Per : Dr. Mrutyunjay Sarangi, Member (A) The applicant in the present Original Application is aggrieved by denial of promotion from the date of his eligibility and has approached this Tribunal with a prayer to upgrade
2 OA No.802/2010 him to the post of Master Craftsman (herein after referred to as MCM) w.e.f. 20.05.2003 with all consequential benefits including actual arrears of pay.
2. The facts of the case as apparent from the OA are as follows:
i) The applicant had joined in the post of Mazdoor in the Military Engineering Services on 01.10.1981. After a series of promotions, he finally cleared the Trade Test and was promoted to the post of HS-II on 26.06.1995. In 1998 there were 5 vacancies for the post of HSI but the respondents gave promotion to 4 individuals namely S.P. Jadhav, G.P. More,
V.P. Dani and G.B. Gaikwad who were immediate seniors to the applicant. Although, there was one remaining vacancy the applicant was not considered for promotion on the ground that the post will be filled up on transfer of an HS-I from Bhusawal to Deolali. No such transfer took place and the post of HS-I continued to remain vacant despite the applicant's repeated representations. He was finally
3 OA No.802/2010 promoted to the post of HS-I w.e.f. 28.06.2001. In the year 2003, the respondents took a decision to merge the posts of HS-I and HS-II retrospectively w.e.f. 01.01.1996. On 03.09.2003 prior to the formal merger of the posts of HS-I and HS-II, three individuals namely Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Borade, who were juniors to the applicant and working on the post of HS-II were promoted directly to the post of MCM by superseding the applicant and 4 other seniors. The order was however, cancelled on 08.10.2003. On 10.06.2005 the above mentioned 3 individuals Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Borade, were again promoted to the post of MCM retrospectively w.e.f. 20.05.2003 by superseding the applicant as well as 4 other seniors. On 07.07.2005 the applicant made a representation to the respondent no.2. On 22.11.2008 the respondent no.3 promoted 26 individuals belonging to various categories to the post of MCM but the applicant was not
4 OA No.802/2010 included in the said order. The applicant made repeated representations to the respondents on his non-upgradation to the post of MCM w.e.f 20.05.2003. The last such representation was on 21.12.2009 addressed to respondent no.3. On 15.04.2010 the applicant received a reply under RTI Act wherein it was mentioned that 4 persons were senior to him, namely Shri S.P. Jadhav, Shri G.P. More, Shri
V.P. Dani and Shri G.B. Gaikwad. He was also informed that the 3 persons junior to him namely Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Borade were initially upgraded as MCM w.e.f. 20.05.2003 as per the approval of the previous Board but in the revised Board they were not recommended for upgradation as MCM. The applicant in the OA has prayed for quashing this letter dated 15.04.2010. He has also prayed for quashing the letter No.1054/1815/EIR(I) dated 08.12.2009 on the subject request to investigate how juniors are granted promotions of MCM ignoring my seniority. This letter is in
5 OA No.802/2010 reply to the applicant's application dated 18.06.2009 and the applicant is informed that his case is declared as closed.
3. The applicant has based his prayer on the following grounds;
i) The applicant does not deny that Shri S.P. Jadhav, Shri G.P. More, Shri V.P. Dani and Shri G.B. Gaikwad are senior to him. The applicant claims that he was eligible for promotion to the post of HS-I in the year 1998 but he was denied the promotion on the ground that one HS-I was to be transferred from Bhusawal to Deolali which never happened. The 4 persons senior to him were promoted to HS-I. In the year 2003, the respondents had taken a decision to merge the post of HS-I and HS-II retrospectively w.e.f. 01.01.1996, since the 5th Pay Commission had recommended an identical Pay Scale of Rs.4000-6000 to both the post of HS-I and HS-II. By a letter dated 03.03.2004 one time relaxation was granted on the requirement of passing of Trade Test and holding of DPC for merger of HS-II to the post of HS-I.
6 OA No.802/2010 ii) The 3 individuals who are juniors to the applicant namely Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Borade were directly promoted to the post of MCM on 03.09.2003 but the order was subsequently cancelled on 08.10.2003. The Pay Scale of the MCM is Rs.4500-7000 whereas the Pay Scale of HS-I/HS-II was Rs.4000-6000 as per the 5th Pay Commission Recommendation. Within a period of less then 2 years the respondents again issued a promotion order dated 10.06.2005 upgrading the 3 juniors namely (Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Borade) to the post of MCM retrospectively w.e.f. 20.05.2003. iii) It is the applicant's contention that such promotion to the juniors by superseding the applicant and 4 other seniors is illegal. On 27.03.2006 the respondent no.1 had issued a corrigendum for implementation of the judgment of the Ernakulam Bench of CAT. By the said corrigendum dated 27.03.2006 it was stipulated that the individuals who got the promotion to the post of HS-I by way of
7 OA No.802/2010 passing Trade Test between 01.01.1996 to 19.05.2003 would be enbloc senior to those who got promotion as a result of restructuring of cadre in relaxation of condition of passing Trade Test. It is the applicant's contention that even as per the corrigendum dated 27.03.2006 he was clearly senior to Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Borade. It is the applicant's claim that he was promoted to the post of HS-I on 28.06.2001 as a result of passing of Trade Test in the year 1998 where as the above mentioned 3 individuals (Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Borade) were never promoted to the post of HS-I and were merely redesignated as HS without passing any Trade Test. iv) The respondents had convened a Review Board and as per the recommendation of the Board, respondent no.3 issued order dated 22.11.2008, by which 26 individuals from various categories were promoted to the post of MCM. In the said list 3 persons senior to the applicant in the
8 OA No.802/2010 category of Fitter General Mechanical were promoted to the post of MCM retrospectively w.e.f. 20.05.2003 and adjusted in-situ. But the name of the applicant was not included in the said order dated 22.11.2008.
