Srinagar: After nearly ten years of prolonged wait, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) finally came to the rescue of senior officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) who were adamantly denied a smooth career progression.
In an unprecedented speed of case disposal in the J&K judiciary, the CAT satisfactorily completed the contentious hearing of the case within a month and quashed the Government’s draft seniority list of KAS officers.
A judicial bench of the CAT comprising its Chairman Justice L Narasimha Reddy and Administrative Member Jamshed Akhtar would keenly hear the case on day to day basis and has concluded that the Government’s draft re-drawn seniority list of the KAS officers doesn’t stand legal ground.
The CAT set aside the earlier seniority lists while emphasizing that specific rules under which they were framed are illegal and contrary to law.
While disposing of the matter, the CAT said the seniority list of June 24, 2011, fully accords with the KAS Rules as well as general principles of reckoning the seniority. “The sub-rule (4) of Rule 15 of KAS Rules is not valid. Though the promotions/appointments made against the leave and training reserve vacancies cannot be treated as invalid, such appointees/promotees cannot be placed above those, who are promoted/appointed against regular vacancies,” CAT observed in its judgment.
“It is only the DPC, which can determine the eligibility of the officers with reference to the vacancies of any particular year, and not anyone else. Therefore, Rule 15(4) of the 2008 Rules cannot be sustained in law, both on account of its lacking in factual or legal basis, and it’s being opposed to the very concept of fixation of seniority,” said the CAT.
The case has been pending in the High Court since 2011. High Court Justice Tashi Rabistan in 2013 pronounced judgment almost identical to the CAT but the then government chose to challenge it before the Division Bench of the J&K High Court.
Division Bench of J&K High Court in 2016 committed the case again to the single bench of the court for communicating explicit findings on some left-out issues.
The case remained pending again in the High Court for about four years until it was transferred to the CAT established in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir at Jammu last year.
The CAT clubbed all the pending petitions and heard the matter on day to day basis.
After an exhaustive hearing for about a month, the CAT reserved the judgment on February 16 and announced it on March 28.
Demonstrating foresight, the present administration of Jammu and Kashmir decided to implement the judgment to end the prolonged legal controversy.
The government has recast the seniority according to the findings of the CAT and released the withheld special scale in favor of eligible officers of 99 batch. The applicants had challenged various steps initiated by the Government since April 1, 2020, for the revision of the seniority list of KAS officers particularly in respect of appointments made to the Time Scale between 01.01.2004 and 01.12.2018.
After hearing Senior Advocate Abhinav Sharma and Advocate Abhimanyu Sharma appearing for the petitioners, the CAT observed, “It is no doubt true that the Rules mandate that the exercise of promotion to Time Scale of KAS is to be undertaken in every calendar year. However, for one reason or the other, the promotions did not take place from the feeder categories, during the years 2004 to 2007.”
The CAT said, “The reasons, therefore, cannot be reviewed or addressed at this stage. The fact remains that promotions took place, en bloc, in the year 2008. Once the officers are promoted, the manner in which the seniority must be fixed is contained in Rule 16 of the 1979 Rules”, the CAT said, adding “it is guided by the ranking, or the place, assigned by the DPC. In case, more officers than the one from the same feeder category are promoted, their inter se seniority is to be guided by their seniority in the feeder category and the respondents were under obligation to prepare a seniority list, strictly in accordance with Rule 16 of 1979 Rules”.
For the officers appointed up to December 31, 2003, a seniority list was published on September 16, 2008. By the time the exercise for preparation of seniority list of officers appointed between 2004 and 2009 was taken up, the Government published 2008 Rules on December 1, 2008. “The Government has chosen to apply the parameters contained therein, for preparation of the seniority list of such officers. A tentative seniority list was published on 21.04.2010, inviting objections. As expected, 110 representations were received. In view of the complexity involved, the Government appointed a committee vide order dated 24.09.2010”, the CAT said.
The CAT said that the tentative seniority notified vide Government Order No. 485-GAD of 2010 dated 21.04.2010 has been drawn in terms of the provisions of KAS Rules, 2008 which is incorrect.
ENDS
