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[Cites 3, Cited by 0]

Central Administrative Tribunal - Kolkata

Saikat Manna vs Eastern Railway on 23 July, 2021

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                                             DISTRICT:
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                                                         IN THE CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
                                                                                             CALCUTTA BENCH

                                                                                                    0.A.N0: 350/3S0bf 2016
                      ;                                   i

                                                                                                    An application under Section 19 of the
                                                                                                    Central Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985.


                                                                                                 In the matter of:
                                                                                                 1. Saikat Manna
                                                                                                         Son of Sunil Kumar Manna
                                                                                                         Harambati     Talahipur,          Chanditala,
                          ;                                                                              Hooghly, 712707,Working at SSE/MR-
                                                                                                         SHOP,C & W Workshop Eastern Railway,
                                                                                                         Liluah, Dist.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

                                                                                                 2. Manas Mistry
                                                                                                         Son of Madhu Sudhan Mistry
                              s
                                                              1                                          9, Uttar Panchanna Gram,Vip Nagar ./
     i!
                              ;                                                                          Kolkata-700100,Working      at,    SSE/MR-
      1

                              ■
                                                                                                         Shop,C & W Workshop Eastern Railway,
                              *
                                                                                                         Liluah, Dist.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
                              5
                                                                                                 3. Dipankar Naskar
                              t •
                                                                                                         son of Bachuram Nakar
                                  (
v 1:                              i                                                                      Working at, SSE/K-Shop, C & W
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                                  ;                                                                      Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah,
          1

                                  ;                                                                      Dist.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                ;                              4. SankarLana
                                                  Son of Akshay Kumar Laha
                                                  Working at SSE/MR-SHOP, C & W
                                                  Workshop       Eastern   Railway,   Liluah,
                                                  DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204


                                               5. Parimal Chakraborty
                                                  son of P. P. Chakraborty, Working at.
                                                 SSE/G-SHOP, C & W Workshop Eastern
                                                  Railway, Liluah, Dist.-owrah(W.B)711204


                                               6. Prabir Kumar Das
                                                 son of Ghateswar Das, Working at
                                                 SSE/MR-SHOP,        C     &   W   Workshop
                                                  Eastern Railway, Liluah, DIST.-Howrah
                                                  (W.B) 711204


                                               7. Tapan Kumar Santra
                                                  son of Ganesh Kumar Santra Working
                                                  at   SSE/ K-SHOP,C       &   W   Workshop
                                                 Eastern Railway, Liluah, DIST.-Howrah
                                                  (W.B) 711204


                                               8. Santu Dey

                        !                         son of Partulla Kumar Dey, Working at
                                                  SSE/MR-SHOP,       C     &   W   Workshop
                                                  Eastern Railway, liluah
                                                  DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                        !                      9. Mahabul Alam Mondal
                                                  son of :-LT. Nazrul Islam Mondal
                                                  Working at SSE/MR-SHOP, C & W
                                                  Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                                  DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

                             .


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                          10. Sayasachi Ghatak
         i                  son of
                     >      Working at SSE/MR-SHO^C & W
         i
                            Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
     )
                            DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

                         11. Gobinda Hansda
         ■■

                            son of LT. Somay Hansda
                            Working at SSE/MR-SHOP, C & W
                            Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                            DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
         f
                         12. Bholanath Sen
                            Son of Anil Kumar Sen
                            Working at SSE/MR-SHOP, C & W
                            Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                            DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

                         13. Rajesh Kumar Rajak
                            Son of Jel Rajak, Working at SSE/MR-
                            SHOP, C & W Workshop Eastern
                            Railway, Liluah, DIST.-Howrah (W.B)
             t
              i.
                            711204
              i
                         14. Anil Kumar
              i
                            son of ShitaSah
                            Working at SSE/MR-SHOP, C &: W
                            Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                            DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

                 !       15. Alok Ranjan
                 i
                            son of Dashrath Pandit
                            Working at SSE/C-SHOP, C & W
;                           Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
i
                            DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

