Service Matters and CAT, Indore

The chambers appear in service matters before the Central Administrative Tribunal and before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Indore.

What a service matter covers

Disputes arising from the terms of public employment, including:

• Promotion, supersession, and seniority
• Disciplinary proceedings, penalty and dismissal
• Adverse entries in the confidential report
• Pension, gratuity and retiral benefits
• Recruitment, appointment and cancellation of selection
• Transfer and deputation
• Regularisation of daily wage and contractual service
• Compassionate appointment

The Tribunal

The Central Administrative Tribunal has jurisdiction under Section 14 over recruitment and service matters of persons appointed to public services of the Union. Applications are made under Section 19.

Two thresholds regularly decide these cases before the merits are reached.

Exhaustion of departmental remedies, Section 20. The Tribunal shall not ordinarily admit an application unless the applicant has availed of all remedies available under the relevant service rules. An application filed while a departmental appeal is pending, or without one having been made, is liable to be returned.

Limitation, Section 21. An application must be made within one year from the date on which the final order was made, or where a departmental appeal was filed, within one year of the date of the order on that appeal or of the expiry of six months from the making of the appeal, whichever is earlier. Condonation under Section 21(3) requires sufficient cause.

Disciplinary proceedings

Where a penalty is challenged, the questions are procedural as much as substantive: whether a charge sheet setting out the articles of charge and the statement of imputations was served, whether the enquiry officer's report was furnished to the delinquent before the disciplinary authority acted on it, whether an opportunity to represent was given, and whether the penalty is proportionate to the misconduct proved.

Article 311 of the Constitution protects a civil servant from dismissal, removal or reduction in rank except after an enquiry in which they have been informed of the charges and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard, subject to the exceptions in the second proviso.

The scope of review

A tribunal or court in a service matter does not sit in appeal over the findings of the disciplinary authority. It examines whether there was some evidence to support the finding, whether the procedure was followed, whether there was bias, and whether the penalty is so disproportionate as to shock the conscience. It does not reappreciate the evidence.

State government employees

Service disputes of Madhya Pradesh state government employees do not go to the Central Administrative Tribunal. They are raised before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Indore under Article 226, subject to the applicable state service rules and their own appellate structure.

Frequently asked questions

What is the time limit for filing an application before the CAT?

One year, under Section 21 of the Administrative Tribunals Act 1985, from the date of the final order complained of. Where a departmental appeal or representation was made, the period runs from the date of the order on it, or from the expiry of six months from the date the appeal was made, whichever is earlier. Delay may be condoned on sufficient cause under Section 21(3).

Must departmental remedies be used before going to the Tribunal?

Ordinarily yes. Section 20 provides that the Tribunal shall not admit an application unless the applicant has availed of all the remedies available under the relevant service rules. An application filed without exhausting a departmental appeal is generally not entertained, although the Tribunal may act where the remedy has become illusory through inordinate delay.

Can the Tribunal reduce a punishment it considers too harsh?

The Tribunal does not reappreciate the evidence or substitute its own finding. Where the penalty is found to be so disproportionate to the misconduct proved as to shock the conscience, the usual course is to remit the matter to the disciplinary authority to reconsider the quantum, rather than to substitute a penalty directly.

Where do Madhya Pradesh state government employees go?

Not to the Central Administrative Tribunal, which deals with services of the Union. State service disputes are raised before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, at Indore for this region, under Article 226, after exhausting the departmental remedies provided by the applicable state service rules.

What is compassionate appointment and can it be claimed as a right?

It is appointment offered to a dependant of a government servant who dies in harness, to relieve immediate financial distress. It is an exception to the rule of open recruitment under Article 16 and is not a vested right. It is governed by the scheme in force, is subject to the availability of posts and to the financial condition of the family, and applications made long after the death are generally not entertained.