The present Original Application has been filed by the applicant under section 19 of the Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985 seeking following reliefs:-

“(i) To quash the appointment of respondent No. 5 on the post of E.D.B.P.M Village Harbanspur Dharam District Bijnor vide his appointment letter dated 13.08.1999 (Annexure A-1) and the impugned speaking order dated 29.3.2010 vide which representation of the applicant dated 6/15.5.2009 was rejected without application of mind and without substantiated the facts and contents made in his representation.

(ii) To pass or issue any other such other or direction which this Hon’ble Tribunal may deem fit under the circumstances of the case.

(iii) To award the cost of the application in favour of the applicant”.

The case of the applicant is that after, Shri Ashok Kumar, GDS BPM was promoted as Postman w.e.f. 25.04.1998, the vacancy on the post in question was notified and the recruitment process was initiated. Initially, names were sponsored by the Employment Exchange, but as the sponsored candidates were found ineligible, fresh applications were invited from the open market. The applicant duly submitted his application within time and also appeared for interview on 11.01.1999. Thereafter, he was asked by the respondents to furnish details regarding his income, which he duly submitted, thereby showing that his candidature was under active consideration. It is the case of the applicant that despite being eligible and having better merit, the recruitment process was deliberately delayed. It is alleged that respondent no.6, being an officer in the postal department, misused his official position to secure appointment of his nephew (respondent no.5) though respondent no.5 was lower in merit and did not fulfill the essential eligibility conditions, particularly with regard to independent source of income. The applicant further submits that the appointment of respondent no.5 was made without finalizing the ongoing selection process and in violation of the statutory rules prohibiting appointment of near relatives without prior approval of the competent authority. The applicant made several representations to the higher authorities raising objection against such appointment, but no effective action was taken. Being aggrieved, the applicant filed Original Application No. 1338 of 1999. During the pendency of the said Original Application, the respondents passed an order, which was subsequently quashed by this Tribunal vide order dated 13.04.2009. When the order of the Tribunal was not complied with, the applicant filed contempt petition No. 209/2009. Thereafter, in compliance of the directions issued by the Tribunal in O.A. No. 1338 of 1999, the respondents passed the impugned order dated 29.03.2010 rejecting the claim of the applicant. Aggrieved by the said order, the applicant has filed the present Original Application.

Per contra, the official respondents have filed a counter affidavit stating therein the vacancy on the post of EDBPM, Harbanspur Dharam, arose on 16.04.1998 and was reserved for the Scheduled Caste category. Initially names were called from the Employment Exchange but since none of the sponsored candidates fulfilled the eligibility conditions, the process was cancelled and fresh applications were invited from the open market through notification dated 02.11.1998. According to the official respondents, the applicant’s application was received after the last date prescribed for submission. Though his name was also considered, he was found ineligible as he failed to submit proof of his own independent source of income and had submitted the income certificate of his father instead of his own. The official respondents further stated in the counter affidavit that the applicant also failed to furnish the required documents within the prescribed time and, therefore, could not be treated as eligible for appointment. It is also stated in the counter affidavit that under