Central Administrative Tribunal - Kolkata
Santu Alam vs M/O Defence on 18 May, 2023
1 OA 1541/2019 CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL KOLKATA BENCH KOLKATA 0.A. 350/01541/2019 (WITH M.A./350/900/2019) DATE OF JUDGMENT: J& -S-2 92 Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Jayesh V. Bhairavia, Judicial Member Hon'ble Mr. Suchitto Kumar Das, Administrative Member In the matter of: 1. Santu Alam, son of Late Jahur Alam, residing at Village- Tentulia, Post Office-Sripur Bazar, Police Station- Balagarh, District- Hooghly, Pin-712514. 2. Azharuddin Halder, son of Srirajuddin Halder, residing at Village- Mithapukur, Post Office- Adcconagar, Police Station- Magra, District- Hooghly, Pin- 712121. 3. Palash Sarkar, son of Nikhil Chandra Sarkar, residing at Village- Nibedita Nagar, Post Office- Nona Chandanpukur, Police Station-Titagarh, District- North 24-Parganas, Pin- 700122. 4. Sourav Ghosh, son of Arup Kumar Ghosh, residing at Village- Nanipur, Post Office- Sultangacha, District- Hooghly, Pin- 712148. 5. Chiranjit Shaw, son of Jagabandhu Shaw, residing at Village-Bishpara, Post Office- Nayasarai, 'Police Station- Magra, District-Hooghly, Pin- 712513. a Applicants -Vs- 1. Union of India, service through the Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Ordnance Factory Board, Government of India, 101-A, South Block, New Delhi-110011. 2 OA 1541/2019 2. The Chairman, Ordnance Factory Board, Head Quarter, 10, Sahid Khudiram Bose Road, BBD Bag, Kolkata-700001, West Bengal. 3. The General Manager, Ordnance Factory Board, Post Office- OF Badmal, District- Bolangir, Odisha, Pin- 767070. 4. The Secretary, Ordnance Factory Board, 10, Sahid Khudiram Bose Road, BBD Bag, Kolkata-700001, West Bengal. seeeeaeeaes Respondents For The Applicant(s): Mr. B. Chatterjee, Counsel For The Respondent(s): Mr. T. K. Chatterjee, Counsel ORDER
Per: Hon'ble Suchitto Kumar Das, Administrative Member The applicants have approached this Tribunal under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 praying for the following common relief:
"(a) An order do issue directing the respondent authorities to forthwith rescind/cancel/withdraw and/or set aside the Office Order/Letter bearing No. 1019/Manpower_IES/DR/Estt/OFBL dated 1903.2019 and 20.09.2019 issued by the respondent authorities to the present applicants;
(b}) An order do issue directing the respondent authorities to forthwith grant the applicants employment for the post of Danger Building Worker on the basis of the Final Merit List published by the respondent authorities;
(c} An order do issue directing the respondent authorities to forthwith explain the relevancy or irrelevancy of the syllabus, being Annexure A-7 and the required qualifications for the post of Danger Building Worker as specified in the said advertisement.
(d) An order do issue directing the official respondent authorities to produce/cause production of all records relating to the subject matter of the case.
(e) Pass such other or further order or orders and/or direction/directions as to this Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper."
3 OA 1541/20192. An M.A. bearing no. 350/00900/2019 has been filed by applicants praying for liberty to jointly pursue such original application.
On being satisfied that the applicants share a common grievance and are pursuing a common cause of action, such liberty is granted under Rule 4(5)(a) of CAT (Procedure) Rules, 1987. M.A. 350/00900/2019 is accordingly allowed.
3. For the sake of clarity, facts in the case are delineated and discussed hereinunder :
Ordnance Factories Board in 2017 notified vacancies in the post of ; Danger Building Worker (DBW). The applicants applied online for recruitment to the post. They qualified in the written test as well as in the trade test and were placed on the provisional merit list of selected candidates. However, when they were not supplied with the attestation forms which were required to be filled up as part of the final recruitment process, they approached the respondents. Respondents, vide their letters dated 19.03.2019 and 20.09.2019, informed the applicants that during document verification it was found that they did not possess the educational and professional qualification prescribed for the post of Danger Building Worker (DBW) in Annexure-B of the employment notification. Hence, their candidature was rejected.
