Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Feb 14: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) imposed a penalty on Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology (SKUAST) employees for unnecessarily halting the process of filling of Director and Joint Directors posts and directed the University to go ahead with the filling of posts in question on regular basis.
“In view of the above, since the applicants have misrepresented before this Tribunal, did not disclose all the material facts which were relevant in the matter, concealed the essential facts, the OA deserves to be dismissed with a cost of Rs10,000 to be deposited with the State Legal Services Authority within 2 weeks from today”, Division Bench of D S Mahra and Shri Krishna concluded.
The Tribunal also made it clear that the SKUAST is at liberty to fill up the posts of Joint Directors and Director on regular substantive basis as per rules. “With this, the present OA stands dismissed. Interim order, if any, stands vacated”, read the judgment.
The OA was filed by the employees of the SKUAST for setting aside the provisional degree certificate of Masters of Fisheries Science SKUAST with a direction to the official respondents not to consider and give benefit to it for promotion to other employee for the posts of Joint Director and Director.
The university counsel apprised the Tribunal that the candidate against whom the present matter has been filed is the senior most officer in the department who was appointed in 1988. He has now completed the Post Graduate Program in Fisheries Science on an interim order passed by High Court on different dates.
He submitted that the said candidate was granted study leave by the University for the said purpose. Therefore, at this belated stage it will not be justified to discard the certificate issued by the University in his favour.
“We have heard the learned counsels for all the parties appearing in the case and perused the record available on file. It is an admitted fact that the aggrieved candidates in the present case are already holding the post Graduate degree in Zoology which is also equal and parallel qualification for the post which they are holding and for further promotion in the department. In the first round of litigation the respondent had also questioned the sanction granted by the official respondents in favour of the eligible candidate in the year 2016 by way of a writ petition before High Court which was finally dismissed”, CAT said.
The eligible candidate court added, has already completed the said course and a provisional degree has been already issued in his favour in March, 2022 though the said course has been completed by him on the interim order passed by the High Court and the said interim order was complied by the respondents by permitting him in the Institute and allowing him to complete the said Post Graduate programme.
“Since the said Post Graduate Program in Fisheries has been completed by respondent No.4 in pursuance of the interim orders passed by the High Court, now at this belated stage the applicants in the present OA are not competent to challenge the said certificate. The applicants have no locus standi to impugn the said provisional degree of the respondent No.4 since it has no adverse effect on the applicants. Sine both the applicants are already holding Masters Degree which is essential for the post they are holding, the rights of the applicants are not violated”, CAT said.
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