The court established that the delay in asserting seniority claims, coupled with misrepresentation of facts and non-joinder of parties, barred the petitioner from relief under the Administrative Tribunals Act.

JUDGMENT

Murahari Sri Raman, J.

The challenge:

Assailing legality and propriety of the decision taken by the Collector, Balasore vide Order dated 09.02.2018 rejecting the claim for counting seniority in service by treating him as appointee of 1997, the petitioner has approached the Orissa Administrative Tribunal, Bhubaneswar by way of filing Original Application giving rise to O.A. No.435 of 2018 under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985.

1.1. After abolition of the Orissa Administrative Tribunal by virtue of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (Department of Personnel and Training) Notification F. No. A-11014/10/2015-AT [G.S.R.552(E).], dated 2nd August, 2019), the said case having been transferred to this Court, O.A. No. 435 of 2018 has been registered as WPC (OA) No.435 of 2018.

The facts:

2. The facts leading the petitioner to come up before this Court as culled out from the pleadings of the writ petition, are narrated.

2.1. As claimed by the petitioner, responding to the advertisement published in the daily newspaper 'The Samaja' on 22.10.1990, he, having qualification of Masters in Arts, applied for the post of Junior Clerk. Being selected in the written test conducted by the Collector, Balasore, he attended the type test and was selected in the type test.

2.2. It is stated that though the list of selected candidates was not published for a period of more than six years, ultimately, it got published on 14.05.1997. It is asserted that though 66 vacant posts were advertised in 1990, the opposite party No. 2, Collector, Balasore published the merit list of 34 candidates. It is alleged that the Collector, Balasore instead of preparing the list of 132 selected candidates, i.e., twice the number of vacancies advertised in terms of Rule 11 of the Orissa Ministerial Services (Method of Recruitment to the Posts of Junior Clerks in the District Offices) Rules, 1985 ('OMS Rules', for brevity), only 34 candidates were shown to have been successful candidates selected for the post of Junior Clerks.

2.3. Being aggrieved by the action of the Collector, Balasore who has violated the provisions of the OMS Rules, the petitioner approached the Orissa Administrative Tribunal by way of filing application bearing O.A. No. 1288 of 1997, which came to be disposed of by an Order dated 06.03.1999 with the following directions, as Balasore district got bifurcated into two districts, namely Balasore district and Bhadrak district with effect from 01.04.1993:

'These three applications are, therefore, disposed of with the following directions:

i. The select list be revised by including other candidates who might have been left out limiting it to 56.

ii. If the applicants come within the revised list, then they may be appointed against the available vacancies either in Bhadrak. district or Balasore district in respect of the male (general) category to which they belong, taking into account their placement in the list and relaxing their upper age limit.

iii. The number of vacancies against which appointments are made on the basis of this revised select list shall be excluded from the next advertisement, by obtaining Government orders for relaxing the relevant provisions of the OMS Rules, 1985 by taking recourse to Rule 14.'

2.4. The opposite parties preferred review petition giving rise to R.P. No.68