CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL JAMMU BENCH, JAMMU (RESERVED)

Hearing through video conferencing Transfer Application No. 6510/2021 Reserved on: - 28/07/2025 Pronounced on: - 18.12.2025 HON’BLE MR. RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA, MEMBER (J)

HON’BLE MR. RAM MOHAN JOHRI, MEMBER (A)

Between, Chuni Lal Raina, Age 70 years S/o Sh. Nanak Chand R/o Gadigarh Tehsil and District Jammu.

…Applicant (Advocate: - Mr. Rahul Pant, Sr. Adv.)

-Versus-

1. State of J&K through Commissioner/Secretary to Government Forest Department, Jammu and Kashmir Government Civil Secretariat, Jammu.

2. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Forest Department Van Bhawan Jammu.

3. Managing Director J&K State Forests Corporation Jammu.

…Respondents (Advocate:- Mr. Sudesh Magotra, Ld. AAG)

ORDER Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member

1. The SWP/WPC/2370/2016 was transferred from the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A No.

6510/2021 by the Registry of this Tribunal.

2. The present matter was filed before the Hon’ble High Court seeking following relief: -

a) Writ, order or direction in the nature of Writ of Certiorari quashing the Forest Order No.60 of 2016 dated 28.03.2016;

b) Writ, order or direction in the nature of Writ of Mandamus commanding the Respondent to promote the petitioner as Chauffeur w.e.f. 25.01.1996 (i.e. earliest of the dates from which Junior of the petitioner have been so promoted, along with consequential benefits;

c) Writ, order or direction in the nature of Writ of Mandamus commanding the Respondent to place the petitioner in the pay Grade of Senior Driver from the date his Junior was promoted;

d) Writ, order or direction in the nature of Writ of Mandamus commanding the Respondent to re-fix the pensionery benefits of the petitioner by taking into account the retrospective grant of promotion to the petitioner against the post of Chauffeur;

e) Any other writ, order or direction which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case, may also be granted in favour of the petitioner and against the respondents along with cost.

3. The facts of the case as pleaded by the petitioners in their pleadings are as follows: -

i) That the petitioner was appointed as a ‘Cleaner’ on 30.07.1975 in the erstwhile Government Lumbering Undertaking of the Forest Department of the Government of the State, which was a centralized unit working as a wing of the Forest Department for the purposes of extraction and sale of timber. Petitioner, thereafter, was promoted as Junior Grade Driver on 10.07.1978.

ii) That in the year 1979 the Government constituted a Corporation known as the J&K State Forest Corporation where after the Government Lumbering Undertaking was merged into the said Corporation and the functions of the erstwhile Government Lumbering Undertaking of extraction and sale of timber were also entrusted to the newly created Corporation. It may be relevant to state here that the aforesaid newly created Corporation i.e. J&K State Forest Corporation was initially made functional by deputation of the government employees then working in the Government Lumbering Undertaking and the petitioner being one amongst such employees was also deputed to work in the J&K State Forest Corporation. Subsequently, however, all such deputed employees were given a choice either to opt for the services of the J&K State Forest Corporation or to remain government employees in the Forest Department and many employees of the erstwhile Government Lumbering Undertaking opted for the services of the Corporation. Petitioner, however, did not opt for the services of the J&K State Forest Corporation and instead chose to be a government employee on the services of the Forest Department. Apart from the petitioner there were certain other employees who did not opt for services of the J&K State Forest Corporation and similarly chose to serve in the Forest Department of the State.

iii) That despite having chosen not to be absorbed in the J&K State