Central Administrative Tribunal - Delhi
Kavindra vs Staff Selection Commission on 31 October, 2023
1 OA No.1834/2021
Central Administrative Tribunal
Principal Bench: New Delhi
OA No.1834/2021
MA No.2333/2021
Order reserved on: 20.09.2023
Order pronounced on: 31.10.2023
Hon'ble Mr. Manish Garg, Member (J)
Hon'ble Mr. Chhabilendra Roul, Member (A)
1. Kavindra
S/o Maha Singh
Aged 36 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o V&P- Budhpur, PS-Ramala
Teh-Baraut, Distt-Baghpat
Pin Code- 250623
2. Harsh
S/o Pawan Kumar
Age 23 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o WZ 188/8 Rishi Nagar Rani Bagh
North, West Delhi
Delhi
Pin Code-110034
3. Anurag Chaudhary
S/o Suresh Pal Singh
Age 23 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o V.P.O. Malendi, Tehsil-Shamli
2 OA No.1834/2021
Distt.- Shamli
Pin Code 247776
4. Santosh Meena
S/o Rauidutt Meena
Age 22 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o VPO Jeelo
Tehsil- Neemka Thana
Distt-Sikar (Rajasthan)
Pin Code- 332711
5. Arun Yadav
S/o Jagdish Yadav
Age 26 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o Vill & Post Bakharpur Baleni
Distt-Baghpat
Uttar Pradesh
Pin Code-250626
6. Neeraj Kumar Meena
S/o Ramesh Chand Meena
Age 22 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o VPO Surer, Tehsil-Rajgarh
Alwar, Rajasthan 301408
7. Abhishek Pawar
S/o Vidya Ram Panwar
Age 23 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o VPO Kakripur, Baghpat
3 OA No.1834/2021
Uttar Pradesh
Pin Code- 250623
8. Yogesh Kumar
S/o Bijender Singh
Age 22 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o VPO- Shidipur Lowa
Teshsil- Bahadurdarh Distt-Jhajjar
Haryana
Pin Code- 124507
9. Khushiram
S/o Krishan
Age 24 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o VPO Matan, Tehsil Bahadurgarh
Distt- Jhajjar, Haryana
Pin Code- 124501
10.Neekesh Kumar
S/o Rajendra Singh
Age 21 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o Vill Karbhana Post
Dhandhupura Tajganj
Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Pin Code-282006
11.Priyanka Baisoya
D/o Ajit Baisoya
Age 28 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o Vill- Sadopur Post- Dhoom Manikpur
4 OA No.1834/2021
Gautam Buddha Nagar,
Uttar Pradesh
Pin Code- 203207
12.Chahchal Nagar
D/o Udayveer Nagar
Age 25 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o Vill+ Post- Achheja, Dadri
Gautam Buddha Nagar
Uttar Pradesh
Pin Code-203207
13.Priya Chauhan
D/o Anil Chauhan
Age 24 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o Vill Sikhera
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
Pin Code- 250001
14.Shaily
D/o Ashok Kumar
Age 21 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o A-4/117, Brijpuri
Delhi-94
15.KM Shivani
D/o Vikram Singh
Age 25 Years
Group C
Designation: Constable (Executive)
R/o VPO Sarurpur Kalan
5 OA No.1834/2021
Patti Mulla, Bahgpat
Uttar Pradesh-250619
....Applicants
(By Advocate: Mr. Tanvir Ahmed Ansari)
Versus
1. Delhi Police
Through Commissioner of Police
Police Headquarters
Jai Singh Road
New Delhi-110001
2. Deputy Commissioner of Police/Recruitment Cell
New Police Line, Kingsway Camp,
New Delhi-110009
... Respondents
(By Advocate: Mr. Anuj Kumar Sharma)
6 OA No.1834/2021
ORDER
By Hon'ble Manish Garg, Member (J) MA No.2333/2021 This MA has been filed by the applicants under Rule 4 (5) of the Central Administrative Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1987, for joining together in single application. For the reasons mentioned therein and also in the interest of justice, MA is allowed.
