SANJOG KAPOOR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner by the present petition assails the judgment and order dated 12.8.2003 in OA No.3020/2002 and order dated 28.11.2003 in R.A. No.316/2003, passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi, dismissing his OA and Revision Application. Tribunal proceeded on the ground that OM dated 10.7.1998, on which reliance was placed by the respondents to defend its action of refusing to grant pay protection, has not been challenged by the petitioner. Furthermore, in the absence of such a challenge, the Tribunal refused to question the rationale of the said OM.

(2.) Facts leading to the filing of the present petition may be noted:

(3.) We have heard the parties and perused the documents available on record, along with the written submission filed. Firstly challenge to the Tribunal's order is on the ground that though the OA did not contain a specific prayer seeking quashing of OM dated 10.7.1998, but nonetheless the OA, in ground (f) contained the challenge to the said OM as arbitrary, discriminatory and against the underlying object of drawing talent from PSUs and other organizations as no distinction can be made between selection through interview alone and selection through open competitive examination of which interview is a necessary component. Mr. V.K. Rao on behalf of the petitioner submitted that it is well settled that if necessary grounds are taken in the petition which form the basis of the petitioner's case, mere absence of a specific prayer does not dis-entitle him to relief based on the said grounds. It was further submitted that the power of Courts and Tribunal to mould the relief appropriately is well recognized. Reliance was placed upon the decisions in B.N. Nagarajan Vs State of Karnataka reported at AIR 1979 SC 1676 and State of Kerala Vs. P.T. Roshana reported at 1979 (2) SCR 947.