Central Administrative Tribunal - Allahabad
Gurvendra Singh vs Administrative Reforms And Public ... on 16 October, 2024
Reserved on 14.10.2024
Central Administrative Tribunal, Allahabad Bench, Allahabad
This the 16th day of October, 2024
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Om Prakash VII, Member (J)
Hon'ble Mr. Mohan Pyare, Member (A)
Original Application No. 1023 of 2023
Gurvendra Singh, a/a 26 years, S/o Raj Kumar Singh R/o Near
Street No. 7, Teacher Colony, Sirsaganj, Firozabad, U.P - 283151.
........... APPLICANT
By Advocate: Shri Satish Sahu, Shri Ajay Kumar Pandey and
Shri Vijay Tripathi
Versus
1. Union of India through the Principal Private Secretary, Ministry
of Personnel Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of
Personnel & Training, North Block, New Delhi.
2. Principal Accountant General, Office of the Principal Accountant
General (A&E) - 1 U.P. Prayagraj.
3. C&AG HQ Packet - 9, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, New Delhi
- 110124.
..........RESPONDENTS
By Advocate: Shri Prabhav Srivastava
ORDER
(Delivered by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Om Prakash VII, Member (J) Shri Satish Sahu, learned counsel for the applicant and Shri Prabhav Srivastava, learned counsel for the respondents, were present at the time of hearing.
2. The instant original application has been filed seeking following relief:
"A) To issue an order or direction in appropriate nature to the concerned respondent / respondent No. 2 to join the applicant on the post of Assistant Accounts
1|Page Officer w.e.f. 12.10.2023 in pursuance of appointment order dated 09.10.2023 issued by the respondent no. 2.
B) To issue an order or direction in appropriate nature to the concerned respondent / respondent to decide the pending representation dated 19.10.2023.
C) To issue any other suitable writ, order or direction in facts and circumstances of the case which this Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper.
D) Award the cost of the application favour of the applicant."
3. A compendium of the facts as have been narrated in the present original application is that the applicant is aggrieved by the fact that despite being issued the appointment order dated 09.10.2023 subsequent to clearing the recruitment process, he has been denied joining on frivolous grounds by the respondents although, several other similarly situated persons have already been given joining w.e.f. 12.10.2023. Thus, by way of the instant original application, applicant seeks a direction to the respondents to permit him to join the duties on the post of Assistant Accounts Officer w.e.f. 12.10.2023 in pursuance of the appointment order dated 09.10.2023 issued by the respondent no. 2.
4. We have heard learned counsels for the parties and perused the documents on record.
5. Disclosing a brief history of the case, learned counsel for the applicant submitted that the respondent No.1/ Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Personnel & Training, Staff Selection Commission had issued an advertisement dated 17.09.2022. The S.S.C holds Combined Graduate Level examination for filling up of various Group 'B' & 'C' post in different department. By way of advertisement dated 17.09.2022, post of Assistant Accounts Officer, Group 'B' was published by the Department of Indian Audit & Accounts under C & AG in pursuance of which the applicant
2|Page submitted his application form and upon clearing the recruitment process got selected for the post of Assistant Accounts Officer, Group 'B' in the Department of Indian Audit & Accounts under C & AG. The applicant had submitted attestation/declaration form wherein he declared all factual information and there is not any false information provided in said attestation form. Learned counsel further argued that the applicant had disclosed in point No.15 of the form that he was arrested, prosecuted earlier and that no case is pending against him in any court of law at the time of filing up the attestation form. Learned counsel further argued that a criminal case was lodged against the applicant on 08.01.2014 bearing case crime No.13 of 2014 u/s 147, 148, 336, 332, 353, 436, 323, 504, 506 and 427 IPC, 7 CLA, 3/4 Lok Sampati Nivaran Adhiniyam in Police Station- Sirsaganj, sub district- Shikohabad, District Firozabad. The trial of the said criminal case was commenced before the Court of Juvenile Justice, Board, Firozabad and the applicant was acquitted in the said criminal case by order dated 20.04.2023. The acquittal order dated 20.04.2023 itself reveals that no criminal case is pending against the applicant on the date of filling attestation form. Hence there is not any suppression of fact. It was further argued that the applicant got selected in the aforesaid examination and the office of respondent No.2 had issued appointment dated order 09.10.2023 regarding appointment on the post of Assistant Accounts Officer on probation. After issuing appointment order, a medical Board was constituted and the medical Board has given clearance in favour of the applicant on 12.10.2023. After the appointment order, medical of the applicant has also been concluded and with all original educational documents submitted for joining of the applicant has been completed. But the respondent concerned is not permitting the applicant to join on the post of Assistant Accounts Officer. Learned counsel further argued that in spite of all best efforts, the respondent no.2 did not permit the applicant to join on the post concerned, although he has permitted other candidates to join on said post on 12.10.2023. The name of the candidates who have joined on
3|Page 12.10.2023 are Ashish Dixit, Sahid Malik, Paras Mishra, Puneet Dutt, Meraj, Mohan, Devesh, Kamlesh and one another. Being aggrieved with arbitrary action of the respondent concerned, the applicant approached to the authority concerned with written application and the authority had received it and orally informed him that he could not permit to join on the selected post because of past criminal record against him.