OA No.1834/2021 By way of this Original Application (OA), filed under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, the applicants have prayed for the following relief(s):
"(a) Direct the Respondent no.2 to call upon the applicants for Physical Endurance and Measurement Test.
(b) Any other relief which the Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case."
2. The brief facts of the case, as projected by the applicants, are that the applicants applied for the post of Constable (Executive) Male and Female pursuant to the advertisement issued by the respondents on 01.08.2020, 7 OA No.1834/2021 thereby seeking applications from eligible candidates for the post of Constable (Executive), i.e., 1944 vacancies for Female and 3433 vacancies for Male.
2.1 The applicants appeared in the Written Examination held on different dates between 27.11.2020 to 16.12.2020 and were declared qualified.
2.2 Thereafter, respondent no.2 called upon the applicants for Physical Endurance and Measurement Test (PE&MT) on different dates between 28.06.2021 to 28.07.2021. They appeared before the officials of Delhi Police on their respective dates fixed for PE&MT. Since the applicants were unfit due to their medical conditions, they were asked to submit a representation with their medical report so that their PE&MT could be taken up on some other date as and when fixed.
2.3 All the applicants submitted their representation along with medical report to the Delhi Police officials on the venue of the Test. Thereafter, the respondents issued a notice in respect of the candidates who were Covid-19 8 OA No.1834/2021 positive at the time of PE&MT and they were called upon to appear in the PE&MT to be conducted on 07.08.2021. 2.4 It is pointed out that the cases of the applicants were similar to the candidates who were found Covid-19 positive but the respondents have called upon only the Covid-19 positive candidates and left out the applicants who were also not fit due to medical conditions. 2.5 The applicants are still awaiting call from the respondents for their PE&MT. It is pointed out that the days fixed for PE&MT are over and even the reserved days kept for PE&MT, i.e. 29.07.2021 and 07.08.2021 are also over.
2.6 Left with no alternative, the applicants have filed the instant OA, seeking the aforesaid relief. 2.7 In support of their contentions, learned counsel for the applicants has relied upon the decision of Hon‟ble High Court of Delhi in Vishesh vs. The Commissioner of Police and others, Neutral Citation No.2023:DHC:3170-DB where in similar circumstances the claim of the petitioner therein 9 OA No.1834/2021 was allowed. Relevant part of the order is reproduced below:
"9. Having heard the learned counsel for the parties and perusing the medical prescriptions enclosed alongwith the Writ Petition, we find that the petitioner could not appear in the Physical Endurance Test (PET) on March 15, 2023 because of the injury. Immediately on the same day, a request has been made by the mother of the petitioner. It is not disputed that a further date of April 28, 2023, was also fixed, for PET, but the petitioner could not appear as his request was not acceded to by the respondents, for the reasons already stated above. According to us, the Tribunal should have in the earlier round of litigation, knowing well that the next date of Physical Endurance Test (PET) is April 28, 2023, allowed the petitioner to participate in the same. Having not done that and the order which has been passed by the respondents rejecting the request of the petitioner to participate in the Physical Endurance Test (PET) on the ground that the date is final is prima facie not appealing. In the facts of this case, the respondents do not deny that the petitioner has suffered an injury. They also do not contest the medical prescriptions attached alongwith the Writ Petition. This Court is of the view that the respondents should be directed to allow the petitioner to participate in the Physical Endurance Test (PET) on the date when the Physical Endurance Test (PET) is to be held for departmental candidates, but in the manner required under the rules for the post to which the petitioner had applied, to enable the petitioner participate in the Physical Endurance Test (PET). This we say so, any delay may cause prejudice to the petitioner. We are told the dates are 9th, 10th and 11th of May, 2023. We accordingly, fix the date for participation of the petitioner in PET as May 11, 2023 at 6:00 am. The said Physical Endurance Test (PET) shall be supervised by the same Medical Board as is entitled to be supervised for the post concerned. The petitioner shall report to the concerned officer at 6:00 AM on May 11, 2023."
