Central Administrative Tribunal - Delhi
Unknown vs Chief Secretary on 18 February, 2011
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH
ORIGINAL APPLICATION NO.1233 of 2009
New Delhi, this the 18th day of February, 2011
CORAM:HONBLE MR. JUSTICE S.D.ANAND, MEMBER(J)
HONBLE DR.(MRS.) VEENA CHHOTRARAY, MEMBER(A)
Ram Narain son of Shri Bhagirath, Drawing Instructor, Working under Directorate of Training & Technical Education, Muni Maya Ram Marg, Pitampura, Delhi.
Ashok Kumar Sharma son of Shri F.C.Sharma, C.I.Turner, 1, Type III, ITI Shahdara, Staff Qtrs. D-95.
Ashok Kumar Sharma son of Shri S.C.Sharma, C.I.Electrician, C-63. Sector 9, Vijay Nagar, Gaziabad, U.P.
K.K.Jaiswal son of Late Shri Ram, C.I.Tool & Die, 1/11445, Gali No.2, Subhash Park Extn. Shahdara, D-32.
Rajbir Singh son of Shri Durg Singh, C.I.Machinist, D-72, Budh Vihar Gali, Kondli, D-96.
Ishwar Singh son of Shri Jagvir Singh, C.I.Electronics, E-73, Ganga Vihar, Delhi-94.
Karan Singh son of Shri Ram Phal, C.I.Millwrit, 618, Ravidas Gali, Pandav Raod, Vishwas Ngr., Shahdara, D-92.
R.Badrinath son of Shri V.Rajagopalan, C.I.Fitter, Royal Villa-III, 2/104/102, Rajendra Nagar, Shahibabad, Gaziabad, UP 201003
S.P.S.Malik, son of Shri Dilbagh Singh, C.I.Machinist, 1060/1, Pana Paposian Narela, D-40.
Sunit Kumar son of Late Tirath Dass, C.I.Ref. & A/c, B-182, G-Floor, Shivaji Vihar, N.D.-27.
Dalbir Singh son of Shri Om Kumar, C.I.Millwright, VPO Murthal, Sonepat, Haryana.
Krishan Lal Chawla, son of Late Sh.Harbhagwan Chawla, C.I., GH-14/335, Paschim Vihar, N.D.-87.
Rakesh Kumar Gaur son of Shri Babu Lal Gaur, C.I.Wireman, 84-C, D-II, Kondli Gharoli, DDA Flats, D-91.
Shiv Kumar son of Shri Gjohari Lal, C.I.Fitter, 735-E, Lohia Gali, Babar Pur, Shahdara, Delhi-32.
Subhash Chand son of Sh.Mohan Dabral, C.I.Fitter, 155, Pratap Khand, Vishwakarma Nagar, D-95.
Narender Kumar son fo Shri Bhagwan Dass, C.I.Wireman, C-47, Gali No.6, Wzirabad Village, Delhi-84.
Kishori Lal son of Late Sh.Narpat Ram, C.I.Plumber, H.No.2, Block-D, Vinod Nagar, D-92.
P.N.Tiwari son of Sh.M.N.Tiwari, C.I.Welder, Q.No.26, Type III, ITI Shahdara Staff Qtrs. D-95.
Ajay Kumar son of Shri Gauri shankar, C.I.Painter, C-2/11, Dayalpur, D-94.
Narender Kumar Bedi son of Shri (Late) R.R.Bedi, C.I.Turner, D-2/18/5, DLF Dilshad Ext.II, Bhopura, UP.
Nirmal Sharma son of Shri B.R.Bhardwaj, C.I.Electronics, 83, Bahubali Enclave, D-92.
Rajesh Kumar son of v.P.Singh, C.I. ITE & SM, E-103, Mangal Apartment, Vasundhara Enclave, D-96.
Shakuntla son of Late Sh.Surta Ram, C.I. DD, G-167, A/5, Dilshad Colony, D-95.
