CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
BANGALORE BENCH, BANGALORE
TRANSFERRED APPLICATION
NO.176/2009
TODAY, THIS THE
.............. DAY OF ................., 2011
HON'BLE SHRI N.D.RAGAHVAN ….VICE CHAIRMAN
HON'BLE SMT. LEENA MEHENDALE ….MEMBER(A)
1.
Sri Swamy Gowda,
S/o late Rajanna,
Aged about 43 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
2.
Sri N.K. Murthy,
S/o late M.N. Krishnappa,
Aged about 41 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
3. Sri R. Laxminarasimhaiah,
S/o Sri H. Rama Rao,
Aged about 41 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
4. Sri G.M. Ravikumar,
S/o Sri Muddanna,
Aged about 39 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
5. Sri D.S. Rohini
W/o Sri Sathyanarayana,
Aged about 36 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
6. Sri B.V. Raviprasad,
S/o Sri Venkatnarayana Sharma,
Aged about 39 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
7. Shri H.C. Narasimaiah,
S/o Sri Chaluvegowda,
Aged about 43 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
8. Sri H. Nagarajappa,
S/o Sri R. Hanumanthappa,
Aged about 43 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
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9.
Sri A.C. Bettarangaiah,
S/o Sri Chikkarangaiah,
Aged about 41 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
10.
Sri A.R. Manjunath,
S/o late Ramaiah,
Aged about 41 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
11.Sri
K.B. Chandrashekaragowda,
S /o Sri M.K. Bachegowda
Aged about 39 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
12.
Smt. P.N. Laxmidevi,
W/o Sri P. Muddegowda,
Aged about 33 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
13.
Sri A.S. Lingegowda,
S/o Sri Siddegowda,
Aged about 43 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
14.
Smt. K.R. Rathnamma,
W/o Sri B.H. Ramesh,
Aged about 34 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
15.
Sri C.V. Nagaraj,
S/o Sri Vishakantaiah,
Aged about 40 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
16.
Sri N. Raju,
S/o late Narasimhaiah,
Aged about 41 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
17.Sri
R. Krupashankar,
S/o Sri Rajashekaraswamy,
Aged about 36 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
18.Sri
N. Sreenivasamurthy,
S/o Sri Munishamappa,
Aged about 45 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
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19.Smt.
M.N. Nagashree,
W/o Sri Nagendra Murthy,
Aged about 38 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
20.Smt.
T.T. Geetha,
W/o Sri T.S. Thimmaiah,
Aged about 37 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant.
21.Sri
T.S. Chandrappa,
S/o Sri Singegowda,
Aged about 41 years,
Occ: Technical Assistant. .... Applicants
(By Advocate Shri V.S. Naik)
Vs.
1.
Union of India,
Ministry of Textiles,
Udyog Bhavan,
Maulana Azad Road,
New Delhi – 110 001,
By its Secretary,
2.
The Member Secretary,
Central Silk Board,
C.S.B. Complex,
B.T.M. Layout, II Stage,
Madivala, Hosur Road,
Bangalore – 560 068. ... Respondents
(By Advocate Shri N.S. Prasad)
O R D E R
Hon'ble
Smt. Leena Mehendale, Member (A) :
This
application has been filed in the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka on 2.11.2006
by Writ Petition No.15402 pf 2006, and thereafter transferred to this Bench on
23.3.2009 and numbered as T.A. No.176/2009.
It is taken up under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act,
1985.
2.
The
applicants 1 to 21 are the employees of the Central Silk Board, Bangalore,
under the Ministry of Textiles. They
were initially appointed as Field Assistants during
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the period 1986 to 1992 and were
later promoted to Senior Field Assistants along with many other
colleagues. The Central Silk Board has
the post of TA (Technical Assistant) in the scale of Rs.5000-8000/- which is
the promotional channel for Senior Field Assistants. The seniority list of Field Assistants as
up-dated as on 31.10.1998 contains the names of all the 21 applicants as senior
to the many more Field Assistants who were recruited during 1.1.1994 to
31.10.1998.