3. Pursuant to the notices issued by the Tribunal, the respondents entered appearance and filed their reply, 10 OA No.1834/2021 thereby vehemently opposing the OA. At the outset, it is submitted that para-11 of the e-Admit card for the PE&MT
- instructions to the candidates, clearly states that "The date, time and venue of PE&MT is final and no request for change will be entertained. In case a candidate FAILS to attend the PE&MT on the scheduled date & time, he/she will be treated as ABSENT and no request in any form for next date through post/by-hand/e-mail etc. will be entertained under any circumstances." Moreover, it is also pointed out that the process of PE&MT is over and the final result for the said recruitment has already been declared on 15.12.2021 by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and selected candidates have already joined the basic training for the post at Delhi Police Academy.
3.1 It is further submitted by the Learned Counsel for the respondents that no stage of the recruitment process can be held hostage due to personal difficulties of the applicants, otherwise the recruitment process would become an endless exercise.
3.2 It is submitted that Covid-19 is a contagious disease and the reason for carving exception for those candidates 11 OA No.1834/2021 suffering from it was to avoid other candidates contacting the disease from those who were positive. It was thus provided to avoid making the recruitment process into a super-spreader event and the benefit to the candidates concerned was only incidental.
3.3 On merits, it is submitted that the applicants were called for Computer Based Examination (CBE) for the post in question as per the schedule fixed between 27.11.2020 to 16.12.2020. SSC announced the result and all the applicants were declared qualified in the written examination. After that the applicants were called for PE&MT as per schedule fixed between 28.06.2021 to 07.08.2021. They have reported at the prescribed venue at the given time with their representations to postpone the PE&MT on medical grounds and to fix a new date for their PE&MT.
3.4 In this connection, it is submitted that the applications/representations received on various medical grounds or other ailments (i.e. fever/typhoid/vomiting/ fracture/swelling/sprained leg etc.) have been decided and filed with the approval of the Competent Authority. 12 OA No.1834/2021 However, being an exceptional pandemic, a decision was taken in respect of 416 candidates (306 Male & 110 Female) suffering from Covid-19 pandemic to allow them for PE&MT on the last day of PE&MT, i.e., 07.08.2021 by the Competent Authority.
3.5 It is further submitted that the process of PE&MT is over and the final result for the said recruitment has already been declared on 15.12.2021 by SSC and selected candidates joined basic training for the post in question at Delhi Police Academy. Further, the recruitment process is done as per rules/regulations and instructions on the subject and candidates are always informed about the instructions and rules vide advertisement and notices issued at different stages of the recruitment. Hence, the action taken by the respondents is legal and justified. 3.6 In view of the above submissions, the respondents have submitted that the OA is liable to be dismissed being devoid of merit.
13 OA No.1834/2021
4. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and carefully gone through the pleadings on record and also the written submissions filed by learned counsel for applicants.
5. Analysis:
5.1 We made an endeavor to find out nature of illness of each individual applicant/candidate by way of following Tabulated Chart :-
Sr Name of Applicant Medical Period of No. Reasons Illness w.e.f 1 Kavindra Injury on Foot 13.07.2021 to Knee Sprain 22.07.2021 10 days Page 150
2. Harsh Typhoid Fever 10 days Bed Rest from 01.07.2021
3. Anuragh Chaudhary Stone Pain 3 weeks rest from 18.06.2021 page 196
4. Santosh Meena Blunt Injury From 03.07.2021 15 days Bed Rest Page 153
5. Arun Yadav Ankle Twist 10 days bed Rest from 26.06.2021 page 180
6. Neeraj Kumar Meena Foot Injury Seven days Bed Rest from 05.07.2021 Page 177
7. Abhishek Pawar Illness 3 days rest from 26.06.2021 page 174 14 OA No.1834/2021
8. Yogesh Kumar Injury on foot 10 days Bed Rest from 30.06.2021 page 169
9. Khushi Ram Ill Health Seven days Bed Rest from 29.06.2021 page 168
10. Neekesh Kumar Ill health Two days rest from 08.07.2021 page 163
11. Priyanka Baisoya Shin Pain Two weeks Bed Rest from 05.07.2021 page 159
12. Chanchal Nagar Injury due right Bed Rest for foot due to 15 days from accident 07.07.2021 page 162