Ravinder Singh Upreti son of J.R.Upreti, C.I.Machinist, 2/12, Type III, Aryabhat Enclave, Ashok Vihar, Ph.III, N.D. 52.
Veena Ahlawat , C.I.Emb., 59, C Pocket-C, MIG Flats, Ashok Vihar, D-52.
Santosh Kumari , C.I.DD, F-8, Rose Apartment, Sec-14, Delhi-85.
Suresh Kumar son of Shri Gyan Chand, C.I.Interior Decorator, 997, VPO Ghewra, Delhi-81.
Mukesh Kumar Sharma son of Late Shri Jai Kishan Sharma, C-9, Pink Appt., Sector 13, Rohini, D-63.
Kashmiri Lal son of Shri R.L.Dhanwaria, C.I.Painter, 557, E Block, Madipur Colony, N.D.-63.
D.K.Tyagi son of Shri Khem Chand Tyagi, C.I.Auto Elect. 2/14, Aya Bhatt Enclave, Ashok Vihar, Ph.III, Delhi.
Amar Pal son fo Shri Natthi Ram, C.I.D/M/C, 851, Sector 31, Faridabad, Haryana.
R.K.Sharma son of Shri R.A.Sharma, C.I.D/M/M, 567, Sector 29, Faridabad, Haryana.
Dalip Singh Chauhan son of Shri Kishan Lal, C.I., 15/433, Panchwati Colony, Palwal, Distt. Palwal, Haryana.
Kamal Mohan Sharma son of Shri K.L.Sharma, C.I. Millwright, L-121, Sarojini Nagar, N.D.23.
Ganga Sharan son of Shri Baldev Singh, C.I., F-18/22, IInd Floor, Sect. 15, Rohini, N.D. 85.
Ashok Kumar Sharma son of Shri S.K.Sharma, C.I., C-12/92, Yamuna Vihar, D-53.
Khem Chand Rarwat son of Shri Har Chand, C.I.Fitter, 337/28/20(B.K.-115) Kumhar Prajapati Mohalla, Tughalkabad Village, N.D. 44
Virender Singh Rajput son of Shri Hukam Singh, C.I., B-146, Brij Vihar, Sect. 8A, Ghaziabad, UP
N.K.Srivastava son of Late Shri Ram Chandra lal, C.I. F-19/GB Pant Polytechnic Staff Campus, Okihla, N.D. 20.
Ghan Shyam Gwari son of Late Sh.Ravi Dutt, C.I, 19/III, Meera Bai Polytechnic Campus, Maharani Bagh, N.D.
Shyam Lal Sharma son of Shri Nathu Ram Sharma, C.I., 1717/29, Surat nagar, new Rly. Station, Gurgaon, Haryana 122 021
Rajender Singh Thapa son of Shri Late Birbal Singh Thapa, C.I., 157, Kavita Colony, Nangloi, D-41.
Pradeep Kumar Bisht son of Shri D.S.Bisht, C.I. Engg. Drg. A-3/344, Paschim Vihar, N.D.63.
Satish Kumar Gaba son of Ram Kishan Gaba, C.I.Ref. & A/C., D-737, PNB Street, Nai Basti, Main Chownk, Nangloi, D-41.
Anil Malik son of Shri Prem Singh Malik, C.I.Turner, 192, MIG Flats, Shiv Mandir Road, Madi Pur, N.D.64.
APPLICANTS
BY ADVOCATE: MS. MEENU MAINEE
VERSUS
Chief Secretary, Govt. of NCT Delhi Secretariat, ITO Delhi.
Secretary, Directorate of Training & Technical Education, Muni Maya Ram Marg, Pitampura Delhi.
