Ajay Kumar Srivastava & Anr v. UOI & Anr

PRATEEK JALAN, J

S. RAVINDRA BHAT, J JANUARY 24, 2019 pv

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Reserved on: 07th January, 2019 Pronounced on: 24th January, 2019 + AJAY KUMAR SHRIVASTAVA & ANR. ..... Petitioners Through: Mr. L.R. Khatana, Adv. versus UOI & ANR. ..... Respondents Through: Mr. R.V. Sinha & Mr. A.S. Singh, Advs. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S. RAVINDRA BHAT HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRATEEK JALAN MR.JUSTICE PRATEEK JALAN % 1. The petitioners in this writ petition are aggrieved by orders of the Central Administrative Tribunal (hereinafter, "the Tribunal") dated 10.01.2002 and 04.04.2002 dismissing their Original Application (O.A. No. 620/2001) and their application for review (R.A. No. 83/2002). 2. The petitioners are officers of the Central Secretariat Service and were serving as Section Officers at the time of filing the application before the Tribunal. Although they completed the eligibility criteria of 8 years of service as Section Officers, qualifying them for promotion to the grade of Under Secretary, they had yet not been granted such promotions. Their grievance before the Tribunal was that the benefit of an Office Memorandum dated 20.08.1999 (hereinafter, "O.M."), providing for upgradation of Section Officers/Desk Officers to the grade of Under Secretaries, has been given to their juniors by a misplaced application of the reservation policy. The petitioners consequently sought the benefit of upgradation from the date that such benefit was given to persons junior to them in the prevalent seniority list of Section Officers dated 03.12.1997. Their representations dated 22.02.1999, 27.08.2003 and 03.11.2000 having failed to elicit any response, they filed the application before the Tribunal on 12.03.2001. 3. The Tribunal has declined reliefs to the petitioners on merits, and has also held against them on the question of limitation and non- joinder of affected parties. 4. Mr. L.R. Khatana, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the said O.M. provides for upgradation of posts on account of acute stagnation in the grades of Section Officers and Desk Officers. He relied on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited v. R. Santhakumari Velusamy and Others (2011) 9 SCC 510, to contend that the policy of reservation is not applicable to upgradation of posts. Mr. Khatana further argued that the Tribunal had misapplied the provisions of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 relating to limitation and that, seen in the context of the reliefs sought by the petitioners before the Tribunal, the Tribunal's finding of non- joinder of parties was also erroneous. 5. Mr. Sinha, learned counsel for the respondent argued that the reservations were granted on the basis of the advice of the Law Ministry and that the Tribunal had rightly declined to interfere in a policy decision of the Government. 6. The contents of the said O.M. are set out below: OFFICE MEMORANDUM Sub.: Central Secretariat Service – Upgradations of Posts of Section Officers/Desk Officers to the level of Under Secretaries as personal to the incumbents – reg. The undersigned is directed to refer to this Department's O.M. of even number dated the 28th September, 1998, upgrading a certain number of posts specified therein from the level of Desk Officers/Section Officers/Under Secretaries to that of Under Secretaries/Deputy Secretaries. The circumstances in which it became necessary to give personal upgradations to the officers, viz. non-preparation of the panels of Under Secretaries (due to litigation over the dispute relating to inter-se seniority of direct recruits and promotee Section Officers) still remain unchanged. Consequently, it has not yet been feasible to mae regular promotions to the grades of Deputy secretary and Under Secretaries. It is also noted that even after the personal upgradations given to the Section Officers against 225 temporary upgraded posts of Under Secretaries in pursuance of the aforesaid O.M. dated 28.9.98, the level of stagnation continues to be acute in the grad