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                                16. OmPrakash
                                                                                       ft.
                                   son of Budhdeo Mistry
                                                                                                                 ■if-
                                   Working at SSE/MR-SHOP, C & W
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                                   Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah                                              1i
                                   DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                                17. Kaushal Kishore Paswan                                                       «
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                                   son of :-Ram Sewak Paswan
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                                   Chandheri    PO    &     PS-Sabour,   Dist.-                                  mm
            i                      Bhagalpur ( Bihar ) 813210, Working at                       >                iv
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                                   SSE/G-SHOP, C & W Workshop Eastern                                            m
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            f-                     Railway,    Liluah,DIST.-Howrah       (W.B)                                    §
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                                   711204                                                           i            m
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                                18. Madhusudan Giri
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                                   son of KeshabGiri
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                                    Working at SSE/J-SHOP,         C     & W
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                                    Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah                                             m
                                    DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                                 19. Pradeepte Kumar Jana
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                                    son of Mrutyanjaya Jana                                                            t
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                                    Working at SSE/K-SHOP, C & W                                                       i
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                                    Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                    DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                                 20. MD. Faiyaz Ansari
                                    son of Md. Fafique Asnsari
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                    ?               Working at SSE/K-SHOP, C & W                                            A
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                                    Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                    DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                                  21. Santosh Kumar
                                     son of LT. Basuki Mandal                                                                                           ,v
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                                     Working at SSE/L-SHOP, C & W
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            i                        Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah                                                                                                     .1




                                     DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204                                                                                                                 • <
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                                  22. Anand Kumar
                                     son of -Guljar Paswan                                                                                                                         4
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                                     Working at SSE/M-SHOP, C & W
                     \               Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
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                                     DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                                  23. Videh Kumar Niraj
                                     son of Brajdev Paswan
                                     Working at SSE/MR-SHOP, C & W                                                          I                       t
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                                     Workshop Eastern Railway, liluah                                                                                                   ;

                                     DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                                  24. Kartik Kumar Ash
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                                     son of Manik Chandra Ash
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                                     Vill- Sobhapur, P.O.-Jemue, Durgapur-6,                                                                    ;
                                     DIST.-    Burdhawan         (W.B.)          713206,
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                                     Working at SSE/MR-SHOP, C & W                                                              V                       j




                         !           Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                     DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204                                                                                                                     •A
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                                  25. Alok Kumar Bera
                                     Son of Ranjit Kumar Bera
                                     Working at SSE/MR-SHOP, C & W                                                                                                         * > , •]


                                     Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
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                                     DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                ?:           26. Quazi Faruque Mahamman Hossain
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                                SON OF :-Quazai Abdul Razzak
                                Working at SSE/N-SHOP, C           & W
                                Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
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                                DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

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                i,           27. Pintu Das
1;                              son of Sailen Das
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                >               Working at SSE/N-SHOP;        C & W
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                f               Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
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                                DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

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                             28. Dipak Sarkar
                                son of Ranjit Sarkar
                                Working at SSE/H-SHOP,        C    &   W
                                Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                [            29. Faiz Ahamad
                    k           son of Md. Mustaf
                                Working at SSE/TR-SHOP, C & W
                                Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

                             30. Pradip Mondal

                    I:'s        son of Kalipada Mondal
                                Working at SSE/W-SHOP, C           & W
                                Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                                                           * i
                                DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
                                                                               -I

           I;        V       31. Sanjay Pual
                     i
                     >          son ofSapan Paul
                                Working      at SSE/L-SHOP,   C    &   W
                         }      Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                              32. Manbendra Manna
        !•                       son of Mohan Chandra Manna
        i
                                 Working at SSE/M-SHOP, C & W
                                 Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                 DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                              33. Manesh Mondal
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                                 son of LT. Binod Mondal
        t                        Working at SSE/P-SHOP, C & W
                                 Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
         ;                       DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

                              34. Amit Kumar Chaoudhary                  4K

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                                 son of Ashok Kumar Choudhary       4

             !•                  Working at SSE/L-SHOP, C & W
                                 Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah   m
                                 DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                              35. Ganpat Pandit
                                 son of Bhola Pandit
              ti                                                    1
                                 Working at SSE/K-SHOP, C & W
                                 Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                 DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                              36. Surajit Das
                                 son of Satyajit Das
                      L          Working at SSE/L-SHOP, C & W
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                  V-             Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah       gj


                                 DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

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                              37. Arvind Kumar
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                                 son of Ashok Kumar
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                       i         Working at SSE/M-SHOP, C & W
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                          i      Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
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                       •;        DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                                           38. Anupam A'dhikari
                                              son of Manoj Kumar Adhikari
                  I                           Working at SSE/MR-SHOP, C'         W
                                              Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                              DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204

                                           39. Tanmoy Ghosh
                                              Son of Tarapada Ghosh
                                              Working at SSE/MR-SHOP, C -fe W
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                                              Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                              DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                  i.                       40* Gautam Kumar Singh
                                              son of Mahilal Singh
                                              Working at SSE/L-SHOP, C & W
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                                              Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                              DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                                           41. Arbind Kumar
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     i«                                       son of Madan Prasad,,     y
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                      ;                       Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah             m
                       t                      DIST.-HowraK(W;B) 711204
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                                           42. Anick Sarakar                               m
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                                              son of Tapan Kumar Saraka
                                              Working at SSE/L-SHOP, C & W                     m
                           i                  Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
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                           F                  DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                           £               43. Chiranjit Sarkar                                I
                                              son of Ratanakar Sarkar
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                                              Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                              DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                                   44. Ranjit Pratap Singh
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i                                          son of Dadan Singh                                     . t.y

                                           29H, Strachey Road, Eastern Railway
                                           Colony Liluah,      Dist:-HoWrah( W. B.)
                                           711204, Working at SSE/K-SHO^C & W
                                                                                                                       I
                                           Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah                                             I
                         ■?-
                                           DIST.-Howrah(W.B) 711204.

                                   45. Debashis Mondal
                                           son ofKamal Krisana Mondal
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f                                          Working at .SSE/N-SHOP, C & W                                                 1
                                           Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
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£
                                           DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204 ;

                                   46. Amit Kumar Bhagat
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                                           son of Ram Prakash Bhagat
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                               ;           Working at SSE/ N-SHOP, C &' W

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                                           Workshop Eastern'Railway,'Liluah                               y              31  m
                                           DiST.-Howrah (W.B) 71121M

                                   47. Chandan Kumar
                                           son of Kapildev Yadav                                ... . m.
                                                                                                      Lr/
                                           29G, Strachey Road, Eastern Railway
    \
    r                                      Colony Liluah, Working at SSE/MR- \
                                           SHOP, C; & W Workshop.. Eastern
                                           Railway, Liluah, D.IST:-Howrah (W.B)
                                           711204

                                   48. Banin Pradhan
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                                           son of Rabindra Nath Pradhan                                       \y

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                                           Working at ^E/T-SHOP, C & -W
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                                                                                                      /•v.
                                           Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                           DiST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204                                          ■i




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                                                                  49. Gautam Kumar
                                                                      sonof AjaySharma
                                  ;?•
                                                                      33D, Strachey Road, Eastern Railway
                                  it'                                 Colony Liluah, Working at SSE/MR-
                                  t
                                                     •;               SHOP,       C        &    W   Workshop        Eastern
                                  r.
                                  D.
                                                                      Railway, Liluah, DIST.-Howrah (W.B)
                                 K                                    711204
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                                                                  50. Aman Ray
                                 ft-
                                                                      son of HardeoRay
                              ;i-
                              r                                       Working         at SSE/T-SHOP,            C    &    W
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                              iss                                     Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                             f.                                       DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
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                              ;                                   51. Amritesh Kumar
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                                                                      son ofYogenra Prasad Mandal
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                                                                      Working         at       SSE/L-SHOP,      C    &   W
                             !
                             V
                             ;                                        Workshop Eastern Railway, Liluah
                                                          ;
                             i                                        DIST.-Howrah (W.B) 711204
          ii

                             ;•
                                                                                                            ... Applicants.

                            ?
                        .f                                                                      -Versus-


                            r                                          1.      Union of India, service through
                                                                       the General Manger, Eastern Railway,
                                                                       having its office at 17, Netaji Subhas
                            ?■
                                                                       Road, Kolkata- 700001.
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                                                                       2.      The         Chief    Personnel       Officer,
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                                                                       Eastern Railway, Fairlie Place, 17, Netaji
                    •   .
                                                                       Subhas Road, Kolkata- 700001.

