UNION OF INDIA Vs. CENTRAL PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Union of India along with the Central Public Works Department and the Director General, CPWD, is before this Court in these two writ petitions. W.P.No.31668/2019 was filed on 29.07.2019, calling in question orders passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, (hereinafter referred to as the Tribunal ) in Contempt Petition (Civil) No.170/00041/2019 and seeking transfer of the Original Application No.170/00586/2019 to any other Bench which did not comprise of the two Presiding Officers, who passed the impugned orders therein. W.P.No.33243/2019 was filed, assailing the final order passed by the Tribunal in O.A.No.170/00586/2019. Both the petitions were heard together and we propose to dispose of the petitions by this common order.

(2.) A brief background would be necessary to understand the factual matrix behind the two writ petitions. The 1st respondent is an Association of Engineers belonging to the CPWD, while the 2nd respondent is an Assistant Engineer of CPWD, at Bengaluru. The respondents filed O.A.No.170/00586/2019, calling in question an order dated 25.03.2019, passed by the Director General, CPWD, seeking to revise the organizational structure of CPWD, as directed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which had acted on the suggestions made by Implementation Committee and recommendation of a consultant known as Ernst and Young . The Tribunal had granted an exparte interim order of stay on the order dated 25.03.2019. When the interim order was not vacated, the petitioners herein approached this Court in W.P.No.27519/2019. This Court, disposed of the writ petition on 12.07.2019, requested the Tribunal to hear both the parties, particularly on the question of jurisdiction and locus of the applicants before the Tribunal and thereafter consider the interim prayer made by the applicants.

(3.) In the meanwhile, the applicants before the Tribunal filed a Contempt Petition alleging that the respondents in the application had disregarded the interim order passed by the Tribunal. On 11.06.2019, the Tribunal issued notice to the contemnors. After entering appearance, the contemnors filed their reply on 19.07.2019. On 23.07.2019, the O.A. and Contempt Petition were listed together for final disposal. The order passed by this Court on 12.07.2019, in W.P.No.27519/2019 was brought to the notice of the Tribunal. The Tribunal adjourned the Original Application to 30.07.2019, while Contempt Petition was adjourned to 23.07.2019. On 23.07.2019, in the Contempt Petition, the following order was passed: