Central Administrative Tribunal - Delhi
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty vs M/O Statistics on 17 May, 2018
Central Administrative Tribunal Principal Bench, New Delhi M.A. No.2090/2018 in O.A. No.1009/2018 Order reserved on 14th May 2018 Order pronounced on 17th May 2018 Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dinesh Gupta, Chairman Hon'ble Mr. K.N. Shrivastava, Member (A) Tushar Ranjan Mohanty ..Applicant (Applicant in person) Versus Union of India ..Respondent (Mr. R V Sinha, Advocate for Mr. R N Singh, Advocate) O R D E R on M.A. Mr. K N Shrivastava:
The applicant has filed this M.A. in O.A. No.1009/2018. He has prayed for the following reliefs in the O.A.:-
"8.2 to quash and set aside the offending sentence in the impugned Advertisement [Annexure : A-1], which reads:
"Those who are serving in Government or Public Sector undertakings or Autonomous bodies should send their applications through their employer along with character and integrity certificate."
8.3 to quash and set aside the offending sentence in the impugned Notification dated 07.02.2018 [Annexure : A-2], which reads:
"2. The applicants considered for the position of Chief Statistician of India should not be more than 55 years of age as on the last date for application to the position, as may be determined by the Search Committee.", 8.4 to consequently quash and set aside the offending sentence in the impugned Advertisement [Annexure : A-1], which reads : "He or 2 she should not be more than 55 years of age as on the last date for application to the position.";
8.5 to consequently also direct that the selection process be conducted fairly, with the aid of technology, and that the interviews are video recorded."
2. The Government of India (respondent), vide Annexure A-1 Advertisement Notice dated 23.02.2018, has invited applications for the post of Chief Statistician of India (CSI), which is in the rank of Secretary to Government of India. In the said Advertisement Notice, inter alia, it is indicated that a candidate applying for the post should not be more than 55 years of age as on the last date of the receipt of the application to the post, which is 31.03.2018.
3. The Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Association filed O.A. No.1219/2018 before the Tribunal, in which an interim order was passed on 28.03.2018 to the effect that any appointment made to the post of CSI shall be subject to the outcome of that O.A. The ISS Association & another challenged the interim order dated 28.03.2018 before the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in W.P. (C) No.3545/2018 and C.M. Appeal No.14000/2018. On 11.04.2018, during the consideration of the ibid Writ Petition by the Hon'ble High Court, learned counsel for the petitioners, i.e., ISS Association brought to the notice of the High Court that the Notifications dated 07.02.2018 and 23.02.2018 are also the subject matter of O.A. No.1009/2018 entitled Tushar Ranjan Mohanty v. Ministry of Statistics and it would be appropriate if these two O.As. are tagged together and heard by the Tribunal on the same day. Accordingly, the Hon'ble High Court gave liberty to the petitioner (ISS Association) to file an 3 Application before the Tribunal within two days with a prayer that O.A. No.1219/2018 be tagged with O.A. No.1009/2018. Accordingly, M.A. No.1764/2018 in O.A. No.1219/2018 was filed by the ISS Association before the Tribunal, who vide order dated 20.04.2018, directed tagging of the two O.As. The O.As. are now listed for hearing on 21.05.2018.
3. The applicant, through the medium of this M.A., has brought to the notice of the Tribunal that the respondents have already short-listed 10 candidates for the post of CSI. The names of the short-listed candidates are mentioned in paragraph 7 of the M.A. The applicant has stated that the first 3 short-listed candidates, namely, Mr. Pravin Srivastava, Mr. Asit Kumar Sadhu and Mr. Vijay Kumar belong to 1983 batch of ISS and they are 2 batches junior to him and are around 58 years old. The applicant has particularly mentioned about Mr. Pravin Srivastava and has stated that his date of birth is 25.08.1960 and he is thus more than 55 years old and that he has been called for personal interaction by the respondent on 17.05.2018 for the post of CSI, which is against the condition stipulated in Annexure A- 1 Advertisement Notice dated 23.02.2018, wherein it is stated that a candidate applying for the post should not be more than 55 years of age as on 31.03.2018. The applicant has, thus, argued that his case is no different, rather it is also similar to that of Mr. Pravin Srivastava, and hence he should also be called for personal interaction by the respondent. Accordingly, he has prayed for the following reliefs in the M.A.:
"(i) stay the Personal Interaction scheduled for 17.05.2018 for selecting the Chief Statistician of India.
Or, alternatively;
4
(ii) direct the Respondent to consider the candidature of the Applicant for the post of Chief Statistician of India, subject to the outcome of the present OA;
(iii) direct the Respondents to declare publicly the Short-Listing Criteria they had adopted to Short-List the ten Candidates for filing up the post of Chief Statistician of India;
(iv) direct the Respondent to declare publicly, latest by 16.05.2018, the Selection Criteria for filling up the post of Chief Statistician of India;
(v) direct the Respondents to undertake video recording of the entire Selection Process for filling up the post of Chief Statistician of India, so as to ensure complete fairness and transparency of the Selection Process;
(vi) direct the Respondent not to declare the result of the Selection without the leave of the Hon'ble Tribunal;
(vii) direct the Respondent to inform the Hon'ble Tribunal on the date of hearing on 21.05.2018 the Select Panel for the post of Chief Statistician of India."
4. When the M.A. was taken up for consideration on 14.05.2018, Mr. R V Sinha for Mr. R N Singh, learned counsel for the respondent, was present. Arguments of the applicant as party in person and that of Mr. R V Sinha, learned proxy counsel for the respondent on the prayers made in the M.A. were heard.
5. We have considered the arguments of rival parties and have also perused the pleadings. Admittedly, the applicant has impugned the Annexure A-1 Advertisement Notice dated 23.02.2018 in the main O.A. He has also questioned the age limit prescribed in the said Advertisement Notice. His O.A. and O.A. No.1219/2018 filed by ISS Association are slated for final hearing on 21.05.2018. The Tribunal has already granted an interim protection to the applicant in O.A. No.1219/2018 in terms of a direction that any selection made to the post of CSI pursuant to the 5 Annexure A-1 Advertisement Notice would be subject to the outcome of the O.As. The applicant of this M.A. also gets the protection of the ibid direction of the Tribunal.
6. Under these circumstances, we are of the view that the applicant has been granted interim protection and in no way the respondent calling Mr. Pravin Srivastava for personal interaction on 17.05.2018 is going to prejudice the interest of the applicant. Hence, we reject the prayer made in this M.A.
7. M.A. is accordingly dismissed.
( K.N. Shrivastava ) ( Justice Dinesh Gupta ) Member (A) Chairman /sunil/