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                                                 3.   The   Chief   WorlcsManager,           m
                                                 Eastern Railway, Liluah Workshop,

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                                                 Eiluah, Hom-ah.

                                                 4,   The Workshop Personnel Officer,
                                                                                             m
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                       !                         Eastern Railway, Liluah,
                                                                              Liluah
                       i                         Workshop, Howrah.
                                                                                         :

                   ;                                                  •... Respondents
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                                                                   12     o.a. 350.350.2016
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                                                     CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
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                          No. O.A. 350/00350/2016                                         Date of order:       •0

                         Present                    Hon'ble Ms. Bidisha Banerjee, Judicial Member
                                                    Hon'ble Dr. Nandita Chatterjee, Administrative Member

                                                               SAIKATMANNA &ORS.

                                                                            VS.

                                                              UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

                         For the Applicants                               Mr. S.K. Nandi, Counsel

                         For the Respondents                              Mr. A. Mondal, Counsel


                                                                        ORDER

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: rtpi Dr. Nandita CHatteriee, Administrative Member:
The applicants have approached this Tribunal under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 praying for the following relief:-
7/ a. An order of Mandamus be passed directing and/ or commanding, the respondents and/ or their agents and subordinates to issue corrected letter of appointment in favour of the petitioners in Grade- "C" holding them as skilled Artisan/ Technicians and Act apprentices as per Respondents own guidelines for recruitment, training and posting giving all service benefits. b. An order of Mandamus be passed holding that the direct recruits having lesser qualification and hearing joined later on cannot be equated with the petitioners ' having technical qualification.
c. An order be: passed directing the respondents to prepare corrected list of seniority holding the petitioners as senior as per date of recruitment and qualification.
d. An order be passed directing the respondents to. issue corrected posting as. per qualification and posting with all benefits.
                                                        JJ      o.a. 350.350.2016


                            e.     An order be passed holding that the order dated 8.12.2015 passed in O.A. No. 325
           r                       of 2013 is not biriding as petitioners were not made parties thereto.

                            f.     To pass such further or other or order or orders as to this Hon'ble Tribunal may
                                   deem and proper.

                            g-     Leave be granted to file the application jointly as per Rule 4(5)(a) of the CAT's
                                   (Procedure) Rule, 1987."



2. The applicants have prayed for leave to jointly pursue this application, and, on being satisfied that the applicants share common interest and are pursuing a common cause of action, such leave is granted under Rule 4(5)(a) of Central Administrative Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1987, subject to payment of individual court fees.

M.A. No. 350/00485/2020 filed for an early hearing of the O.A. was * disposed of vide orders of this Tribunal dated 16.10.2020. m l 3. Heard both Ld. Counsel, examined pleadings and documents on record as

-7 well as those furnished by the respondents during hearing.

4. The facts, in brief, as submitted by the Ld. Counsel for the applicant, is as follows:-

That, pursuant to a newspaper notification for Apprentice training, the iS applicants 1 to 45 had applied for apprentice training, and, thereafter, had to undergo apprenticeship for one year, upon successful completion of which, certificates were issued to each of the applicants herein. The applicants had also qualified from the recognized institute of ITI.
The applicants had trained m trades such as ji- Welder/Fitter/Turner/Machinist etc. Despite such training in technical trades, ii they were absorbed as fresh face substitutes in the Gr. /D/ category, and, they •! 4:"
'.'d# 14 o.a. 350.350.2016 were appoint^d^as. Safaiwala within the period February/ 2009, to June, 2010 r ' respectively:
.The applicants repeatedly drew attention of the higher authorities for their rightful placement in accordance to their trades. Despite such reference and purported assurance by the authorities/ in 2012, certain candidates, who were not / technically qualified, were appointed on direct recruitment basis as Helpers. Having been allegedly discriminated vis-a-vis such direct entrants, and having been made junior to such direct recruits, the applicants have approached this Tribunal in the instant O.A. claiming appointment in Gr. "C" category in skilled artisan posts.

