UOI Vs. INDIAN RAILWAYS CIVIL ENGINEERING OFFICER ASSOCIATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) REGARD being had to the similarity of issue that has emerged in these writ petitions, they were heard together and are being disposed by a common order. The fulcrum of controversy rests upon the adjudication of the issue whether the delay in convening the meetings of the Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) by the respondent, Railway Board, was due to reasons beyond control or because of administrative delay for which the respondent before the Central Administrative Tribunal (for short ,,the tribunal) was held to be responsible and what would be the consequence if the delay was caused due to the employer. At the very outset, we may note with profit that the Original Application No.2140/2009 preferred by Mr. N.P. Gupta and others which is the subject matter of WP(C) No.2855/2011 was dismissed by the tribunal on the foundation that the delay caused in holding of the meetings of the DPCs was genuine and beyond the control of the authorities and, therefore, the promotion would be prospective from the date of recommendation of the DPCs.

(2.) THE tribunal in other original application directed that benefit of judgment dated 29.1.2010 rendered in Y.S. Choudhary, the applicant in O.A. No.280/2008 be given to the applicants by promoting them to Group A post with effect from 1.4.2002 with all consequential benefits.

(3.) IT was put forth before the tribunal that the applicants requested the respondents by submitting numerous representations requesting that their promotions be made effective from 1.4.2002 as the DPCs for induction to Group A for the vacancies of 2002-2003 ought to have conducted before December, 2001 to be effective from 1.4.2002 (for the vacancies of the year 2001, for panel of 2002-2003) but the respondents failed to take any action in this regard. IT was put forth that when clear vacancies in Junior Scale Group A of IRSE were available and eligible Group B officer with the requisite non fortuitous service was also available, there was no justification for the delayed induction and the action of the respondent for delayed promotion to Group A Junior Scale of IRSE from Group B with effect from 14.1.2005 (instead of 1.4.2005) against the vacancies of 2002- 2003 is highly illegal and prejudicial to their interest. IT was averred in the Original Application that the applicants had been inducted against the vacancies pertaining to the examination year 2001 (vacancies of 2002-2003) in the promotion segment of Group A Junior Scale of IRSE for the year 2002-03 and according to the guidelines of the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT), the panel for the vacancy for the year 2002-03 should have been available on 1.4.2002 whereas it was made effective from 14.01.2005, the date of the DPC, as a consequence of which the applicants have been placed under the direct recruit IRSE officers of 1998 Officers Examination Batch, causing loss of more than three years in their seniority and future promotional prospects for no fault of theirs. IT was contended before the tribunal that there were instructions of the DOPT to take advance action for filling up vacancies of a year and arrange DPCs of Group B officers for promotion to Group A officer well in time so as to be effective from the next calendar year but the respondents had failed to follow these instructions.