Srinagar- A meritorious woman candidate on Monday won a 13-year-old legal battle as Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) ordered her appointment against the post of Library Assistant in Budgam.
A two-member Bench of M.S.Latif, (Judicial) and Prasant Kumar (Admin) also imposed Rs 10,000 costs on J&K Service Selection Board (JKSSB) as it allowed a petition by the candidate from Bemina who had challenged recruiting agency’s selection of two candidates by converting one post of OM category into RBA Category in 2011.
The CAT also directed JKSSB to be more cautious in future and immediately do away with the practice of changing the criteria of appointments midway.
The CAT was hearing a plea by A. Amin which she had initially filed before the High Court in 2011 and was later transferred to the CAT, Jammu Bench in 2020 and subsequently to CAT Srinagar Bench on 30 November 2021.
In her plea A Amin had claimed that she was entitled for 60 points without viva voce marks even as one of the two other candidates selected in OM / RBA category secured 58.48 points and the other secured 53.74 points under RBA category.
She said that against the two advertised posts of Library Assistant in the district cadre Budgam – one each for OM and RBA – both the selected and appointed candidates belong to RBA category by setting aside all norms and guidelines of JKSSB.
While stating that J&K Service Selection Board had no power or authority to change the quota of selection, OM or RBA, at their own will, A Amin sought quashment of the selection of the two candidates and their subsequent appointment orders on 27 January 2011.
“….we are of the view that the respondents (authorities) not only changed the selection criteria midway but they also changed the category from Open Merit to RBA without assigning any reasons and without notifying the same,” said the two-member Bench.
“…. we feel it expedient to direct the respondents to be more cautious in future and immediately do away with the practice, if still prevailing, of changing the criteria of appointments midway, as has been done in the instant case, in the interest of justice and in the interest of all candidates who appear in the competitive examinations expecting fairness and level playing field for all candidates from J&K Service Selection Board, which is a premier recruiting agency in non-gazetted category for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. “
Accordingly, the CAT allowed A Amin’s petition with the directions that she shall be appointed against an available post of Library Assistant in the Education Department, District Budgam and in consequence of the orders of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, dated 9.6.2016, vide which the Court had ordered to not fill up one post of Library Assistant in district Budgam.
“It is further provided that the petitioner (A Amin) shall not be entitled to any backwages …. however, she will be entitled to all other consequential benefits accrued to her during the intervening period as if she was in service for the said period,” the CAT said, adding that it expected that authorities would do the needful expeditiously, within six weeks “positively”.
“In the facts and circumstances of the case we also impose exemplary costs of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand) on respondents to be paid collectively to the petitioner (A Amin) by the respondents within six weeks time.
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