5. Per contra, the respondents would dispute the claim of the applicants as . follows:-

;?■
(i) That, , the applicants who are _ passed ,, out Act apprentices, were provisionally appointed as fresh face substitutes;^ After ^completion of 120 rf 3 days of substitute period, they were regularized in the post of Safaiwala.

The only post that could have been offered to the: applicants was that of a i Safaiwala as there were no other vacant posts in Gr. 'D'-at'the material point of time. The applicants had joined the posts of Safaiwala after having accepted such offer in writing.

r

(ii) That, there are no rules for induction of passed out Act apprentices in the Railways as per ACT Apprenticeship Act, .1961, and, that, !: apprenticeship training is essentially imparted by the Railway authorities t:

;•I:
li ■ to enhance the employment potential of the trainees. i' s * illAJ o.a. 350.350.2016
(iii) That, these applicants were absorbed as Substitute Gr. 'D' through a screening process based on available vacancies in the post of Safaiwala and not through a standard selection process.
(iv) Prior to 2009, the authorities used to recruit the passed out apprentices as Helper -II given that there were ample vacancies in the Helper category.
(v) Thereafter the authorities adopted a policy decision that although candidates, so eligible, would be inducted for ACT Apprentice Training to enhance their employability, there would be . no guarantee for further employment in the Railways.
(vi) As per the recruitment rules, 25% of post of Tech. Gr. Ill are filled up by direct recruitment through RRB, 25% of such posts are to be filled up through selection from the serving semi-skilled and un-skilled staff through trade test and the balance 50% are filled up by promotion. Such recruitment rules precludes automatic empanelment of ITI passed Act Apprentices for promotion to the post of Tech. Ill Gr. 'C' upon their completion of Act Apprenticeship training.
(vii) The respondents would counter any alleged discrimination vis-a-vis one Shri Vijay Bharati, a passed out Act Apprentice, as Shri Bharati, Safaiwala, had opted for Shuntman - 'B' and was promoted as per rules to Technician HI. The applicants, however, did not opt for Shuntman- 'B' in yard and hence cannot allege discrimination at this stage.

6. The applicant would rebut such averments of the respondent authorities with their submission that the applicants were compelled to accept the post of Safaiwala in Gr. 'V' although they ought to have been recruited as Gr. 'C t 16 o.a. 350.350.2016 P ' U-' appointees in Artisan/Technical categories. Despite granting them liberty, the applicants; 1ho>vever, haivC .not been able to place any records before us to iyy. establish that they had responded to a recruitment notification of the respondent authorities for appointment to a Gr. /C post in Artisan/Technical category.

7. The applicants would further aver, that through RTI, they came to learn ' that in the years 2009 and 2010, there were 330 vacancies in the Helper category and would argue that, despite the availability of vacancies they were forced to join as Safaiwala and not to the post of Helper to which they were rightfully entitled. Applicants would also allege that if they had been appointed as Helpers, their juniors who are not Technicially qualified and who were recruited later in 2012, would not have superseded them in seniority.

8. After having perused the relevant documents and having heard rival ?;>•/' arguments of Ld. Counsel, our observations would be as follows:-

(i) It is an admitted fact that the applicants successfully qualified as Act apprentices, as per Annexure A-l to the O.A., and, that, they were certified accordingly.
(ii) Vide Annexure A-4 to the O.A. it transpires that they were screened for appointment as fresh face substitutes in the Gr. 'D' category, and, that.

as per Annexure A-6 to the O.A., vide orders dated 7.2.2009, some of them were absorbed as fresh face substitute Safaiwalas.

(iii) In their pleadings, the applicants have stated that they have joined as Safaiwalas during the period from 9.2.2009 to 21.6.2010 respectively.

(iv) That, the applicants have relied on the recommendations of 3rd CPC made effective from 1.4.1976 whereby the Gr. 'C posts of Skilled Artisans 1 ^ *17 o.a. 350.350.2016 and fechriieiah^were; to be filled up, inter alia, by selection from course completedxA'ct-Apprentice ITI passed candidates and matriculates.

(v) ' Applicants have alleged that certain juniors in terms of their •% subsequent joining dates, were redesignated as Helpers and were treated as senior to the applicants, who continued to be retained as Safaiwalas (Annexure A-6 to the O.A.).

