DELHI TRANSPORT CORPORATION Vs. SANJAY KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment will dispose of common questions of fact and law which arise from the decision of the Central Administrative Tribunal, in O.A. Nos.2295, 2550 and 3355 of 2013.

(2.) THE brief facts of these cases are that the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) requested the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) vide letter dated 7.11.2007, for recruitment of 10,000 Drivers to run the DTCs fleet of busses in Delhi. DSSSB advertised the posts on 21.12.2007 inviting applications - for which the last date for submission of applications was 21.1.2008. Selection was based on written test and driving skill test. The dossiers/files of selected candidates were sent to DTC for further action, such as medical examination and training, etc. The Govt. of NCT of Delhi forwarded copies of the applicants' dossiers with copy of an Office Order No.52 dated 30.9.2008 to DTC which stated that their appointment would be subject to fulfillment of certain conditions of eligibility, viz. (i) satisfactory character and antecedents, (ii) medical fitness; and (iii) verification of relevant original documents/certificates. Appointment of the selected candidates was to be made on satisfaction of the competent authority regarding their eligibility, as prescribed in the recruitment rules. Any discrepancy/shortcoming in the documents concerning eligibility of any of the candidates could entail cancellation of appointment at any stage. The applicants were subjected to medical examination by the prescribed medical board of the DTC, which declared them unfit for appointment being 'colour blind '. All candidates, declared medically unfit, including the applicants, represented for redressal of their grievances to the DTC. Considering the representations, a decision was taken by the DTC by Resolution No.90/2009 dated 22.12.2009 to take up the matter with Guru Nanak Eye Centre (GNEC) for fresh medical examination of the medically unfit declared candidates, by the DTC medical board as per laid down medical standards of the Corporation.

(3.) IN the light of the above development such candidates, including the applicants, were directed to GNEC for their medical reexamination. In GNEC, the applicants were examined by different doctors and were declared fit and later appointed by DTC as Drivers; they joined the services. One of the candidates, Vinod Kumar, B.No.24243, who was initially found medically unfit by the DTC medical board and later found fit by the GNEC, like the applicants, caused an accident. He was re -examined by the DTC medical board, which found him unfit for the post of Driver due to DDV & DNV (colour blindness). In view of the medical condition of Vinod Kumar, the Chief Medical Officer, In -charge, DTC suggested that all such Drivers, who were declared fit by GNEC, had to be directed for medical reexamination to avoid any accident in future. In the circumstances, the DTC medical board issued Resolution No.25/2012 dated 12.4.2012 to get all such Drivers, who were declared fit by the GNEC on their medical reexamination, medically examined by an independent medical board for detecting the number of defective vision cases. This resolution reads as under: -