „A‟
Aged 56 years,
S/o Shri Harishchandra Jha,
R/o F-204, Central Govt. Residential Complex,
Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg,
New Delhi-110 002.
.. Applicant
(By Advocate: Shri S.K. Pandey)
Versus
1. Union of India
Through its Secretary,
Department of Agriculture Research
and Education,
Ministry of Agriculture,
Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi.
2. Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board
Through its Secretary,
Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan-I,
Pusa, New Delhi-110012.
.. Respondents
(By Advocate: Dr. L.C. Singhi)
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OA No.109/2020
O R D E R (ORAL)
Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, Chairman The Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB), the 2nd respondent herein, issued a Notification proposing to select candidates for various posts, including different categories in the field of Agricultural Research. The applicant is working as Assistant Director General (Processing Engineering) in the ICAR, New Delhi. He submitted applications in respect of three such posts. He made an application to the Administrative Head, for issuance of No Objection Certificate (NOC).
2. The applicant contends that he did not enclose copies of various certificates to the applications submitted to the ASRB, in view of the fact that all such enclosures are filed alongwith the application for the purpose of obtaining NOC. He contends that once the entire record is enclosed to the application for NOC, there is no necessity to repeat the same exercise in respect of individual applications.
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3. The grievance of the applicant is that the 2nd respondent is not considering his candidature for the posts applied for by him, on the ground that he did not file necessary certificates along with the applications.
4. The O.A. was initially listed on 10.01.2020, and we requested the learned standing counsel for the respondents, to obtain instructions in this behalf.
5. Today, we heard Shri S.K. Pandey, learned counsel for the applicant and Dr. L.C. Singhi, learned counsel for the respondents, in detail and perused the record.
6. The Notification is in respect of quite large number of posts in the field of Agricultural Research. All of them are of very senior and higher categories. In the Notification itself, it is clearly mentioned that the application must be accompanied by the relevant certificates. Clause V of the Notification reads as under:
"DOCUMENTS TO BE APPENDED The candidates should attach self-attested copies of documents as specified in the application form. Applicants belonging to SC/ST/Divyang categories must attach self 4 OA No.109/2020 attested copy of relevant caste/category certificate issued by the competent authority.
Candidates should ensure submission of only authentic documents, originals of which will be verified at the time of the interview, in case the candidate is shortlisted for interview. Any non-compliance may result in rejection of the application."
7. Admittedly, the applicant did not enclose any certificates, whatever, with the applications. The justification sought to be put forward is that, he has enclosed all such certificates in the context of obtaining the NOC. According to him, the certificates are required to be filed in parts A and B, for the purpose of obtaining NOC; and in that view of the matter, there is no need to repeat this exercise.
8. We are not inclined to accept this plea. The reason is that there is absolutely no relation between the application for obtaining NOC, on the one hand, and in the applications for selection to various posts, on the other hand. The NOC is required to be issued by the employer or the immediate superior. Except that, it indicates that the Organisation, where the applicant is working, has no objection for his taking part in the selection process. The NOC has no other purpose to 5 OA No.109/2020 serve. It does not certify the social, executive or other status of a candidate.
9. Once the ASRB has made it clear that the copies of the documents are to be enclosed with the application, the applicant cannot overcome that. The selections relate to very senior posts and even a small lapse will entail serious consequences.
10. We do not find any merit in the O.A. and, accordingly, the same is dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs.
(Pradeep Kumar) (Justice L. Narasimha Reddy) Member (A) Chairman /jyoti/