v) In the impugned order dated 15.04.2010, the respondent no.3 has stated that although Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Borade were upgraded as MCM w.e.f. 20.05.2003 by the previous Board, they were not recommended for up- gradation as MCM by the Revised Board. The applicant has denied this contention and maintained that the three individuals were continuing to work in the post of MCM even on the date of filing of the OA. The applicant claims that respondent no.3 has given misleading reasons in his order dated 15.04.2010 to deny the legitimate claim of the applicant. vi) As per the applicant, the present position is that all the seniors of the applicant have been retrospectively upgraded as MCM w.e.f. 20.05.2003. The 3
9 OA No.802/2010 persons junior to the applicant namely (Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Borade) are also working as MCM w.e.f. 20.05.2003 whereas the applicant is still working as HS. He is the only one who is left behind in the matter of promotion. He has, therefore, claimed that he should be given promotion on the same date w.e.f. 20.05.2003 with all arrears of pay and allowances. vii) The applicant is also aggrieved by the fact that one Shri G.B. Gaikwad who is senior to him had already retired from service on 28.02.2001 but he was also upgraded to the post of MCM w.e.f. 20.05.2003 in the Revised Board approved list as per letter No.12013/3/HS/4943/EIB (S) dated 10.10.2008.
4. The respondents in their reply dated 05.08.2011 have denied that any injustice has been done to the applicant;
i) The hierarchy of promotion in the relevant categories is Mazdoor to Unskilled to Skilled to HS-II to HS-I and MCM. When the decision was taken to merge
10 OA No.802/2010 the HS-I and HS-II consequent to the adoption of the 5th Pay Commission Recommendation there was a one time relaxation given for Trade Test, DPC etc. The judgment of the Ernakulam Bench of CAT dated 17.05.2005 clearly stipulated that the individuals who got promotions by way of passing Trade Test etc between 01.01.1996 to 19.05.2003 would be enbloc senior to those who got promotion as a result of restructuring of cadres in relaxation of conditions of passing Trade Test etc. In the Revised Board, the applicant's name had not been considered due to seniority. Since the applicant is senior to the 3 individuals namely (Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Borade) these 3 individuals are no longer holding the post of MCM. ii) The respondents contend that the applicant's date of appointment as Mazdoor was 01.10.1981 on the other hand the date of appointment of Shri C. Prasad as Mazdoor was 21.09.1971, Shri T.N. Sharma as Mazdoor was 21.09.1971 and Shri T.D.
11 OA No.802/2010 Boarade as Mazdoor was 16.11.1976. So in the initial appointment they were senior to the applicant and, therefore, in the Revised Board his name was not included, since he was junior to Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Boarade. It is for this reason that the Revised Board had recommended the appointment of Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Boarade to the post of MCM w.e.f. 20.05.2003. The respondents also contend that the name of Shri G.B. Gaikwad in the order dated 10.10.2008 was included erroneously for up-gradation to the post of MCM w.e.f 20.05.2003 since he had retired on 28.02.2001. The respondents have admitted this error. iii) Referring to the applicant's contention that he was not considered for 5th vacancy in the year 1998 the respondents hold that he could be promoted under the SC category but there was no SC vacancy in the year 1998 available to him since one Shri I.A. Barode was an SC candidate from Bhusawal, who was promoted
12 OA No.802/2010 to HS-I and posted in Deolali vide order dated 14.05.1999. It is because of this fact although 4 officers senior to him were promoted, he could not got promotion in the year 1999. iv) The respondents have also alleged that the present OA filed by the applicant fails on the ground of limitation since his non-upgradation to the post of MCM was in the order dated 10.06.2005 which he did not challenge at that time. Respondents have also maintained that since he has not included Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Boarade, as respondents, the present OA fails on the ground of non- joinder of parties. The respondents claim that there were 5 vacancies w.e.f. 20.05.2003 and all the 5 were promoted, were senior to the applicant.