Aggrieved by the rejection of their candidature, the applicants have filed this OA praying for setting aside the letters dated 19.03.2019 and 20.09.2019 issued by the respondents, and, for appointing them to the post of DBW in accordance with their position in the provisional merit list of selected candidates.
4 OA 1541/20194. Learned Counsel for the applicants submit that the applicants possessed certificates in relevant trades from National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) and therefore fulfilled the criteria of professional qualification required for the post of DBW. The applicants had qualified in the written test and the trade test, but were denied appointment on a flimsy ground that their qualification did not match the professional qualification required for the post of DBW as stipulated in Annexure B of the employment notification. He submits that the fact that the applicants cleared both the written test as well as the trade test was proof enough that they were qualified to be appointed as DBW. He further submits that the course content of the certificate course for Attendant Operator Chemical Plant (AOCP) conducted by NCVT is comparable to that of the certificate course in Instrument Mechanics Chemist as well as Lab Assistants conducted by NCVT . There was no need for the respondents to seek any clarification from the Directorate General of Training (DGT) regarding the professional qualification certificates submitted by the applicants.
| The applicants, by their supplementary affidavit have also filed copies of notifications issued by the Ordnance Factories at Dehu Road and at Khadki in Maharashtra for the posts of Danger Building Workers. The qualification prescribed for DBWs in these notifications include NCVT certificates in Instrument Mechanic Chemical (possessed by applicant no. 1) and Lab Assistants (possessed by applicant nos. 2 to 5) in addition to certificate in AOCP issued by NCVT. Learned Counsel for the applicants relies upon these notifications to argue that the technical qualifications possessed by the applicants are equivalent to the technical qualification of AOCP prescribed in the Annexure B of the notice issued by the respondents.
5 OA 1541/20195. Per contra, Learned counsel for the respondents submits that it was made clear to the applicants through the employment notification that final selection for appointment to the advertised posts was subject to candidates being successful in document verification. He submits that candidates were called for written examination and trade test on the basis of online application made by the applicants. As per the mode of selection notified in the employment notification, candidates were required to upload their educational and professional certificates at the time of making online application. However, the documents uploaded by the candidates were to be ) verified against the originals only after the candidate cleared the written examination and the trade test and was placed in the provisional merit list. At the stage of document verification, it was found that in the case of a total of 43 successful candidates including the applicants herein, the qualifications possessed by them as per the documents submitted by them, were found to be not in conformity with the requirements as prescribed in Annexure 'B' of the employment notice.
The respondents then referred the matter for clarification to the Directorate General of Training, Based on the clarification provided by the Directorate General of Training, a Committee decided that only 16 of the 43 candidates possessed the qualification which could be considered equivalent to the qualification prescribed in Annexure 'B' of the employment notice. The rest of the candidates including the applicants were disqualified from the final list of selected candidates as they did not possess qualification that could be considered equivalent to the prescribed qualification required for the post of DBW.
6. Heard both sides. Perused materials on record.
Gi As per the reply to the OA fle ad by _possesse sed the following qualifications > ms OA TSU /edi3 ty bet \ the respondents, the applicants JNo. Name Prescribed qualification --
vere 2 Agharaddir Halder Laboratory Agsistant {Chemical Pland :
3 Palash Sarkai Laboratory Assis tant eCheanicedl FB sat} 4 Sourav Ghosh Laboratory Assistant (Chemical Plant) 5 Chirantit Shaw chemical Laboratory Assista Plant] Trade certificate in Attendant :
Chemical Flant PAOCP) or Process Plant Operator (PPO) 16.2. Since the verifying autherity could net ascertain W thather these qualifications and the qualification of some of these candidates in the merit list were equivalent for the qualification prescribed in the netification, the matter was referred fetter below o-
to Directorate Gederal of dated 12.10.2078. fram Directorate General of Traini Training for ¥ clarification, The Ing is reproduce ral 7 OA 1541/2019 6.3. Respondents have not given a detailed analysis of the reason for rejecting the candidature of the applicants, other than stating in their reply to the OA that a Committee constituted for the purpose decided, based on the clarification above, that they did not possess the required qualification, whereas 16 others were found to possess the qualification although they too did not possess a certificate in AOCP.