3.
In
the year 2000 the Central Silk Board created 33 new direct recruitment posts of
TA for R&S, i.e., Technical Assistants for Reeling and Spinning in the pay
scale of Rs.5,000-8000/- . For these
Technical Assistants, the promotional channel would be Senior Technical
Assistant in the scale of Rs.5500-9000/- and further promotion would be to
Senior Technical Assistant Selection Grade in the scale of Rs.6500-10500/-.
These promotional avenues are same as those available for erstwhile TAs.
4.
It
is the case of the applicants that rather than filling the post of TA for
R&S from direct recruits, many of the junior Field Assistants were given
the designation of TA for R&S in the pay scale of Rs.5000-8000/- well ahead
of their seniors by a memorandum dated 18.1.2002. One such order in favour of Shri R. Pugalendi
is at Annexure-'C' as a sample. Writ
Petitions No.38776 to 38804 of 2002 were filed by the applicants before the
Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka and the Hon'ble High Court vide their order
dated 18.1.2005 disposed of the Writ Petitions directing the respondents to
consider the case of the petitioners.
Accordingly, all the applicants were given an opportunity to appear for
personal hearing individually before the CEO and Member Secretary of the
Central Silk Board, who, after hearing them all, issued memorandum to designate
them as Technical Assistants in the pay scale of Rs.5000-8000/-. However, the memorandum stated that the
petitioners were not eligible for any arrears consequent on the placement in
the higher
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pay scale and that there would be no consequential
change in the inter-se seniority. It
further stated that the future promotions to the higher grade would be governed
by the Rules. These memoranda are at
Annexures-E-1 to E-21. The prayer of the
applicants is therefore that the memoranda dated 1.6.2005 issued by Respondent
No.2, i.e., Annexures-E-1 to E-21 should be quashed and fresh improvised memoranda should be issued; their seniority
should be reckoned as it existed as on 18.1.2002, i.e., the date on which the
32 junior Field Assistants were posted as Technical Assistants for Reeling and
Spinning and the memoranda Annexures-E-1 to E-21 should be modified to give the
same seniority in the post of Technical Assistants as given to their juniors.
5.
The
learned counsel for the applicant has mentioned the following main grounds :
5.1 The regular promotional channel in the Central Silk Board for
technical cadre is Field Assistants, Senior Field Assistants, Technical
Assistants, Senior Technical Assistants and Senior Technical Assistants (Selection
Grade). The action of respondents in
giving 32 promotions as Technical Assistants (Reeling and Spinning) only to a
few selected Field Assistants was wrong and arbitrary. Accordingly, when challenged in the High
Court, the High Court directed the CEO of the Central Silk Board to give them
due consideration. Accordingly, the CEO
has given them personal interview and has issued their promotional orders to
the post of Technical Assistants, but, with prospective date and not with
effect from 18.1.2002. The order of the
CEO which is also the impugned order is thus lacking in fairness as it would
later on place the applicants who are seniors as juniors. This will also have consequential effect on
their promotion to the cadre of Assistant Director, etc.
6.
The
learned counsel for Respondents has tried to put forth a slightly different
picture on the basis of which he has tried to justify the action of the
Respondents. It is
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mentioned in the reply statement
that the Board had created the posts of TA (R&S) Technical Assistant for
Reeling and Spinning to specifically undertake Reeling and Spinning
activities. The qualification of Diploma
in Textile Technology/Handloom Technology were prescribed for these new
posts. Although, the reply statement mentions
these posts as belonging to a newly created cadre, the respondents have not
produced any notification to say that this will be a new cadre and will be
specifically distinguished from the erstwhile cadre of TA (Technical
Assistants). The Annexure-R/1, produced
by the respondents gives the details of the duties and responsibilities of the
Senior Technical Assistant (Selection Grade) and also of the Technical
Assistants, Senior Field Assistants and Field Assistants. Annexure-R/2 gives the job chart for T A
(Reeling and Spinning) without mentioning anything about their recruitment
entry point or promotional channel.