13. Priya Chauhan Illness Rest for 5 days from 19.07.2021 page 156
14. Shaily Leg tissue tore 15 days bed rest from 06.07.2021 page 193
15. K M Shivani Menstrual Seven days Female issues Bed Rest from 27.06.2021 page 188 5.2 We find that as per Annexure A-6 vide Notification issued by respondents, as a onetime measure, the candidates who were Covid-19 positive were allowed to appear in PE&MT for the post of Constable (Exe.) Male & Female in Delhi Police Examination-2020. The candidates were directed to report at Ground No.6, Police Training School, Jharoda Kalan, Delhi at 15 OA No.1834/2021 05.00 AM on 07.08.2021 for PE&MT. They were required to produce fresh RTPCR Negative Report (Covid-19) which should not be more than 72 hours old. Admit Card already issued to them will be valid for 07.08.2021 at Venue. 5.3 The applications/representations received on various medical grounds or other ailments (i.e. fever/typhoid/vomiting/ fracture/swelling/sprained leg etc.) have been decided and filed with the approval of the Competent Authority. However, being an exceptional pandemic, a decision was taken in respect of 416 candidates (306 Male & 110 Female) suffering from Covid- 19 pandemic to allow them for PE&MT on the last day of PE&MT, i.e., 07.08.2021 by the Competent Authority. Further, para-11 of the e-Admit card for the PE&MT - instructions to the candidates, clearly states that "The date, time and venue of PE&MT is final and no request for change will be entertained. In case a candidate FAILS to attend the PE&MT on the scheduled date & time, he/she will be treated as ABSENT and no request in any form for next date through post/by-hand/e-mail etc. will be entertained under any 16 OA No.1834/2021 circumstances." Moreover, it is also pertinent to mention that the process of PE&MT is over and the final result for the said recruitment has already been declared on 15.12.2021 by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and selected candidates joined basic training for the post at Delhi Police Academy.
5.4 Perusal of the above chart depicts that none of the candidates/applicants herein fall within the zone of consideration pursuant to above notification. None of the applicants suffered for aliment even remotely connected with Covid-19. It may be said that the above applicants were suffering from medical grounds for one or the other reasons. The nature of illness may vary from person to person. By joining together in present original application, by itself create doubt regarding genuineness of medical prescriptions. Illustratively, we observe that one of the candidates hailing from Jhajjar, Haryana has sought to rely upon medical prescription from Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Rohini, Delhi. We also observe that even though the applicant(s) who are residing far-flung from the Hospital/Doctor, yet they have been able to obtain the medical certificate for bed rest 17 OA No.1834/2021 ranging from 7 to 15 days, thus creating doubt regarding respective claims of illness.
5.5 However, a medical certificate is not an evidence without further proof, we are of opinion that the decision of the present case can also be examined by the rule of law laid down in 20 C.W.N. 520 (17) 4 A.I.R. 1917 Cal. 466 : 33 I.C. 316 : 20 C.W.N. 520 : 23 C.L.J. 423 : 17 Cr.L.J. 140, Mahabir Thakur v. Emperor. The same view has been taken in 16 Pat. 21 (37) 24 A.I.R. 1937 Pat. 467 : 170 I.C. 997 : 16 Pat. 21 : 18 P.L.T. 271 : 38 Cr. L.J. 1011, Kumar Choudhuri v. Emperor. There it was held that what Section 197, IPC contemplates is that the certificate should by some provision of law be admissible in evidence as such certificate without further proof. We are accordingly of opinion that both on a correct construction of Section 197 IPC itself and in view of the available authorities a medical certificate is not a certificate relating to any fact of which such certificate is by law admissible in evidence. We thus refrain from making any further observations qua such certificates being relied upon by the applicant(s) herein within our limited sphere of jurisdiction in present Original Application. Even otherwise, 18 OA No.1834/2021 the process of selection is already over and we cannot equate the cases of applicants herein with those candidates who were given the benefit of notification for Covid-19 cases, which was a onetime measure.
6. Conclusion:
6.1 In view of above analysis and discussions, we reject the present OA being devoid of merit.
6.2 Pending MA(s), if any, also stand dismissed.
6.3 No order as to costs.
(Chhabilendra Roul (Manish Garg) Member (A) Member (J) „SD‟