CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL, ERNAKULAM BENCH, ERNAKULAM Original Application No. 180/00500/2024 Friday, this the 5^th day of December, 2025 CORAM:

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sunil Thomas, Member (J) Hon'ble Mr. Braj Mohan Agrawal, Member (A)

Sathiq Buhari, S/o. P. Buhari, aged 55 years, Residing at Arafa, TC No. 66/655(7), Poomkulam, Vellayani PO, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 522. ..... Applicant (By Advocate: Mr. Vishnu S. Chempazhanthiyil)

V e r s u s

1. Union of India, represented by its Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, Department of Legal Affairs, Government of India, 4^th Floor, A-Wing, Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi – 110 001.

2. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Government of India, New Delhi – 110001, Represented by Deputy Secretary.

3. Department of Personnel & Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India, North Block, New Delhi-110001, Represented by its Secretary.

4. Paresh M. Joshi, Judicial Member, ITAT Chandigarh Bench, Kendriya Sadan, Sector-9A, Chandigarh – 160009.

5. Pradiplumar Choubey, Judicial Member, ITAT Kolkata Bench, 225C, AJC Bose Road, 6^th & 7^th Floors, Kolkata – 700020, West Bengal.

6. Kamal Kant, Judicial Member, ITAT Kolkata Bench, 225C, AJC Bose Road, 6^th & 7^th Floors, Kolkata – 700020, West Bengal.

7. Rajkumar Chauhan, Judicial Member, ITAT Mumbai Bench, Prathishtha Bhawan, 3^rd & 4^th Floors, 10MK Road, Mumbai-400020.

8. Sudhir Kumar, Judicial Member, ITAT Delhi Bench, 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd Floors, Tower-B, World Trade Centre, Nauroji Nagar, New Delhi – 110029.

9. Subhash Malguri, Judicial Member, ITAT Lucknow Bench, 5^th Floor, PICUP Bhawan, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow – 226010.

10. Vinay Bhamore, Judicial Member, ITAT Pune Bench, 2^nd Floor, Maharastra Jeevan Pradhikaran Bldgs., Near St. Marys High School, 463 Stavely Road, Pune-411001. ..... Respondents [By Advocate: Mr. M.N. Manmadan, SCGSC (R1-3)]

This Original Application having been heard on 21.11.2025, the Tribunal on 05.12.2025 delivered the following:

O R D E R Per: Justice Sunil Thomas, Judicial Member –

The applicant is an Advocate practising since 1993, before the High Court as well as District Court, Trivandrum. The 1^st respondent Ministry of Law and Justice issued Annexure A1 notification dated 19.12.2023 inviting applications to fill up 18 posts of Judicial Members in various Income Tax Appellate Tribunals. A Search Committee was constituted for selecting the candidates which consisted of a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court, a former Judge of the Supreme Court, a Secretary to the Union Government and Secretary, Department of the Legal Affairs, who was its Member (Secretary).

2. Applicant responded to the notification. The Search Committee invited 97 candidates including applicant for a personal interaction. After the personal interaction, 39 candidates including the applicant were shortlisted. Annexure A2 is the minutes of the committee meeting dated 8.7.2023 which decided to recommend only 26 candidates. Applicant is at serial No. 16. By Annexure A3 dated 19.12.2023 of DoP&T only 18 candidates were appointed. The applicant was not included in the said list, though persons below him in rank were given appointments. The details of non-selected candidates were not disclosed in spite of an RTI application submitted by the applicant. Hence, the applicant submitted a grievance complaint which was also not replied.

3. Aggrieved by the above, the applicant approached the Hon’ble Supreme Court by filing WP(C) No. 514 of 2014. However, when the matter came up for hearing, the applicant sought permission to withdraw. Consequently, by Annexure A14, WP© was dismissed as withdrawn. According to the applicant, Supreme Court had opined that the applicant should have moved the appropriate forum seeking the reliefs. Thereafter, the applicant filed WP(C) No. 30819 of 2020 before the Hon’ble High Court, Kerala. At the time of admission, by Annexure A15 order the petitioner therein was directed to argue on the question of maintainability in v