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Showing contexts for: fcs scientist in Dr S Rajeurs vs M/O Textiles on 27 November, 2017Matching Fragments
4. The respondents be directed not to discriminate the petitioners & to extend the same benefits to the petitioners at par with the same & similarly situated persons
3. The applicants are working as Scientists in the Central Silk Board(CSB) (Respondent No.2) which is a constitutional body under Section 4 of the CSB Act, 1948. The applicants joined the services in the Board as Senior Research Assistants and got promotions from time to time to the posts such as Scientist Grade-C & D and Director etc. While some of them have already retired on attaining the age of superannuation, some are still in service. Following the 5 th Pay Commission, Government of India by order dated 9.11.1998 introduced the Flexible Complementing Scheme(FCS) for Scientists and Technologists holding Scientific posts in Scientific and Technological Departments who are engaged in Scientific activities and services. The said order also stipulated that in order to extend the benefits under FCS to other scientific organisations, the administrative Ministry of such institutions shall satisfy itself that such institutions are scientific and technical institutions and the officers are scientists holding scientific posts and are involved in scientific and technical activities and thereafter make its recommendations to the Department of Science & Technology. On receipt of such a request the Department of Science & Technology shall set up a Committee to examine the proposal and will give recommendation based on which a final decision for extension of FCS shall be taken. Accordingly, the Central Silk Board along with Ministry of Textile made a proposal to the Ministry of Science and Technology for extension of FCS who then constituted an expert committee to examine the question of extension of FCS to the employees of the Board and its Research Institutes. By an OM dated 30.7.2001(Annexure-A3), the Ministry of Science and Technology recommended that the Board and its Research Institutes may be recognised as Scientific and Technological Organisations and FCS may be sanctioned to Scientists working in the Board and its Research Institutes up to the level of Scientists 'F' strictly in conformity with the provisions of the OM dated 9.11.1998. It also recommended that the scale of pay of Director of the Central Sericultural Research & Training Institutes of the Board may be revised at par with the Directors and other National Laboratories/Institutions.
5. The applicants have relied upon the judgment of Patna Bench of this Tribunal which was upheld by the Hon'ble High Court of Jharkhand and submitted that the applicants are entitled to similar benefits as allowed to the applicants in OA.75/2008. Hence the respondents be directed to extend the benefits of FCS w.e.f. 30.7.2001 in place of 30.8.2006 to the applicants. In all the OAs, the applicants have filed application for condonation of delay.
6. The respondents have filed their reply statement wherein they mainly harped on the issue of delay and stated that the Hon'ble Apex Court had clearly indicated that the benefit of FCS shall be extended to only 16 applicants who are part of the said OA.75/2008. Thus it is clear that the cause of action arose in respect of those applicants-Scientists who are not covered by the said Apex Court's order dated 10.4.2013, from 30.8.2006 itself when the FCS was implemented for all the applicants/ Scientists. Since the applicants accepted the benefits from 30.8.2006 without any demur, they cannot at this stage make a ground to seek condonation of delay. Only after the order of the Tribunal in OA.75/2008 dated 13.1.2009, these applicants woke up and started watching further proceedings in the matter and thus started approaching the respondents and also the Tribunal only after the matter attained finality on 10.4.2013. Therefore, the applicants are fence- sitters and are not entitled to any relief by way of condonation of delay. The respondents further submitted that following recommendation of the Dept. of Science & Technology vide its OM dtd. 30.7.2001 to the Ministry of Textiles to recognise the CSB and its Research Institutes as Science & Technology Organisation, the Ministry of Textiles has examined all relevant issues involved including financial implications. A statement indicating the chronology of events from 2001 to 2006 is also enclosed vide Annexure-R2. Based on this recommendations and also on various criteria to be considered in the case, Ministry took a final decision in 2006 and conveyed approval to extend FCS to the Scientists of CSB at the level of Scientist-B, C & D vide their letter dated 30.8.2006. Accordingly promotions under FCS were extended to all the eligible scientists pending approval and acceptance of the Recruitment Rules. Extension of FCS to Scientists can be done only after final order is issued by the Administrative Ministry based on the recommendation of the Dept. of Science & Technology and after considering all the aspects. Therefore, it cannot be allowed with retrospective effect and shall be applicable only from the date of approval by the Government of India after completing all the formalities and getting approval from the Department of Personnel & Training and Ministry of Finance based on OAs.No.742-808/2013, 921/13, 1109/13, 1414/13 438/14, 460/14 & 549/2014/CAT/Bangalore Bench the proposal from the CSB. Therefore, they stated that both on account of delay as well as on merit, the claim of the applicants cannot be considered.
12. In a given case, the Tribunal may find that the right of the parties are substantially altered or that the period of delay has resulted in an reversible situation and it may not be possible for the Tribunal to grant relief, then the Tribunal may decline the application for condonation of delay.
8. When the matter was taken up afresh, the Learned Counsel for the applicants gave a chronological history of the entire matter as outlined in the OA itself and submitted that after the Ministry of Textile issued a notification dated 30.8.2006 conveying approval of the Govt. of India for implementation of FCS to the Scientists of CSB and its research institutes, the Central Silk Board Scientist's Association made representations to the respondents on 10.7.2006, 16.6.2007 and also 14.11.2007 requesting for implementation of FCS to the Scientists of CSB w.e.f. 1998. However, the same was not considered by the respondents. Thereafter, some of the Scientists working at Ranchi filed OA.No.75/2008 and the Tribunal vide order dated 13.1.2009 allowed the OA and directed the respondents to grant benefits of FCS to the scientists working in CSB from 30.7.2001 with all consequential benefits within a period of four months. The said order was a judgment in rem and there was general instruction for implementation of FCS from 30.7.2001 to all the scientists working in CSB. Hence the present applicants had no necessity to approach the Court seeking redressal since the order in OA.No.75/2008 had already made it applicable to all the scientists working in CSB. The order of the Tribunal was also upheld by the Hon'ble High Court of Jharkhand vide its order dated 27.3.2012. Only when the Hon'ble Apex Court vide its order dated 10.4.2013 indicated that the order passed by the Tribunal and affirmed by the High Court shall be limited to those Scientists who were before the Tribunal as the applicants and as the respondents in the Special Leave Petition, the applicants started making representation to the CSB to extend the same benefits to them. After rejection of their representations by a common order, they have approached the Tribunal. Hence, there is no delay in the matter and the respondents' contention that there is delay of 7 years is misconceived.
13. The issue of delay in the present cases has also been discussed by the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka in its order dated 7.4.2016 which has been mentioned in earlier. In the present case, the respondents granted benefits to the applicant in August 2006. Thereafter, as stated by the applicants, the Association of the Scientists submitted representation to the respondent authorities in July 2006, June 2007 and November 2007 for implementation of FCS to the Scientists of CSB w.e.f. 1998. There was no response to the said representation. In the meanwhile some persons went to Patna Bench of this Tribunal which allowed the OA in January 2009 directing the respondents to grant the benefit of FCS to the Scientists working in CSB. The matter was then taken to Hon'ble High Court which upheld the order of the Tribunal in its order passed in March 2012. When the matter was taken to the Hon'ble Apex Court, it passed an order in April, 2013 upholding the order of the Tribunal and the High Court but limiting it to the applicants before that Tribunal. Thereafter, the applicants approached the respondent authority seeking similar benefits as allowed to the applicants before the Ranchi Bench of the Tribunal but the same was rejected by order dated 27.9.2013. Immediately thereafter the applicants approached this Tribunal in the present OA.