Central Administrative Tribunal - Jabalpur
Niranjan Singh Thakur S/O Late Shri ... vs Union Of India on 20 December, 2013
RESERVED
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL, JABALPUR BENCH,
CIRCUIT SITTING : GWALIOR
Original Application No.635 of 2010
Gwalior, this Friday, the 20th day of December, 2013
Honble Mr. Justice Dhirendra Mishra, Judicial Member
Honble Mr. G.P.Singhal, Administrative Member
Niranjan Singh Thakur S/o Late Shri Nirbhay Singh Thakur,
Aged about 56 years, Occupation Goods Train Driver in the
Office of Crew Controller Guna, R/o Veer Sawarkar Ward,
Near Higher Secondary School, Beena, at present Ghosipura,
Guna (M.P.) Pin Code-473001 - Applicant
(By Advocate Shri Lakhan Lal Goswami)
V e r s u s
1. Union of India, Through Secretary in
the administration of department of Railway Ministry,
Rail Bhawan, New Delhi, Pin-Code-110006.
2. The General Manager, West Central Railway, Indira Market,
Jabalpur (M.P.) Pin Code-482001.
3. The Senior DPO, West Central Railway,
Divisional Railway Managers office,
Habibganj, Bhopal (M.P.) Pin-Code-462001 -Respondents
(By Advocate Shri H.D.Gupta Sr. Advocate assisted by Shri S.R.Bade)
(Date of reserving the order : 18.12..2013)
ORDER
By Dhirendra Mishra, JM.-
Through this Original Application the applicant has prayed for the following reliefs:-
8. (i) The respondents may kindly be directed to determine the seniority of the applicant correctly and to grant him the consequential benefits thereof.
(ii) The respondents be further directed for pay fixation of the applicant and to consider his case for promotion of passenger train guard.
(iii) Directions may kindly be given to the respondents to make the payment of the amount of BOR and overtime allowance and the payment of TA advance which was unauthorisedly deducted and so also the payment of the amount which the applicant would be entitled after determination of his correct seniority and fixation of pay along with interest.
(iv) The applicant be also declared entitled for the payment of increments which he would have been entitled for but for the indifferent attitude of the respondents.
(v) A compensation of Rs.20,000/- be granted to the applicant for harassing the petitioner for such a long time. The cost of this application may also be awarded.
(vi) Any other relief which this Honble Tribunal deems fit and proper and which the facts and circumstances of the case warrants though not specifically prayed for may also be granted.
2. Shri Lakhan Lal Goswami, learned counsel for the applicant, at the outset, submitted that in view of the provisions of Rule 10 of the Central Administrative Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1987, he is not pressing the other reliefs claimed by the applicant in this Original Application, except the relief with regard to relief No.8 (i) i.e. for correctly fixing his seniority and granting him consequential benefits thereafter.
3. Learned counsel for the applicant vehemently argued that the applicant was initially appointed as Assistant Pointsman on 12.9.1977. Vide his application dated 22.01.1979, he requested the Station Master, Central Railway Bina, to appoint him as officiating Trains clerk and thereafter he was allowed to work and posted at Bina Yard as Train Clerk under the Station Master, Bina. Vide his application dated 19.3.1984 (Annexure A-2) the applicant requested the respondent-authorities to appoint him on adhoc basis on the post of Trains Clerk. His application was duly forwarded by the Chief Yard Master Bina. Later on, applicant submitted his option to be appointed as Guard C and to send him for Guards training on two occasions. In the meanwhile the applicant participated in the departmental examination for selection from Class-IV to Class-III in clerical grade and he was declared successful in the written test, the result of which was declared on 16.3.1989 (Annexure A-3), in which his name appears at serial No.13. In the said result it was further mentioned that posting order shall be issued separately. However no posting order was issued to the applicant, despite he submitted representation on 20.4.1989 (Annexure A-4) for positing him in non- personal clerical grade as Trains Clerk. Subsequently, seniority list of Trains Clerk was issued in Bhopal Division on 13.3.1990, however, the applicants name was not included in the list. The persons who were engaged in the year 1989 and who were junior to the applicant were promoted in the year 1992 vide Annexure A-8 as Senior Trains Clerks.
3.1 The applicant represented the matter before senior authorities, however, he was made permanent vide letter dated 04.6.1991 after change of cadre. The Sr. Divisional Operating Superintendent in his office note dated 22.3.1991 (Annexure A-5) mentioned that the applicant is working as Trains Clerk on adhoc basis since 20.12.1985 and has cleared the departmental examination for selection as Class-III employee, therefore he should be posted in the non-personnel cadre by changing his cadre as a junior most employee. He was also sent for Guard training course vide Annexure A-6 dated 25.7.1992.
