UNION OF INDIA Vs. NAGENDRA BAHADUR SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Shri K.P. Singh, learned counsel for the petitioners and Shri Shekhar Kumar Yadav, learned counsel for the respondent No. 1.

(2.) The railways have come up assailing the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal dated 26th July, 2007 contending that the Tribunal has erroneously proceeded to allow the original application of the respondent No. 1 for being regularised against a Group-C post which is in the teeth of the pronouncement of the Full Bench judgment of the Central Administrative Tribunal in Original Application No. 57/96 decided on 30.10.2000 (Aslam Khan v. Union of India and others). It is further submitted that this grant of regularisation otherwise also is impermissible keeping in view paragraph 1007 of the Railways Establishment Manual Volume II which also does not extend any such benefit and to the contrary the regularisation can only be made against a Group B Post. Thus the challenge raised by the respondent No. 1 in respect of the regularisation against a Group D post was absolutely misplaced and the Tribunal ought not to have extended the said benefit. Hence the order deserves to be set aside.

(3.) A counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the respondent and it is urged that the petitioners have clearly violated Article 14 of the Constitution of India inasmuch as persons who were extended the benefit of the judgment by the Jabalpur Bench of the Tribunal stand on the same footing as the respondent No. 1 and therefore denial of the benefits of regularisation to the answering respondent clearly amounted to violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. Hence the Tribunal was justified in extending the said relief to the answering respondent.