- (1.)The appellant and respondent no. 6 before us applied to the post of extra departmental branch post master (for short 'edbpm').
(2.)Pursuant to a selection made, respondent no. 4 appointed respondent no. 6 as edbpm. Against that appointment, the appellant filed an application before the central administrative tribunal, Calcutta bench (hereinafter referred to as the 'tribunal') contending that his case has been arbitrarily ignored and a lesser qualified person has been selected and sought for appropriate reliefs.
(3.)Before the tribunal, the department took the stand that the appellant could not be appointed to the post of EDBPM inasmuch as he is disqualified from holding the post on the ground that a near relative of his was working in the same post office. The appellant filed an affidavit to the effect that one Abhilash Ch. Barman, EDDA, Amberia post office belongs to the same clan but he is not in his near relation. The tribunal noticed the decision of this Court in Baliram prasad v. Union of India and Ors. [jt 1996 (11) SC 236] and held that the ground upon which the department did not consider the case of the appellant was not correct and such a ground was not available to it at all.