RESPONDENTS
BY ADVOCATE: SMT. P.K.GUPTA
ORDER
HONBLE MR. JUSTICE S.D.ANAND, MEMBER(J):-
There has to be, by the very nature of things, a cut-off date in the context of an administrative order, be it for the grant of pecuniary benefits or any other like eventuality. That cut-off date, it is to state the obvious, must have an announced intelligible rationale with the fixture thereof or grant. These observations we make when we are in the process of adjudication of a similar controversy in this OA.
2. Facts, relevant for adjudication, in the first instance.
3. The Employees Union of the Industrial Training Centre and the General Secretary thereof filed OA NO.1950/1998 to obtain a direction to the respondents (Government of NCT of Delhi and the Directorate of Technical Education) to implement the uniform staffing pattern for Industrial Training Institutes and Centers with effect from 1988, with consequential benefits.
4. That OA came to be disposed of by a Coordinate Bench of this Tribunal, vide order dated 1.1.2001,with directions which are extracted herein:
8. We dispose of this O.A. by calling upon respondents in consultation with Government of India to implement a uniform staffing pattern for all the ITIs within NCT of Delhi if not all at once, then in stages keeping in view the best interest of the trainees as well as the legitimate aspirations of the employees, and having regard to the surrounding facts and circumstances, not least the financial implications of any decision which would be taken. These directions should be implemented as expeditiously as possible and preferably within six months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. No costs.
5. It would, thus, be apparent from a perusal of the above-extracted portion that the respondents therein had been directed to implement a uniform staffing pattern for all the ITIs within the NCT of Delhi. The further direction was that if the implementation of the uniform staffing pattern could not be done at once, then it could be done in stages keeping in view the best interests of the employees as well as the legitimate aspirations of the employees, and having regard to the surrounding facts and circumstances, not least the financial implications of any decision which would be taken. The directions were to be complied within six months from the date of receipt of a copy of that order.
6. It is beyond the pale of controversy that the order aforementioned has been complied with as the new staffing pattern has been announced.
7. The only grievance of the applicant herein is that the implementation thereof ought to have been ordered with effect from 28.08.2003 and not with effect from 27.07.2007.
8. While conceding the other factual averments, the only explanation offered on behalf of the respondents (in the context of the plea with regard to the date of implementation) is that the delay occurred on account of the fact that the relevant rules had to undergo a change. That exercise, it is averred, required consultation/concurrence of various authorities and it could come about only after lot of delay. For facility of reference, the relevant averments made by the respondents are extracted hereunder:
1.7 That the contents of the para No.1.7 of the OA, besides abolition of the post of Supervisor Instructor in the scheme of New Staffing Pattern, the nomenclature of the post of Foreman was also changed to Group Instructor etc. Consequent upon the above changes in the New Staffing Pattern, certain amendments in the RRs of the post of erstwhile Foreman Instructor had become necessary. The department moved a proposal to this effect to the Services department, GNCT of Delhi in the month of September, 2003, who after protracted correspondence for two years, had accepted the same with slight modifications and had conveyed their concurrence on 05.08.2005.
The proposal was further got approved by the Ld. Chief Secretary of GNCT of Delhi, Honble Chief Minister of Delhi and Lt. Governor on Delhi on the advice of the Services Department.
Being a Group B post, the concurrence of the UPSC was also must. Accordingly, the approved amendments were moved to the UPSC for its concurrence on 28.10.2005 and reminder on 2.12.2005.
The UPSC, vide letter dated 08.12.2006, advised the department that the RRs for the proposed feeder post of Craft Instructor etc. is required to be finalized in the first instance, because the RRs for the higher post cannot be finalized in isolation without finalizing the RRs for the lower post. Therefore, immediately upon notifying the RRs for the feeder post, a copy of the same may be forwarded to the UPSC.
