Asif Iqbal Naik
Jammu, Dec 17: In a judgment of far-reaching significance, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu Bench, comprising Hon’ble Mr. Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member, and Hon’ble Mr. Ram Mohan Johri, Administrative Member, has delivered major relief to hundreds of Junior Assistants who remained stagnated on the same post till retirement due to the non-availability or non-completion of the Secretariat Assistants Training Course.
Allowing Transfer Application No. 1898/2020, the Tribunal categorically held that there is no statutory requirement for a Junior Assistant to qualify the Secretariat Assistants Training/Examination as a pre-condition for promotion to the post of Senior Assistant. The Bench directed the authorities to grant promotions strictly in accordance with the existing Recruitment Rules, ignoring the impugned training condition.
The case was filed by Nissar Ahmed, a Junior Assistant in the School Education Department, who was represented by Advocate Faheem Shokat Butt. The applicant had been denied promotion despite being senior to several promotees, solely on the ground that he had not qualified the Secretariat Assistants Training Course. It was contended that similarly situated colleagues had earlier been promoted without such qualification, resulting in clear discrimination.
After examining the relevant statutory provisions, particularly SRO 272 of 2008, the Tribunal observed that the said SRO does not mandate passing of the Secretariat Assistants Training Course for promotion to the post of Senior Assistant. The Bench further held that Government Order No. 318-JK (GAD) of 2021, relied upon by the respondents, could neither be applied retrospectively nor override statutory recruitment rules framed under constitutional authority.
The Tribunal also took note of its earlier judgment declaring the relevant clause of the 2021 Government Order as ultra vires, reiterating that executive instructions cannot impose eligibility conditions not prescribed under statutory rules.
Terming the denial of promotion as arbitrary, discriminatory and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, the CAT directed the respondents to convene a Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) and promote the applicant to the post of Senior Assistant from the date his juniors were promoted, along with all consequential benefits including notional seniority and pay fixation.
Legal observers have described the judgment as having wide administrative impact and being beneficial to a large number of Junior Assistants across various government departments who were deprived of career progression for years due to the unwarranted insistence on the Secretariat Assistants Training Course.
The Tribunal has directed that the entire exercise be completed within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of the judgment.
