AVINASH KANT Vs. CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A short point is raised in this petition. The petitioner was initially appointed as Khalasi in Northern Railway, Jodhpur in the year 1981. Vide Advertisement No. 1/84, applications were invited by the Railway Recruitment Board, Ajmer for a number of posts which included the posts of Clerks Gr. I and Senior Clerks. The petitioner submitted an application for selection to the post of Clerk Gr. I as well as Senior Clerk. He was called for selection and after undergoing the entire process of selection, a panel was issued on 27. 8. 1985 which contained the name of the petitioner at Serial No. 27. Vide letter dated 13. 9. 1985, the petitioner was intimated that he has been selected for appointment to the post of Clerk Gr. I and has been allotted the office of the Divisional Accounts Officer, Northern Railway, Jodhpur and the appointment will be given to him by that office. This letter is Annx. 2 which is reproduced hereinbelow:- RAILWAY RECRUITMENT BOARd 41/32, Majo College Road Ajmer 305 001. No. RRB/rect/84-85 (1/84) Employment Notice No. 1184 Roll No. 108275 108092 To, Avinash Kant Gaur s/o Shri Krishna Kant Gaur, 14, Sangidas Thanvi Building, Inside Pole, Mahatma Gandhi Hospital Road, Jodhpur. With reference to your application for the post of Clerk Gr. I notified in Employment Notice No. 1184 Category No. 3 you are informed that:- You have qualified in the written Examination/interview, but your final appointment will be made by the office of the Divisional Accounts Office, Northern Railway, who will in due course send you an offer of appointment provided you are otherwise suitable. NOTE ; NO FURTHER CORRESPONDENCE WILL BE ENTERTAINEd Sd/- for Chairman, Railway Recruitment Board, Ajmer.

(2.) IN pursuance of this letter, the petitioner was given appointment vide order dated 4. 8. 1987. Subsequent to that, the petitioner was transferred from the office of Accounts Officer, Traffic Accounts, Northern Railway to office of Divisional Accounts Officer, Northern Railway, Jodhpur on 24. 05. 1988. The petitioner in due course passed the Appendix II-A Test and was consequently promoted to the post of Accounts Assistant. IN the year 1990, Appendix III-A Test was held for appointment/promotion to the post of Section Officer (Accounts) in which the petitioner was declared successful on 31. 07. 1991 and a panel was prepared on 11. 5. 92. IN this panel Annx. 6, the petitioner was shown at Serial No. 17 on the basis of the placement of his name in the panel for clerks Gr. I dated 27. 8. 1985. This panel was subsequently changed vide communication dated 2. 12. 1992. IN the panels dated 2. 12. 1992 and 15. 2. 1993 the petitioner has been assigned the position on the basis of his name in the panel of Clerks Gr. I issued by the Railway Recruitment Board, Ajmer on 27. 5. 87. The petitioner made representations to the superior authorities and ultimately filed Original Application No. 56/93 before the Central Administrative Tribunal. The petitioner's case was that as per Paragraph 306 regulating seniority of non-gazetted railway servants, a candidate for appointment at an earlier selection shall be senior to those selected later irrespective of the date of posting. The petitioner having been selected for appointment on the grade of Clerk Grade I and informed of such selection for appointment vide Annx. 2 dated 13. 9. 1985, his date of selection remains 27. 8. 1985 and it could not have been changed to the date of panel issued in year 1987 when actual posting orders were issued to him. The placement in the panel of selection for Accounts Assistant dated 19. 5. 92 was rightly made on the basis of his empanelment dated 27. 8. 1985. Therefore, his placement ought to have been made in the panel of 2. 12. 92 also as per his name in the panel of Clerks Gr. I dated 27. 8. 1985 and placement as disclosed in the panel dated 19. 5. 92 could not have been altered in the panel dated 2. 12. 92 and panels prepared subsequent thereto.

(3.) PARAGRAPH 303 operates on the field where the recruitment is by Railway Recruitment Board or by any other recruitment authority. It provides that in case candidates who are sent for initial training to a training school, their inter-se seniority shall be determined in order of merit obtained in the examination held at the end of the relevant training period before being posted against working post and where a candidates is not required to undergo training to the training schools, his inter- se seniority is required to be determined in order of merit assigned at selection by the recruiting authority. PARAGRAPH 304 is in the form of explanation to PARAGRAPH 303 by providing that when two or more persons share the same place in merit at one and the same examination, their inter-se seniority is to be determined by the date of birth, the older candidate being the senior. PARAGRAPH 305 is rider to PARAGRAPHs 303 and 304. It provides that where a person whose seniority is to be governed under PARAGRAPHs 303 and 304, is unable to join his duty within a reasonable time, he looses his seniority in accordance with merit and is placed at the bottom below all the candidates selected at the same examination who have joined within the time allowed for reporting duty or even below candidates of later selection who have joined earlier than him.