6.4 In the absence of detailed information, we are not in a position to appreciate the rationale behind the Committee's decision to reject the candidature of some applicants while accepting the candidature of some others. The applicants have filed copies of employment notice issued for appointment of DBW in Ordnance Factories at Dehu Road, Jabalpur and Pune where the qualifications prescribed for the post of DBW are as follows :-
Name of the Post Essential Qualification & Relevant Trade Dehu Road | Danger Building Worker | Matriculation + NAC/NTC issued by NCVT (Maharashtra) (DBW) in the following relevant trades :-
(I) Attendant Operator (Chemical Plant); {ii} Instrument Mechanic (Chemical Plant);
(iii) Mechanical Maintenance (Chemical Plant); (iv) Laboratory Assistant (Chemical |. Plant); (v) Fitter; (vi) Machinist; (vii) Turner; . (viii) Sheet Metal Worker; (ix) Electrician; (x) Electronics Mechanic; (xi) Boiler Attendant; (xii) Mechanic Industrial Electronics; (xiii) Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic Khadki, Pune | Danger Building Worker | Candidates holding NCVT certificate failing (Maharashtra) (DBW) which ITI or equivalent Diploma/certificate in the following relevant trades :-
(Il) Attendant Operator (Chemica! Plant); {ii) Instrument Mechanic (Chemical Plant);
(iii) Mechanical Maintenance (Chemical Plant); (iv) Laboratory Assistant (Chemical Plant); (v) Fitter General; (vi) Machinist;
(vii) Turner; (viii) Sheet Metal Worker; (ix) Electrician; (x) Electronics Mechanic; (xi) Boiler Attendant; (xii) Mechanic Industrial Electronics; (xiii) Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic Khamaria, Jabalpur | D. B. Worker (SS)/ CPW | NAC/NTC certificates issued by NCVT (Madhya Predesh) (SS) (DGET, NEW DELHI) in any one of : Attendant Operator Chemical Plant (AOCP), Instrument Mechanic (Chemical Pye ' ; 8 OA 1541/2019 Plant), Mechanical Maintenance (Chemical Plant), Laboratory Assistant (Chemical Plant), Fitter General, Machinist, Turner, Sheet Metal Worker, Electrician, Electronics Mechanic, Boiler Attendant, Mechanic industrial Electronics, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic trade It is seen that for the same posts i.e, DBW, sister organizations of the respondents, who like the respondents are Ordnance Factories under the Ordnance Factories Board, have prescribed possession of NCVT certificate in Instrument Mechanic Chemical Plant and Laboratory.Assistant Chemical Plant as eligibility qualification. Prima facie, it appears that the applicants herein possess these qualification or equivalent qualifications in related fields.
Therefore, in our opinion, the applicants have been able to make out a case for consideration of their representation in the light of the notifications issued by the Ordnance Factories at Pune, Dehu Road and Jabalpur.
6.5 In view of the above, letter issued by the respondents dated 19.03.2019 and 20.09.2019, rejecting the candidature of the applicants for the post of DBW, are set aside. Applicants are directed to prefer fresh comprehensive representations, enclosing copies of employment notifications for DBW, issued by the Ordnance Factories at Jabalpur, Dehu Road and Pune, within a period of 30 days from the date of this order.
Respondents are directed to consider the representations, particularly in the light of the notifications issued by the Ordnance Factories Board at Jabalpur, Dehu Road and Pune, and the eligibility qualification prescribed for DBW in these notifications, and communicate the result of such consideration to the applicants by passing a reasoned and speaking order, within a period of 60 days from the date the representations are received at their end.
et RE 9 OA 1541/2019In the event that the applicants are found to possess required qualification, their names shall be included In the list of successful candidates, within a period of 60 days thereafter.
7, With these directions, the OA stands disposed of M.As. 350/00900/2019 stands allowed as per para 2 of this order.
No costs.
Qlayesh V. Shairavia}