IMPORTANT POINT
The issue of seniority has to be decided on the matter of principle and the Rules applicable to the persons absorbed by the ESI Corporation-The employee cannot be permitted thereafter turn around and challenge the terms of absorption. It was also found that the absorption, in that case, was strictly not in the public interest, which is a condition precedent in terms of paragraph 3.4.3 of the Office Memorandum referred to above

JUDGMENT :

1. These original petitions have been filed challenging a common order dated 28-11-2019 in O.A. No. 369/2018, O.A. No. 282/2017 and O.A. No. 176/2017 on the file of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Ernakulam Bench. Though the Central Administrative Tribunal had disposed of 11 cases through the same order, the challenge in these Original Petitions is confined to the orders in the three Original Applications mentioned above. The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESI Corporation) and its officers have filed O.P. (CAT) No. 17/2020 challenging the order in O.A. No. 369/2018; O.P. (CAT) No. 157/2020 challenging the order in O.A. No. 282/2017 and O.P. (CAT) No. 183/2020 challenging the order in O.A. No. 176/2017. The applicants in O.A. No. 282/2017 have filed O.P. (CAT) No. 51/2020 challenging the order in that original application to the extent that it denies certain reliefs sought for in that original application.

2. The facts fall in a very narrow compass. The Employees State Insurance Corporation which is a statutory body under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 had decided as a matter of policy to take over ESI hospitals in various states in the country together with the staff provided they exercise their option to be employed by the Corporation in lieu of their employment under the concerned State Government.

3. In these cases, we are concerned with the seniority of Head Nurses and Staff Nurses in the ESI Hospitals at Udyogamandal, Paripally and Ezhukone, on their absorption by the ESI Corporation. The conditions of absorption of members of the staff in these hospitals i.e. in respect of those who opted for absorption by the ESI Corporation were set out in a document titled as the ‘Terms of absorption’ which was finalized through proceedings dated 13-06-2011 contained in letter No. A-11/11/10/09 Med-6 from the Joint Director (M.A.) addressed to the Medical Superintendents of ESI hospitals at Paripally, Ezhukone, Udyogamandal and Vapi. The said terms of absorption have been produced as Ext.P5 (R7 (c)) in O.P. (KAT) No. 51/2020. The date of taking over of Udyogamandal ESI Hospital was on 02-11-2009; that of Paripally ESI Hospital was on 16-04-2010 and that of the Ezhukone ESI Hospital was on 20-04-2010. The ESI Corporation took the stand that notwithstanding the different dates on which the hospitals were taken over, the date of absorption of the staff will be 04-03-2011. This is stated to be on the basis that staff in question had submitted their technical resignation to the State Government and the same was accepted only with effect from 03-03-2011. The Tribunal found that in the case of Udyogamandal ESI Hospital the controversy regarding the date of absorption was settled by the order in O.A. No. 1175/2013 where the date of absorption of staff in respect of Udyogamandal hospital was held to be 02- 11-2009 which was the date on which the said hospital was taken over by the ESI Corporation. The order in O.A. No. 1175/2013 was challenged before this court. This court held that the view taken by the Tribunal was correct in law. The matter appears to have been challenged before the Supreme Court by the ESI Corporation. Though the matter was pending before the Supreme Court when the present cases were decided by the Tribunal, by now we are informed that the Civil Appeals filed challenging the judgment of this court which confirmed the view taken by the Tribunal in O.A. No. 1175/2013 has been dismissed by order dated 04-02-2020. The Tribunal has followed the view taken by it in O.A. No. 1175/2013 which was confirmed by this court and also by the Supreme Court through order referred to above. The Tribunal, therefore, held that in respect of staff working in the 3 hospitals in question, their date of absorption in ESI Corporation would be 02-11-2011 in the case of Udyogamandal hospital, 16-04-2010 in the case of Paripally hospital and 20-04-2010 in the case of Ezhukone hospital. It further held that the seniority