Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 19: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has restrained the Services Selection Board from declaring the results of the written test for the post of Legal Assistant (Associate Law Officers) scheduled to be held tomorrow till the matter is decided by the CAT.
The direction were passed by the Bench of D S Mahra and Anand Mathur after hearing the counsel Lone Altaf who argued that the advertisement for the posts is in contravention of the ratio to be maintained between direct recruits and promotes.
In order to buttress his arguments, he in this regard referred a letter issued by the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (LJ&PA) in July 2021 categorically advising the Secretary SSB to withhold the selection process till further communication from the department of LJ&PA so that the dispute qua the selection be avoided.
CAT has been apprised by advocate Altaf that despite these directions from the LJ&PA department, the SSB has scheduled the OMR based written examination on 20.3.2022.
The CAT after hearing the arguments deemed it appropriate to withhold the results as such directed the SSB not to declare the results of the written test till the decision of the matter.
It is some aggrieved candidates have challenged the Notification No. SSB/CoE/2022/871-79 Dated 03.02.2022 to the extent of prescribing the schedule for OMR Based Written Examination against the post of Legal Assistants along with Advertisement notification no. 05 of 2020 dated 24-12-2020.
The nomenclature of Junior Legal Assistants and Legal Assistants has also been changed and has been redesigned as Assistant Law Officer and Associate Law Officer respectively. Moreover, in terms of the said rules the sanctioned strength of the Assistant Law Officers (erstwhile Junior Legal Assistants) and Associate Law Officers (erstwhile Legal Assistants) and the ladder of promotion is prescribed as 50% as direct recruitment and 50% by promotion and as per the plea of aggrieved candidates the ratio is not being followed by the board also.
CAT has been informed that the aggrieved candidates are serving in the Department for the last 6 years and are entitled to be promoted to the next higher post i.e Associate Law officer but unfortunately respondent-board are not adhering to the rule position by maintaining the quota/ratio of 50:50 and in terms of the impugned notifications they are filling even the promotional quota posts earmarked for applicants who are working as Assistant Law officers, by advertising the said posts for direct recruitment and resultantly applicants stand stagnated on the same posts which is violative of Article 14 and 16 of the constitution of India.
Follow our WhatsApp channel