P P ADITHIAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the arguments of Mr. C. Selvaraju, learned Senior Counsel leading Mr. S. Sellapandiyan, learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr. K. Sridhar, learned Senior Central Government Standing Counsel representing the first respondent, Mr. K. Elango, learned counsel for the second respondent and Mr. P. Wilson, learned Assistant Solicitor General for the third respondent and have perused the records.

(2.) AGGRIEVED by the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal dated 25.8.2005 made in O.A. No. 1021 of 2004, the petitioner has filed the W.P. No. 30680 of 2005. The petitioner belongs to Indian Postal Service [for short, 'IPS'] and his grievance was on promotion to the Senior Administrative Grade at Post Master General level, he was overlooked and more than 86 Officers belonging to 1970 to 1988 batch of IPS had superceded him. The petitioner earlier had filed O.A. No. 1025 of 1995 seeking for direction to the respondent to promote him as the Senior Administrative Grade from the 1995 panel. By an order dated 18.11.1996, his Original Application was dismissed holding that in the Departmental Promotion Committee's [DPC for short] ratings, the petitioner's ratings were low and, therefore, the question of considering his promotion may not arise and the DPC had found him not fit for promotion. Thereafter, the second O.A. was filed by the petitioner.

(3.) ON behalf of the first respondent, a detailed counter affidavit has also been filed. In paragraph 4 of the counter, it is stated as follows: Para 4: