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PETITIONER: UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: K. SAVITRI & ORS.

DATE OF JUDGMENT:       04/03/1998

BENCH: S. SAGHIR AHMAD, G.B. PATTANAIK

ACT:

HEADNOTE:

JUDGMENT:                       J U D G M E N T PATTANIAK, J.      These appeals  are directed  against the  orders of the Central  Administrative   Tribunal,  Cuttack   Bench,   date 27.5.1994 and 27.10.1994 passed in Original Application Nos. 160, 161 and 163 of 1993. It may be stated that the Union of India preferred  applications for  review but  the  Tribunal dismissed  those   Review  Applications   by   order   dated 27.10.1994 holding  that there  is no  error apparent on the face of the record.      The question  for consideration  in  these  appeals  in whether surplus   employees  having been rendered surplus in the  parent   department,  on  being  redeployed  under  the provisions  of   Central  Civil  Services  (Redeployment  of Surplus Staff)  Rules, 1990 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Rules’) can  claim the  benefit  of  the  counting  of  past services rendered  by them  for the  purpose of seniority of experience in the redeployed organisation.      The brief  facts are the respondents were the employees in  the   office  of   the  Rehabilitation  and  Reclamation Organisation having joined the said organisation in February 1987. they  became surplus  in the  parent organisation  and thereafter under  the provisions of the Rules were appointed in the All India Radio on different dates. In drawing up the seniority list  of the  employees in  the All India Radio as their past  services were  not taken  into account and their experience in  the parent  organisation was not taken as the requisite experience required for promotion in the All India Radio, they  approached the  Central Administrative Tribunal by filing  different OAs. The Administrative Tribunal having allowed those  OAs and  having held  that the  past services rendered in  the parent  organisation would  count  for  the purpose of  seniority as  well as  experience the  Union  of India has come up in appeals.      Though the  respondents have  been duly served with the notices but  none of  them have entered appearance. But some of the respondents have sent their submissions to this Court which are  on record  and we  have, therefore, perused those submissions.      Mr. N.  Goswami, the  learned senior  counsel appearing

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for the  appellant - Union of India submitted that under the Rules an  employee after  redeployed is not entitled to take the  benefit   of  his    past  service  rendered  prior  to redeployment either for the purposes of seniority of even as experience for  promotion in  the redeployed organisation in view of the specific  provisions to that effect in the rules itself. The  Tribunal, therefore, committed serious error in directing   that the  past services  should  be  taken  into account.  We   find  considerable  force  in  the  aforesaid contentions. The  President  of  India  made  the  Rules  in exercise of  powers conferred  by the proviso to Article 309 of the  Constitution for  regulating  the  redeployment  and readjustment of  surplus  staff  against  vacancies  in  the Central   civil    Services   and   Post.   The   expression ‘redeployment’ has been defined in rule 2(f), thus:      "2(f)  ‘Redeployment’   means   the      appointment of  a surplus  employee      against  a  vacancy  in  a  Central      Civil Service or post in accordance      with these rules," The expression  ‘surplus staff’  and ‘surplus employee’ have been defined in Rule 2(g) thus:      "2(g)  ‘Surplus staff’ and ‘surplus      employee or  employees’  means  the      Central Civil  Servants (other than      those employed  on ad  hoc, casual,      work-charged  or   contract  basis)      who-      (a)  are   permanent,   or   ,   if           temporary, have  rendered  not           less than  five years’ regular           continuous service; and      (b)  have   been  rendered  surplus           along     with   their   posts           from      the      Ministries,           Departments,  Offices  of  the           Government  of   India,  as  a           result of-                (1)  administrative   and                financial        reforms,                including   inter   alia,                restructuring    of    an                organisation,  zero  base                budgeting, transfer of an                activity   to   a   State                Government, Public Sector                Undertaking   or    other                autonomous  organisation,                discontinuation of an on-                going    activity,    and                introduction  of  changes                in technology; or                (2)   studies   of   work                measurement undertaken by                the Staff Inspection Unit                of   the    Ministry   of                Finance or any other body                set  up  by  the  Central                Government     or     the                Ministry/Department                concerned; or                (3) abolition or winding                up either in whole or in                part of an organisation                of the Central