(vi) Applicants have further alleged that, in the year 2012, the respondents directly recruited certain employees, (who were neither trained either in IT! nor in the Apprentice Training Institute) as Helpers discriminating the applicants from such postings despite their earlier dates of appointment and their technical background.

No challenge to the notification of 2012 is, however, found on & ; ■ :lflM record.

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(vii) That, an application was moved before this'TribuhaTin O.A. No. 325 tv tii of 2013 (Bikash Goswami & ors. v. Union of India & ors.) and the t"

applicants therein had sought to perform their duties as Helper Gf. II and . i; to grant their seniority from their dates of joining. The instant applicants, would allege that, as they were not made parties in the said Original Application of 2013, they could not contest in time, and, that, upon the directions of this Tribunal dated 8.12.2015, the applicants in Bikash Goswami & ors. (supra) were directed to be placed above the instant applicants in a fresh seniority list.
No challenge to the decisions of the said O.A. has been brought on record. Therefore, the orders in Bikash Goswami & ors. (supra) appear to have attained finality.
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(viii) That vide Annexure A-7 to the O.A, the seniority lists redesignated certain Safaiwalas as Helpers. In 2013, vide A-8 to the O.A., the applicants were also re-designated as Helpers, a redesignation that the applicants would claim with effect from February, 2009 their dates of initial appointments as Safaiwalas.
(ix) The applicants have primarily prayed for appointment in Gr. 'C posts. It has not been explained by the applicants as to why they have not challenged the notification of 2012 or whether there were any notifications calling for direct recruitment to Gr. 'C' posts in the Technical category during the material point of time.
(x) We also note that the Rules for appointment of Skilled Artisans as per ■ • • *t..

Para 159(l)(i) of IREM, is as follows:-

aM vf) 25% by selection from course completed 'Act Apprentices', ITI passed candidates and Matriculates from the open market; serving employees who are course completed Act Apprentices or ITI qualified could be considered against this quota allowing age relaxation as applicable to serving employees.
(x) The applicants have joined the posts as fresh face Substitute Gr. 'D' willingly. They have not been able to furnish any notification to demonstrate that they have responded to any notification for recruitment to Gr. 'C posts. No challenge to the decision in O.A. No. 325 of 2013 in which the direct recruits of the 2012 notification were directed to be placed higher up in the seniority list has been brought before us.

i r1 o.a. 350.350.2016 The authorities, having changed their policy in training Act Apprentices in various trades to upgrade their skills so as to improve their employment potential per se, and also to refrain from appointing Helper fit Gr. II from act apprentices after 2009, the only option left with the applicants would have been to respond to any notification for appointment to technical posts in Gr. 'C'.

As no such participation has been brought on record, we are unable to accept the contentions of the applicants that they were arbitrarily denied appointment as Gr. 'C'.

9. On the other hand, during hearing, Ld. Counsel for the respondents would inform by way of instructions, that 227 numbers of posts of Tech. Ill had been filled up by direct recruits within the period 2009 to 2015. No posts in Tech. Ill has been filled up by QSQ and a total of 748 posts have been filled up between 2009 and 2012 under PR quota.

!i It transpires, therefore, that the applicants had every opportunity to be appointed as direct recruits by RRB between the period 2009 to 2015. Such direct recruitment is by selection from course completed 'Act Apprentices' ITI passed candidates and Matriculates from the open market; serving employees who are course completed Act Apprentices or ITI qualified could be considered against this quota allowing age relaxation as applicable to serving employees. Nothing, however, has been brought on record to demonstrate their attempts in this regard.

10. As the applicants have not attempted to be recruited on direct recruitment basis for Gr. 'C' posts (technical), we find little merit in this application and would consider it worthy of dismissal.



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Further, the seniority lists were prepared in compliance with the directions of this Tribunal in Bikash Goswami & ors. (supra), not reversed in appeal. Hence there is little scope to intervene at this stage with regard to such seniority lists settled long back and prepared in compliance with judicial orders. Hence, their i challenge to the seniority lists, also fail to succeed.

11. The O.A. is dismissed accordingly. No costs.




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             (Dr. Nandita Chatterjee)                                    (Bidisha Banerjee)
             Administrative Member                                       fudicial Member



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