UNION OF INDIA Vs. DEVENDRA KUMAR PANT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE first respondent was appointed as a Lab Assistant in the Research designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), Ministry of Railways, in the year 1972 and was subsequently promoted as Junior Research Assistant in 1977 and Senior Research Assistant in 1983.

(2.) THE first Respondent (referred to as the 'respondent' as he is the only contesting respondent) was selected for the next higher post of Chief research Assistant, and by order dated 30. 6. 1997, he was promoted to the said post with the condition that his promotion will be effective from the date of submission of fit certificate in B-1 medical category.

(3.) BEING aggrieved, the respondent filed OA No. 395/1998 before the central Administrative Tribunal, Lucknow Bench, praying that the promotion order dated 30. 6. 1997 to the extent it required him to produce Fit certificate in B-1 medical category and the consequential memos/orders dated 7. 7. 1997, 24. 11. 1997 and 17. 7. 1998 requiring him to present himself before the concerned medical officers for examination, be quashed. He also sought quashing of the office order No. 4/1990 dated 19. 7. 1990 insofar as it related to classification of medical category in respect of Research assistants. The Tribunal by order dated 20. 5. 2005 dismissed the said application as being devoid of any merit. The Tribunal held that the rationalization of medical standards prescribed in Office Order dated 19. 7. 1990 was on the basis of recommendations of a Committee constituted for that purpose, keeping in view the job requirements and the interests of the employee concerned as also other employees, and therefore it did not suffer from any infirmity. It also held that unless the respondent obtained the required B-1 category fit certificate, he will not be fulfilling the required medical standard for the post of Chief Research Assistant.