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              Government,      Rule 9  provides that the fixation of seniority and pay of the surplus employee and counting of his previous service for various  other purposes  in the  new post to which he is appointed on redeployment under the rules shall be regulated in accordance with the instructions issued from time to time by the Government of India in this behalf. The provisions of rule 9 is extracted hereinbelow in extenso:      9. Fixation  of pay  and seniority,      counting of  previous  service  for      various other purposes and carrying      over  of  lien/classification-  The      fixation of  seniority and  pay  of      the surplus  employee and  counting      of his previous service for various      other purposes and carrying over of      lien/classification in the new post      to  which   he  is   appointed   on      redeployment  under   these   rules      shall be  regulated  in  accordance      with the  instructions issued  from      time to  time by  the Government of      India in this behalf.      In exercise  of the  power under  Rule 9  of the Rules, Government of India has issued the revised scheme indicating the manner in which and the extent to which surplus staff on being redeployed under the Rules can be given the benefit of their past  services. Paragraph  11 of  the  revised  scheme deals with  the question  of benefit  of past  service after redeployment. Para  11.1 clearly  stipulates that  the  past services rendered  prior to  redeployment should  not  count towards seniority  in the  new organisation.  Para  11.1  is extracted hereinbelow in extenso:      11.1 No  change is  contemplated in           the present  policy  that  the           past services  rendered  prior           to  redeployment   should  not           count towards seniority in the           new   organisation/new    post           which a surplus employee joins           after he  is  redeployed.  The           same rule will also have to be           applied in  the case  of those           readjusted after redeployment.      The service  conditions  of  the  redeployed  employees under the  Rules being  governed by  the provisions  in  the rules as well as the instructions issued from the Government of India  from time  to  time  and  in  view  of  the  clear unambiguous  language  in  para  11.1  of  the  instructions referred to  above the  conclusion is  irresistible that the past services  of the redeployed staff cannot be counted for seniority in  the new organisation. The Tribunal, therefore, committed serious  error in directing that the past services would counted  for the seniority of the employees in the All India Radio.      Coming now  to  the  question  whether  the  said  past services can  be counted  as experience  for  promotion,  it appears that  under Recruitment  Rules for  various posts in the All India Radio called All India Radio (Class III Posts) Recruitment Rules,  1964 (hereinafter  referred to  as  ‘the Recruitment rules)  as amended from time to time the post of Head Clerk  is filled  up by  promotion to the extent of 50% from amongst  the Clerk  Grade II/Clerk Grade I/Stenographer with a minimum of five years of service in the grades on the basis of  a  qualifying  departmental  examination  and  the

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criteria for  promotion is  seniority-cum-fitness.  In  that view of  the matter,  since the  past services of redeployed surplus employee  cannot be counted for his seniority in the new organisation, equally the past experience also would not count as  the so-called  past services  rendered will not be service in the grade. Similarly for promotion to Clerk Grade I which  is made  on the basis of seniority-cum-fitness from amongst the   Clerks  Grade II  five years of service in the grade  in  required  for  being  considered  for  promotion. Obviously, therefore,  an employee should have five years of experience in  Clerk Grade  II of  the All India Radio after being redeployed under the Rules in order to be eligible for being considered for promotion. The Tribunal, therefore, was wholly in  error in  directing that the past services of the employees should be counted for granting them the benefit of seniority and  experience for  promotion in  the  All  India Radio. In the aforesaid premises, the impugned orders of the Central Administrative  Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, in Original Application Nos.  160, 161 and 163 of 1993 are set aside and those OAs are dismissed and these appeals are allowed but in the circumstances there will be on order as to costs.