6. Learned counsel for the applicant further argued that the applicant has already disclosed the information in Attestation form with JJB Firozabad order that he was prosecuted and that no case is pending at the time of filling attestation form. Being aggrieved with arbitrary and unconstitutional action of the respondent, the applicant moved representation before the concerned respondent no.1 with prayer to permit him to join on the post of Assistant Accounts Officer on 26.10.2023 but no heed has been paid on the representation of the applicant by the competent authority concerned till date. It was further argued that the conduct of the respondent no.2 is arbitrary, unwanted, illegal, unjust and violation of under Article 14, 21 and 19 of Constitution of India. The applicant is entitled for appointment as well as joining after being a successful candidate but till date he has not been given any response from the concerned competent authority/ respondents as such the act of the respondents is illegal, arbitrarily and against the natural justice as such intervention of this Hon'ble Tribunal is expedient to meet end of justice. Thus, prayer was made to allow the OA and direct the competent authority/respondents to allow the applicant to join on the post of Assistant Accounts Officer w.e.f. 12.10.2023, otherwise the applicant shall suffer irreparable loss and injury.
7. Learned counsel for the respondents vehemently opposed the prayer of the applicant and by way of his counter affidavit, he has submitted that vide letter dated 09.10.2023, the applicant was issued with a provisional offer of appointment to the post of Assistant Accounts Officer by respondent no. 2. It was observed that the
4|Page applicant in his attestation form at point no. 15 mentioned that he was arrested and prosecuted in criminal case bearing FIR No. 13 of 2014, Case No 62 of 209 u/s 147, 148, 336, 332, 353, 436, 427, 323, 504 and 506 of IPC, 1960 ¾ PPP Act and 7 CLA Act in Thana, Sirsaganj, District Firozabad, UP and has been acquitted in the said case by the Juvenile Justice Board, District Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh vide order dated 20.04.2023. Learned counsel further argued that vide letter dated 20.10.2023, a clarification pertaining to joining the applicant to the post of Assistant Accounts Officer (Probationer) was sought from the Headquarters' Office during the pendency of verification of the character antecedents of the applicant. In the meantime, vide interim order dated 11.10.2023 passed in OA No. 291 of 2023 (Shri Vishnu Dutt & Ors. Vs Comptroller and Auditor General of India & Ors), the Guwahati Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal has stayed the joining of directly recruited AAOs. The said order was subsequently vacated vide order dated 22.12.2023. Thereafter, in the legal opinion of the respondent no. 3 dated 22.12.2023, it was mentioned that as long as vacancies are available for the SAS passed candidates, there is no bar in going ahead with appointment of directly recruited AAOs. Accordingly, reminder was issued to remaining candidates for reporting themselves for joining on the post of AAOs and in pursuance thereof the applicant has joined the office on 03.01.2024 on the aforesaid post. In the meantime, being aggrieved by the delay in joining the post of AAO, the applicant has filed this OA before the Tribunal. Learned counsel further argued that contrary to the claim of the applicant, no candidate has joined on the post of AAO in the office of respondent no. 2 on 12.10.2023. Date of joining of some of the candidates who have joined as AAO in the office of respondent no. 2 selected through SSC CGLE 2022 are as follows:
i. Shahid Malik on 18.10.2023 ii. Ashish Dixit on 20.10.2023.
iii. Paras Mishra on 30.10.2023 iv. Puneet Dutt on 30.10.2023 v. Mohan Singh Chauhan on 30.10.2023 vi. Kamlesh Kumar Meena on 30.10.2023 and so on.
5|Page However, learned counsel for the respondents further argued, no candidate named Meraj and Devesh have joined office of the respondent no. 2.
