RAMJI PRASAD RAI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RAMJI Prasad filed a claim petition before the Central Administrative Tribunal contending that his seniority in service had been incorrectly fixed by the Railway administration and prayed for its correction. His claim was registered as O.A. No. 204 of 1993 : Ramji Prasad Rai V/s. The Union of India and Ors. The Railway administration concerned is North Eastern Railway. The Central Administrative Tribunal found the claim of the petitioner as devoid of merit and accordingly rejected it. The petitioner has challenged the decision of the Tribunal dated 17 August, 2000 by the present writ petition.

(2.) THE Court has heard counsel for the petitioner Dr. Sadanand Jha, Senior Counsel, counsel for the railway administration Mr. Manindra Kishore and counsel for respondent no. 4 Mr. S. K. Mishra.

(3.) THE competing claims are between the petitioner Ramji Rai and respondents 4, 5 and 6 M/s Kedar Nath Singh, Girija Nandan and Vijay Kumar Rai. The case is not between competing equalities so as to prefer between one candidate or the other on merits. The petitioner entered service on 24 May, 1968 as a casual waterman, the lowest run of the ladder for entering service. The respondents entered service 6 to 7 years later in 1974 -75 as a material checker. One respondent entered service on 1 March, 1975, the other two on 1 September, 1974. The source of recruitment and entry into service was not similar.