Thus, it appears to be on par with TA (normal). It is further stated that although these 32
posts of T A (Reeling and Spinning) were created, but, since there was a ban by
the Govt. of India to fill up any post by new recruitments, the Board took a
decision to find out,who, among the existing Field Assistans had the
qualification of Diploma in Textiles and promoted them as Technical Assistants
(Reeling & Spinning). As the present
applicants had no such Diploma, therefore, there was no question of promoting
them to work as T A (Reeling &Spinning).
Thus, those 32 junior Field Assistants who could be given promotion as T
A (Reeling & Spinning) in 2002 have by virtue of their earlier promotion
become senior to the present applicants and will be entitled to further
promotion also earlier to the present applicants and hence, there is no need to
modify the impugned order at Annexures-E/1 to E/21 whereby the applicants have
been given the designation of Technical Assistant with prospective effect from
2005.
7.
We
have heard both sides and are not convinced with the arguments of the learned
counsel for the respondents. All the
justifications now given by him, viz., the
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applicants not fulfilling the
qualification for the post of T A (Reeling & Spinning) in the year 2002 was
available to the respondents even as the Hon'ble High Court was hearing the
Writ Petition No.38776 to 38804/2002. It
is only after considering these that the Hon'ble High Court had directed the
CEO of the Central Silk Board to consider their case. The CEO, it appears, has found enough
justification to designate them as Technical Assistants. It then fails to convince us as to why the
same designation could not be given to them with retrospective effect.
8.
It is pertinent to note that the Silk industry
deals with several technical aspects which are very different from each other
like cocoon rearing, reeling, weaving, etc.
The Central Silk Board is mandated to promote these activities among the
private enterprises and is also required to undertake these activities through
its own staff. The Board has to promote
Research and manufacruring by creating modules for the new enterprises. It is quite understandable that the Board
undertook these activities one after another as per the need rather than
undertaking all the technical activities together. They had the posts of Field Assistants,
Senior Field Assistants and Technical Assistants right from 1986 onwards to
deal with the aspects of coccoon production, mulberry cultivation and seed
production (the eggs of the silkworm).
The activities of Reeling and Spinning is technically a very different
activity requiring different skills which are more akin to the skills needed in
textile industry. It would therefore, be
understandable if the Central Silk Board had created a separate cadre for T A
(Reeling & Spinning) and had indicated their promotional channels,
especially the way in which they would be considered for promotion vis-a-vis
the other Technical Assistants for promotion of Assistant Directors. But, the
Central Silk Board has not done any of these things. They have not even made fresh recruitment
directly to the cadre of Technical Assistant (Reeling & Spinning) for the
reason of ban by the Central Govt. or for whatever other reason. They have
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selectively promoted some
Technical Assistants directly to the pay scale of Technical Assistant in
2002. This action is obviously not been
confirmed by the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka under whose directions the CEO
in 2005 agreed to give the promotion and pay scale of Technical Assistants to
the 21 applicants on the ground that they were seniors. It is mentioned that this was done after
giving them personal hearing but no record of the said interview has been kept
by the office to suggest any compromise.
9. In view of the above, we are of the opinion that the action
of the respondents in not giving the applicants promotion to the post of
Technical Assistant with effect from the date their juniors were promoted is
not lawful. The Board should therefore
give notional promotion to applicants from the date their juniors were given
the scale of Technical Assistants, and maintain their seniority. Here we would like to add that the applicants
are entitled to the reliefs of pay fixation and seniority. However, the pay in the scale of TA will be
fixed notionally and they will not be entitled to any arrears of pay as they
have not officiated in the post during that period. Their seniority as it existed on 1.1.2002
immediately before promoting some juniors as TA (R&S) will be protected. We
therefore allow the OA, direct the Respondent No.2 to issue modification to the
orders at Annexures-E/1 to E/21 within a period of two months. No order as to costs.
(LEENA
MEHENDALE) (N.D.
RAGHAVAN)
MEMBER (A) VICE-CHAIRMAN
psp.
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