3.2 On his representation of Annexure A-10, dated 20.05.1996, the Chief Personnel Officer, vide his office memo dated 17.06.1997 (Annexure A-11) recommended that the applicant should be assigned seniority along with others as he had earlier qualified as Junior Clerk and allowed to continue to work as TNC and there is no need for him to appear again for selection of TNC for which a panel was already declared in August, 1990 and his promotion etc. should be regulated accordingly.
3.3 In response to aforesaid letter of the Chief Personnel Officer, the Divisional Railway Manager vide his letter dated 17.7.1997 (Annexure A-12) revised the seniority of the applicant.
3.4 The applicant again submitted representation of Annexure A-13 dated 20.9.2004 for redressing his grievance with regard to seniority. However, during the pendency of above representation the new seniority list as of January 2005 (Annexure A-14) was published without correcting the position of the applicant. Thereafter, the applicant submitted further representations (Annexure A-15) and ultimately sent a legal notice of 28.06.2010 (Annexure A-16), however, when no action was taken the instant Original Application has been filed.
3.5 So far as contention of the respondents that the applicant himself submitted application of Annexure R-6 on 27.3.1991, for change of cadre, from non-personnel clerk to Trains Clerk and his positing at Bina is concerned, the applicant was compelled to apply for change of cadre as the respondents did not release him even after he was selected for the clerical grade. The applicant has been consistently representing his cause before the authority for correct determination of seniority and consequential benefits however the same has not been acceded to despite positive recommendations of the higher authority.
4. On the other hand learned counsel for the respondents submits that the instant Original Application is hopelessly barred by limitation, as the applicant has filed this Original Application after lapse of 22 years when the cause of action arose to the applicant. Applicant was promoted as adhoc Junior TNC on 20.12.1985 (Annexure R-1A) and thereafter he was promoted from the post of Pointsman B to Pointsman A in the year 1986 (Annexure R-2) and thereafter he was selected as Class-III employee and posted as a Junior Clerk vide order dated 12.06.1989 (Annexure R-4) under the D.E.E. (TRD) Bhopal. Subsequently, the applicant submitted applications dated 20.4.1989 (Annexures R-5) and Annexure R-6 for change of his cadre from engineering clerical cadre grade Rs.950-1500 RPS to Trains clerk Grade 950-1500 RPS with clear declaration to accept the bottom seniority in the cadre of TNC. The competent authority vide order dated 04.06.1991 (Annexure R-7) accorded sanction for the change of cadre from Telephone Clerk to Trains Clerk, with clear stipulation that the applicant shall rank junior most in the cadre of Trains Clerk in Bhopal Division. Since he was promoted as Pointsman-A grade in the year 1986, he was not entitled for seniority in the cadre of Trains Clerk, as he was never regularised/posted as Trains Clerk. Later on, the applicant applied for the post of Guard and he was selected and appointed as Goods Guard vide order dated 21.10.1997 (Annexure R-8) after completion of due training.
5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the pleadings of the respective parties and the documents annexed therewith.
6. Indisputably on applicants own application for change of cadre vide Annexures R-5 and R-6 the competent authority allowed the change of cadre from Telephone Clerk to Trains Clerk vide order dated 4.6.1991 (Annexure R-7) with the clear stipulation that the applicant shall rank junior most in the cadre of Trains Clerk in Bhopal Division. The applicant has never challenged the above order before any forum and the same has attained finality and, therefore, in our considered opinion the applicants claim for seniority as Trains Clerk from an earlier date, cannot be acceded to. The contention of the applicant that he applied for change of cadre under compelling circumstances as he was not relieved after his selection, as Group-C employee in the year 1990, cannot be accepted at this belated stage as the applicant had himself accepted the change of cadre in the year 1991 itself and later he had been extended the benefit of further training and promotion as Goods Guard. We also find substance in the contention of the learned counsel for the respondents that this Original Application for the relief claimed is highly belated and time barred.
7. Accordingly, we do not find any substance in this Original Application. The same deserves to be and is dismissed, however, without any order as to costs.
(G.P.Singhal) (Dhirendra Mishra) Administrative Member Judicial Member rkv 1 Sub: seniority after change of cadre OA 635/2010 Page 1 of 5