CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL, JABALPUR BENCH Circuit Sitting : Bilaspur Original Application No.203/291/2019 Jabalpur, this Wednesday, the 10^th day of December, 2025 HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE AKHIL KUMAR SRIVASTAVA, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON’BLE MRS. MALLIKA ARYA, ADMINISTRATIVE MEMBER Brij Mohan Sahu, S/o Late Ramsevak Sahu, aged about 46 years, working as Loco Pilot (Goods)/SECR/Gondia, R/o Lake Paradise Colony, Balaghat Road, Besides Siyaram Ji Dharam Kanta, Gondia (M.H.), Mobile No.9325656137.

-Applicant (By Advocate – Shri A.V. Shridhar)

V e r s u s

1. Union of India through General Manager, South East Central Railway, Near GM Building, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh – 495004.

2. Divisional Railway Manager, Nagpur Division, South East Central Railway, Kingsway, Nagpur (M.H.) 440001.

3. Chief Personnel Officer, Divisional Office, South East Central Railway, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 495004.

4. Senior Divisional Personnel Officer, South East Central Railway, Kingsway, Nagpur (M.H.) 440001.

5. Suresh Kumar Shrivas, working as Loco Pilot (Goods), O/o Crew Controller (DSL), South East Central Railway, Gondia (M.H.).

6. Kalyan Singh working as Loco Pilot (Goods), O/o Crew Controller (DSL), South East Central Railway, Gondia (M.H.).

7. Naresh Shravan, working as Loco Pilot (Goods), O/o Crew Controller (DSL), South East Central Railway, Gondia (M.H.).

8. Vinod Kumar Hukumchand, working as Loco Pilot (Goods), O/o Crew Controller (DSL), South East Central Railway, Gondia (M.H.).

9. Kumari Laleeta Serukar, now Smt. Laleeta V. Tajne, working as Loco Pilot (Goods), O/o Crew Controller (DSL), South East Central Railway, Gondia (M.H.). - Respondents (By Advocate – Shri Tushar Dhar Diwan)

(Date of reserving order : 10.11.2025)

O R D E R By Akhil Kumar Srivastava, Member (J).

The applicant is challenging the order dated 05.03.2019 (Annexure A-1)

whereby his representation seeking seniority over and above the private respondents Nos.5 to 9 in the seniority list of Loco Pilot (Goods) has been rejected.

2. Brief facts of the case, as projected by the applicant in his Original Application, are that in the seniority list published on 01.05.1999, name of applicant was over and above the private respondents. In the year 2005, the private respondents were promoted to the post of Loco Pilot (Goods) despite being junior to the applicant as they belong to the reserved category. On 09.01.2008, the applicant was promoted as Loco Pilot (Goods) against the existing vacancy. The seniority list as on 01.11.2013 was published, wherein name of the applicant stood at Serial No.64 and private respondents were placed at Serial Nos.55, 57,56, 58 and 59 respectively. The applicant came to know about the judgment passed by the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in the W.P.(C) 3490/2010 in the case of All India Equality Forum & others vs. Union of India through its Secretary and others, in which the Hon’ble High Court had observed that the employees of general category be given benefit of promotion retrospectively from the date reserved category employees were promoted illegally. In the light of the judgment of Hon’ble High Court of Delhi, the applicant made a representation but despite pendency of the representation, the respondents have published the seniority list as on 01.08.2016, wherein the applicant has been placed below the private respondents.

2.1 Earlier, the applicant has filed an Original Application No.203/1145/2018 before this Tribunal and vide order dated 06.12.2018 (Annexure A-4), this Tribunal has disposed the Original Application directing the respondents to consider and decide the applicant’s representation by passing a reasoned and speaking order. However, vide the impugned order dated 05.03.2019 (Annexure A-1), the respondents have rejected the representation of the applicant.

2.2 The applicant submits that in the various judicial pronouncements, it has been held that seniority of the General category employee has to be protected by virtue of “Catch up Rule” in cases where the junior em