6. The applicant has filed a Rejoinder on 11.08.2011 to the reply of the respondents. In the Rejoinder the applicant made the following points:
i) The applicant has alleged that Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and
13 OA No.802/2010 Shri T.D. Boarade were being continued on the post of MCM although they were not eligible and they were reverted only after the present OA was filed before this Tribunal. ii) Moreover, on 20.05.2003 after the promotion of Shri S.P. Jadhav, Shri G.P. More and Shri V.P. Naik, the respondents had 3 more vacancies of MCM on which Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Boarade were continued until filing of the present OA. Since the respondents admit that the above mentioned 3 individuals are juniors to the applicant the respondents were left with no other alternative but to promote/upgrade the applicant as MCM w.e.f. 20.05.2003. iii) The applicant has also drawn our attention to the fact that Shri G.B. Gaikwad who retired from service on 28.02.2001 was given up-gradation as MCM w.e.f. 20.05.2003. The respondents have admitted that this was an error and if that is so, the vacancy should be filled
14 OA No.802/2010 up by the applicant who is next to Shri V.P. Danik in seniority. Findings
7. We have heard the learned counsels from both the sides. We have also perused the documents submitted by them. During the arguments, the learned counsel for th applicant rebutted the charge of the respondents that the OA is liable to be dismissed on the ground of limitation. He has rightly mentioned that although the orders for promotion of others were passed in 2005, the applicant had made a repeated representation and only when he got a reply from the authorities on the rejection of his representation on 15.04.2010, that the cause of action arose and he has filed this OA in this Tribunal on 01.09.2010. Therefore, the OA is not hit by law of limitation. Similarly, the three juniors to the applicant were not added as respondents since orders for cancellation of their promotion have already been issued, therefore, the present OA is not hit on the ground of non-joinder of parties.
8. The present case revolves around the issue of seniority of the applicant and his promotion to the post of MCM which he alleges has been
15 OA No.802/2010 denied to him. A perusal of the documents submitted by the applicant and the respondents shows that in the year 1998 Shri N.S. Gaikwad (SC) the applicant was junior to Shri S.P. Jadhav (SC), Shri G.P. More (SC), Shri G.B. Gaikwad (SC), Shri V.P. Dani (SC) and Shri R.R. Bhoi (ST). In the 5 vacancies which were filled-up in 1998, 4 were from Scheduled Caste category and 1 was from Scheduled Tribe category. Shri R.R. Bhoi was promoted and posted to GE(N), Deolali whereas all others were adjusted in-situ on promotion. The applicant has submitted in his prayer that in the year 1998 he was denied promotion on the ground that one HS-I was being transferred from Bhusawal to Dolali, but the individual did not join. The seniority list appended by the respondents (Appendix B) to the reply clearly shows that Shri R.R. Bhoi who was posted in the 5th vacancy was from the Scheduled Tribe category and was senior to the applicant. In 1998, there was no vacancy in which anybody junior to the applicant was posted. The respondents have admitted that in 1999 one Shri I.S. Bharude, working in GE(I)(P) (FY) Bhusawal was promoted to HS-I and posted to GE (S) Deolali. So it is
16 OA No.802/2010 obvious that in 1998 the applicant had no ground to be promoted and no injustice has been done to him.
9. However, from the records it is apparent that during the promotion given on 20.05.2003 irregularities have taken place on the matter of promotion which the respondents have termed as error. The first error was to promote juniors to the applicant namely Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Boarade. The respondents have done it on the ground that their seniority was determined by an instruction issued after the order of the Ernakulam Bench of CAT. However, the respondents in their reply have admitted that this promotion was wrong and, therefore, these 3 individuals were subsequently reverted. This, therefore, proves that the applicant was senior to the above 3 individuals and deserved to be promoted on 20.05.2003. The respondents while admitting that they have committed an error, have not given relief to the applicant by adjusting him in one of the 3 vacancies which were illegally occupied by the 3 persons junior to him namely, Shri C. Prasad, Shri T.N. Sharma and Shri T.D. Boarade.
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10. The respondents have also admitted that they have committed an error by promoting Shri G.B. Gaikwad on 20.05.2003 when the individual had already retired on 28.2.2001. It is quite surprising that such an error can occur after a person's retirement and at the same time the applicant could be denied promotion when a clearcut vacancy arose because of the erroneous promotion to a retired person. The respondents have obviously failed to act on the representations submitted by the applicant, it shows a clear bias against the applicant for reasons best known to the respondents who have not offered any plausible explanation for this in their reply to the OA. It is surprising that the respondents have committed so many errors and have not rectified the injustice meted out to the applicant.
11. Keeping the above in view, we find that the applicant's claim for promotion w.e.f. 20.05.2003 is fully justified.
12. The Original Application is allowed. The respondents are directed to give promotion to the applicant w.e.f. 20.05.2003 with all consequential benefits. Since the applicant
18 OA No.802/2010 retired on 31.08.2012, necessary orders may be passed on promotion w.e.f. 20.05.2003, the payment of all arrears, fixation of pension and all consequential benefits, within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of copy of this order. No order as to costs. (Shri Arvind Rohee) (Dr. Mrutyunjay Sarangi) Member (J) Member (A)