UNION OF INDIA Vs. SUSHIL KUMAR RATH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Writ Petition has been filed by the Petitioners -Union of India through the Chief Postmaster General, Orissa Circle, Bhubaneswar seeking to challenge the Judgment and Order Dated 6.5.2005 passed by the Learned Central Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, Cuttack in O.A. No. 1435 of 2003.

(2.) THE Learned Tribunal by passing the impugned Judgment had came to allow the original application filed by the applicant/Opposite Party Sri Sushil Kumar Rath, Postmaster, Malkanagiri, Mukhya Dakghar claiming payment of House Rent Allowance (in short 'HRA') inlieu of providing attached post quarters with effect from 17.7.2001 at the admissible rate and to direct the Respondents/Petitioners to refund the amount recovered from his pay towards the electricity charges and also to pay the HRA as per his entitlement as a Central Government employee.

(3.) MR . Rath, Learned Counsel for the Opposite Party submitted that pursuant to the impugned Judgment, the Postmaster General, Berhampur Region, Berhampur passed a detailed order on 28.3.2006 to the following effect, which reads as follows: Sri S.K.Rath has not stayed in the post -attached quarters of Malkangiri MDG since his joining as SPM in the year 2001. He has not experienced how easy or difficult it is to stay there. His saying that the floor washing water does not go out from the rooms of the building without staying even for a day is just imaginary. On the contrary, we have evidence that in this very accommodation his predecessor has lived & the position has not changed in the matter of facility/accommodation available in it. Rather, by not occupying the accommodation, Sri Rath is responsible for rendering it dirty & un -maintained.The department has been incurring money by paying money to the Landlord for the accommodation hired for the SPM & it is lying unused bringing loss to the department. The Petitioner Sri S.K. Rath demands house rent in lieu of rent free accommodation. The department has already taken some space for his accommodation & it incurs rent month after month for this. Now, if the unreasonable request of Sri Rath is accepted then the department will have to incur double the expenditure -(l) for the building already taken on rent for the purpose of residence of Postmaster, Malkangiri & (2) for the expenditure on HRA in lieu of rent free accommodation. This is neither permissible nor a financially productive decision for the department.