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2025 Supreme(Online)(CAT) 5094
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
Urmita Datta, Suchitto Kumar Das, JJ
Arpita Bhawmik, Satabdi Samanta – Appellant
Versus
Union of India through General Manager, Eastern Railway – Respondent
O.A. 350/00511/2024
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr. C. Sinha
For the Respondents: Ms. D. Nag
Promotion eligibility must adhere to seniority and suitability guidelines, unaffected by unjust modifications to the notification roster.
Headnote:The applicants approached the tribunal seeking relief under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, targeting several notifications that wrongly modified seniority and promotion eligibility based on community quotas. The court found that the modifications contravened applicable promotion roster guidelines, notably RBE No. 114/1997, and highlighted that existing seniority must be upheld. Ultimately, notifications were quashed, and the tribunal ordered adherence to earlier guidelines, ensuring the applicants' promotions to Chief Nursing Superintendent positions if found suitable post-assessment. The application was disposed of, denying costs.
| Table of Content |
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| 1. the applicants' promotions were wrongly obstructed by modified notifications. (Para 2 , 3) |
| 2. senior candidates cannot be bypassed based on unjustified adjustments. (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 12) |
| 3. established that prior seniority rules must be maintained in promotions. (Para 15 , 16 , 17) |
ORDER
Per Ms. Urmita Datta (Sen), Judicial Member:
The instant application has been filed by the applicants under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act , 1985 praying for the following relief:-
“a) Liberty be granted to file and maintain the Original Application jointly under Rule 4(5)(a) of CAT (Procedure) Rules, 1987.
b) To set aside and quash impugned Notification No. E- 5/Med/Chief Matron dated 03.10.2023 issued by the Sr. Divisional Personnel Officer, Eastern Railway, Howrah as regard expunging the name of applicant No.1 and incorporating the name of P. Respondent No. 6 is concerned.
c) To set aside and quash impugned Notification No. E- 5/Med/Chief Matron dated 20.12.2023 issued by the Sr. Divisional Personnel Officer, Eastern Railway, Howrah has regard expunging the name of applicant No. 1 and 2 and incorporation of the name of P. Respondent No. 6 and 7 is concerned.
d) To aside set and quash impugned Letter No. E- 5/Med/Suitability/NS/2019 dated 16.10.2023 issued by the Sr. Divisional Personnel Officer, Eastern Railway, Howrah.
e) To set aside and quash impugned Office Order No. E- 5/MED/4/2024 dated 12.01.2024 issued by the Sr. Divisional Personnel Officer, Eastern Railway, Howrah.
f) To set aside and quash impugned letter No. 1285873/2024/O/o Sr. DPO/HWH/ER dated 27.02.2024 issued by the Sr. Divisional Personnel Officer, Eastern Railway, Howrah.
g) To direct the respondents to publish a fresh panel declaring applicants eligible for promotion to the post of Chief Nursing Superintendent and hold a suitability test for the applicant and if found suitable promote the applicant to the post of Chief Nursing Superintendent with all consequential benefit.
h) To direct the respondents to produce the records relating to promotion of the P. Respondents to the post of Chief Nursing Superintendent before this Hon’ble Tribunal at the time of hearing for the ends of justice.
i) Any other order or orders as the Hon’ble Tribunal deems fit and proper.”
2. As per the applicants, they were appointed as Staff Nurse (redesignated as Nursing Superintendent) on 17.03.2009 and 02.11.2012 respectively. Thereafter, they were promoted to the post of Sr. Nursing Superintendent / Nursing Sister on 29.09.2018 and 07.04.2017 respectively.
It has been submitted that from the perusal of the seniority list for the post of Nursing Sister/Senior Nursing Superintendent as circulated vide letter dated 28.03.2018 it is revealed that the name of Applicant No. 2 appears at Srl. No. 17. The name of the applicant No. 1 and private respondents do not figure in the said list. Further, from the perusal of the seniority list dated 05.01.2021 (Annexure A-1 collectively) for the post of Sr. Nursing Sister/Nursing Sister it would reveal that the name of the Applicant No. 1 and 2 appears at Srl. No. 8 and 7 respectively in the seniority list and the name of the respondent No. 6 & 7 (Rima Halder and Minati Mondal appears at Srl. No. 11 and 15 respectively) as well as the date of promotion of private respondent No. 6 and 7 in the cadre of Sr. Nursing Superintendent (SNS) is 25.11.2019. Therefore, admittedly, the private respondents are junior to the applicants for all intent and purposes.
Subsequently, vide notification dated 07.07.2023, a total number of 04 vacancies were notified for filling up the post of Chief. Nursing Superintendent through suitability test in the Medical Department of Howrah Division and out of that 04 number of vacancies (UR-04, SC-00, ST-00), 02 were anticipated vacancies upto 31.05.2024 and 02 were existing vacancies at the time of notification issued by the Assistant Personnel Officer for Sr. Divisional Personnel Officer, Eastern Railway, Howrah and in
