ORDER

1. Delay condoned.

2. Special leave granted. Heard.

3. The respondent, Kishan Gopal Vyas, a casual labourer, was appointed as Khalasi in October 1969 under the Inspector of Works in the Railways at Bikaner which is a Class IV post in the Civil Engineering Department. The respondent claimed that he was entitled to be regularised as a Storekeeper/Clerk which is a Class III post in that Department because he possessed the requisite qualification for that post and he had been working in that capacity for quite some time. An application made to this effect by the respondent has been allowed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jodhpur Bench by the impugned order dated 6-7-1992. The Tribunal has given a direction as under :

"We accordingly allow the application partly and direct that the applicant be paid the arrears on account of difference between the pay of Store Issuer/Store Clerk on which post he was working and the pay already drawn, period of three years before the date of his filing of application in the Tribunal viz. 23-8-1990 and thereafter, shall also be allowed to continue to perform the duties of the post of Store Clerk/Store Issuer and paid accordingly unless he fails to qualify in or to avail of two additional chances to qualify in the suitability test for promotion to the post of clerk or the work presently entrusted to him is entrusted to an existing or a regularly appointed clerk. Parties to bear their own costs."

Aggrieved by the order of the Tribunal, this appeal by special leave has been filed by the Union of India.

4. The appellant has throughout contested the respondents claim of working on a Class III post of Storekeeper/Clerk. Admittedly, there is no order in writing to support the respondents claim to this effect. The only material which forms the basis of the Tribunals order is some correspondence with the Department which is at pp. 45-53 of the paper-book. The question, therefore, is whether this material can support the respondents claim and consequently the Tribunals order.

5. The first document is Annexure III dated 18-1-1978 (at pp. 45-46 of the paper-book). This is a letter from the office of the Divisional Engineer, Bikaner to the Inspector of Works, Bikaner. No mention is made therein of the respondent and there is nothing therein to indicate that the respondent was appointed on a Class III post or any such work was taken from him. It relates only to the work at that place with no particular reference to anyone working therein. The next document is Annexure-IV dated 20-11-1978 (at p. 47) which refers to the respondent and merely says that he is deputed to work and handle uniform centre. The next document is Annexure-VI dated 31-5-1986 (at p. 48) and relates to the representation made by the respondent describing him as Khalasi under IOW/Bikaner. To this document is annexed a letter dated 24-12-1986 of the IOW/Bikaner addressed to the Assistant Superintending Engineer of the Department. The letter says that there is no Store Issuer and it was essential to post a suitable Class III staff, that is, Store Issuer who can maintain all the records. It then makes a recommendation for appointment of the respondent to that post. Next is Annexure-VIII dated 12-5-1987 (at p. 51) from IOW/Bikaner to the Assistant Engineer, Bikaner on the subject of posting of a clerk on ad hoc basis and therein again a recommendation is made describing respondent as a Khalasi for posting him as a clerk on an ad hoc basis till the permanent clerk is posted. Next is a letter dated 28-11-1987 from Assistant Engineer, Bikaner to Divisional Superintending Engineer, Bikaner making a recommendation for trial of respondent in the job of a clerk. The next document is a letter dated 4-4-1988 from Divisional Superintending Engineer to DCOS/Bikaner describing respondent as a material chaser and deputing him to assist in chasing of material. This is the entire correspondence available for deciding the controversy.

6. We find nothin