On the advice of the UPSC a proposal for amendment in the RRs to the post of Craft Instructors etc. in the pay scale of Rs.5000-8000 were moved to the Services Department on 23.02.2006 and after protracted correspondence, the Services Department approved the amendments on 31.05.2006. These amendments were sent to Honble Ltd. Governor of Delhi for approval on 10.10.2006. The observations dated 20.10.2006 and 02.02.2007, raised by the Additional Secretary to Honble Lt. Governor of Delhi were clarified by the Services Department on 08.12.2006 and 16.03.2007 respectively and the file was re-submitted to Honble Governor of Delhi for approval of the amendments on 29.03.2007. The Honble Lt. Governor of Delhi finally approved the amendments approved by the Services Department on 04.04.2007.
The approved amendments in the RRs to the post of Craft Instructors etc. were notified on 24.04.007 and the copy of notified RRs was sent to the UPSC on 24.04.2007 and the copy of the notified RRS was sent to the UPSC on 24.04.2007 as desired by them.
The UPSC finalized the RRs for the post of Group Instructor etc. and forwarded the same to the department vide their letter dated 18.06.2007, which were notified on 03.07.2007.
It is evident from the position explained herein above that it took a considerable time to notify these RRs as many agencies/departments were involved and without the above amendments it was not possible to extend the benefits of financial upgradation under ACP Scheme and promotion to the feeder grade i.e. post of Craft Instructors etc. Thereafter the process of promotion to the post of Group Instructors etc. and grant of 1st and 2nd financial upgradation under ACP Scheme to the officials holding the feeder grades was initiated by the department. After following the departmental procedures, a Departmental Screening Committee under the Chairmanship of Ld. Financial Commissioner, GNCT of Delhi was convened 10.03.2008 to grant 1st and 2nd financial upgradation under ACP Scheme to 242 officials. The Committee recommended to grant 1st financial upgradation w.e.f. 28.08.2003, i.e., the date of introduction of New Staffing Pattern, subject to the approval of Finance Department, GNCT of Delhi.
9. In support of the averred view that the delay in the matter of official handling must not adversely affect the employees, the learned counsel for the applicants relied upon the following rulings:-
i)BISHNU RAM VS. SECRETARY, GOVT. OF INDIA & OTHERS : SLJ 2003(3) 424;
ii)UNION OF INDIA VS. SMT. SADHNA KHANNA : SLJ 2009(1) 180; and
iii)STATE OF MAHARASHTRA VS. JAGANNATH ACHYUT KARANDIKAR : AIR 1989 SC 1133.
10. The plea canvassed on behalf of the applicants is amply cemented by the judicial pronouncements aforementioned. Even otherwise, there can be no dispute with the proposition that an employee or a private citizen must not be made to undergo economically onerous circumstances just on account of the delay in the handling of a matter by the governmental agencies at different hierarchical levels. In this context, it requires pertinent notice that it is not even the averment on behalf of the respondents that any plea for extension of time was made before the concerned Bench of this Tribunal. That apart, it is to state the obvious that employee-friendly measures must invite expeditious handling at the hands of the governmental authorities, particularly when the official respondents had accepted the judgment and allowed it to attain finality by not posing a challenge thereto, either in judicial review or otherwise.
11. The presently fixed cut-off date has, obviously, denied the relevant pecuniary benefits to the applicants for a considerable period of time i.e. from the year 2003 to 2007. There is no acceptable reason why the employees may be made to suffer for the delay in the context which (delay) occurred at various hierarchical levels. Though that delay was compulsive in character, as it was actuated by the relevant rules of business, we would not validate it.
12. In the light of the aforementioned discussion, we would allow this O.A. and quash the impugned order vide which the release of first A.C.P. in favour of the applicants was ordered only with effect from 3.7.2007. The applicants shall be entitled to the benefit of the new staffing pattern with effect from 28.8.2003, as recommended by the Departmental Screening Committee. The applicants shall also be entitled to interest @ 9% per annum on the arrears from the date the amount became due, till payment thereof.
13. There shall be no order as to the costs of the cause in the facts and circumstances of the case.
(JUSTICE S.D.ANAND) MEMBER(J) (DR. VEENA CHHOTRAY) MEMBER(A) Dated: February 18 , 2011 `bss