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RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT
Vijay Bishnoi, Sudesh Bansal, JJ.
Mukesh Kumar Meena - Appellant
Versus
Principal Commissioner of Income Tax - Respondent
Civil Writ Petition No. 7434/2021
Decided On : 27-10-2021
Transfer - Administrative Tribunal - Central Administrative Act, 1985 - Section 25, CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965 - The court interpreted the administrative powers of the Chairman under Section 25, emphasizing the importance of jurisdiction and the rights of employees to file applications in their residing Bench.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, an Inspector in the Income Tax Department, was removed from service after a departmental enquiry. He filed an application before the CAT, Jodhpur, which was later transferred to CAT, Allahabad, prompting this writ petition.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the transfer of the O.A. was unjustified as the cases before the Allahabad Bench were distinguishable from the petitioner's case, which involved a permanent employee removed after a full enquiry.
Issues: Whether the transfer of the O.A. from CAT, Jodhpur to CAT, Allahabad was justified and whether the petitioner had the right to file in his residing Bench.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the Chairman's power to transfer cases is administrative and must consider the convenience of the parties involved, particularly the rights of employees to file in their residing jurisdiction.
Result: The writ petition is allowed, and the transfer order is set aside, directing the CAT, Jodhpur to hear the O.A. on its merits.
JUDGMENT
Vijay Bishnoi, J. - This writ petition is filed by the petitioner being aggrieved with the order dated 07.05.2021 passed by learned Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi, whereby the application P.T./68/2021 preferred on behalf of respondent-department has been allowed and O.A. No.14/2021 pending before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jodhpur Bench has been ordered to be transferred to Central Administrative Tribunal, Allahabad Bench with a direction to club it with O.As. No.1031/2017 and 1030/2017 pending before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Allahabad Bench.
Brief facts of the case are that the petitioner was working as an Inspector in Income Tax Department and was posted in the Office of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Aligarh. A memorandum of charge was issued by Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Aligarh and based on the said memorandum of charge, a departmental enquiry under Rule 14 of CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965 was initiated and Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Muzaffarnagar passed an order on 12.09.2019 removing the petitioner from service.
The petitioner preferred an appeal to the Jurisdictional Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, however, when the appeal was not decided, the petitioner preferred Original Application No.14/2021 before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jodhpur Bench, Jodhpur, under whose jurisdiction, the petitioner is at present residing.
The CAT, Jodhpur on 12.01.2021 directed to register the O.A., admitted the same and issued notices to the respondents. The next date in the O.A. was fixed as 23.02.2021 and on the date fixed, counsel for the respondents put his appearance and sought four weeks' time to file detailed counter affidavit, which was granted and the next date in the matter was fixed as 08.04.2021.
In between, the respondents filed a transfer application under Section 25 of the Central Administrative Act, 1985 before Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi (hereinafter to be referred as 'the Principal Bench') on 23.03.2021 seeking transfer of O.A. No.14/2021 filed on behalf of the petitioner before the CAT, Jodhpur Bench on the ground that three Income Tax Inspectors involved in the same incident, for which memorandum of charge was served upon the petitioner, which resulted into his removal from the service, have also been terminated and the said Inspectors have filed separate O.As., two before the CAT, Allahabad Bench and one before CAT, Lucknow Bench and the same are pending. It is urged that because same issue is pending before the various Benches of Tribunal and in order to avoid conflicting views of the various Benches, the O.A. filed by the petitioner be transferred to CAT, Allahabad Bench.
It appears that after filing of the transfer application on 23.03.2021, one Misc. Application has also been filed by the respondents before the Principal Bench on 05.05.2021 levelling allegations against the CAT, Jodhpur regarding its prejudicial attitude while entertaining O.A. preferred on behalf of the petitioner. The petitioner has also filed his response to the transfer application before the Principal Bench on 05.05.2021. The learned Chairman of the Principal Bench has passed the impugned order dated 07.05.2021, transferred the O.A. No.14/2021 to CAT, Allahabad Bench from CAT, Jodhpur Bench and also ordered for clubbing it with O.A. Nos. 1031/2017 and 1030/2017 pending at CAT, Allahabad Bench.
Assailing the impugned order dated 07.05.2021, learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that learned Chairman of the Principal Bench has grossly erred in transferring the O.A. preferred by the petitioner from CAT, Jodhpur Bench to CAT, Allahabad Bench solely on the ground that two similar cases are pending before the CAT, Allahabad Bench. It is argued that the cases pending before the CAT, Allhabad Bench are distinguishable from the case of the petitioner. It is submitted that the petitioners in those cases were the temporar
The Chairman of the CAT must consider the jurisdictional rights of employees and the administrative nature of transfer powers under the Central Administrative Act.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the transfer order violated the petitioner's fundamental right to equality before the law.
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The Chairman's administrative power to transfer cases under Section 25 of the Administrative Tribunal Act supersedes the applicant's right to choose the filing location under Rule 6(2) of the 1987 Ru....
Reading of section 260A(1) would go to show that an appeal shall lie to the High Court from “every order” passed in appeal by the Tribunal if the High Court is satisfied that the case involves a subs....
Power of judicial review of an order transferring an Original Application pending before a Bench of Tribunal to another Bench under Section 25 of Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 can be judicially ....
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