8. Rebutting the claim of the respondents' counsel, the applicant has filed rejoinder reiterating the same contents as have been specified in the OA. Learned counsel argued that there is severe miscarriage of justice done against the applicant as he has been given joining after a much delay despite the fact that other similarly situated candidates selected through the same examination have been given joining earlier to him.
9. We have considered the arguments advanced by the learned counsel appearing for the parties and gone through the entire record.
10. As the facts of the case have already been recorded in detail earlier, the same are not reiterated for the sake of brevity. Admittedly, the applicant has been given joining on the post of AAO on 03.01.2024. However, he is claiming joining from the date(s) on which other similarly situated candidates selected through the same examination have been given joining by the department. Almost all such candidates have been given joining in the month of October, 2023, however, the applicant has been given joining on January, 2024. Applicant's counsel has argued that delayed joining would tantamount to loss of seniority / other service related benefits to the applicant and thus would render severe discrimination against him. Respondents have argued that although it is correct that the applicant was given a provisional appointment order on 09.10.2023, however, vide letter dated 20.10.2023, a clarification pertaining to joining the applicant to the post of Assistant Accounts Officer was sought from the HQs office during the pendency of verification of character antecedents of the applicant. Then, in the meantime, vide interim order dated 11.10.2023 passed in OA No. 291 of 2023 (Shri Vishnu Dutt & Ors. Vs Comptroller and Auditor General of India & Ors), the Guwahati Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal has stayed the joining of directly recruited AAOs. The said order was subsequently
6|Page vacated vide order dated 22.12.2023. Thereafter, in the legal opinion of the respondent no. 3 dated 22.12.2023, it was mentioned that as long as vacancies are available for the SAS passed candidates, there is no bar in going ahead with appointment of directly recruited AAOs. Accordingly, reminder was issued to remaining candidates for reporting themselves for joining on the post of AAOs and in pursuance thereof the applicant has joined the office on 03.01.2024 on the aforesaid post. However, during the pendency period, the applicant had already filed this OA.
11. It is an admitted fact that the applicant was issued appointment letter by the respondents. But he was denied joining on the ground of a character antecedent that once he was named in an FIR. It is also true that the applicant had informed the authorities concerned regarding the aforesaid character antecedent in his application form. At the time of filling the application form, the applicant stood exonerated from all the charges leveled against him in the aforesaid FIR. However, he was still not given joining by the respondents. On the contrary, several other similarly situated candidates were given joining in the month of October, 2023 on different dates as has been mentioned in the chart given at para 7 of this judgment. Although, there was a stay order dated 11.10.2023 passed in OA No. 291 of 2023 (Shri Vishnu Dutt & Ors. Vs Comptroller and Auditor General of India & Ors) by the Guwahati Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal whereby process of joining of directly recruited AAOs was stayed, and due to this reason the applicant's joining was delayed. However, when the stay order got vacated vide order dated 22.12.2023, it was incumbent upon the respondents to have given joining to the applicant from the date / month when other similarly situated candidates were given joining. But that was not done and instead the applicant was given joining belatedly in the month of January, 2024. It would have been in the fitness of things as well as in the interest of justice had the applicant been given joining from the back date (from the month of October, 2023) because no fraud or misrepresentation was ever established on the part of the applicant
7|Page and thus there was no occasion to grant the applicant joining belatedly. We reiterate that the applicant must have been given joining from the date(s) on which the other similarly situated persons were given joining. Since no work was done by him for that period, no salary could be given to him for that period, however, certainly his seniority and period of service is liable to be counted from that date thereby granting him other consequential service benefits. Thus, the instant OA is allowed with the following directions:
With respect to the observations recorded by the Tribunal in the preceding paragraphs, the competent authority amongst the respondents is hereby directed to pass a fresh order regarding the date of joining of the applicant thereby adjusting the date from which other similarly situated candidates who got selected along with the applicant, were given joining. It is made clear that since the applicant has started discharging his duties from 03.01.2024 i.e., the date on which he was given joining, no salary shall be given to him for the remaining period that would accrue after conferring fresh date of joining upon him because he has not worked for that period. However, for calculating seniority and other service related benefits, the same period shall be taken into consideration as "period in service". The order must be a reasoned and speaking one and shall be passed within a period of one month from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order and once passed, the same shall be communicated to the applicant within one week of its passing, without fail.
12. All associated MAs stand disposed of. No costs.
(Mohan Pyare) (Justice Om Prakash VII)
Member (Administrative) Member (Judicial)
(Ritu Raj)
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