D.P.WADHWA - (1.) ON his failure to succeed in the Central Administrative Tribunal ('Tribunal' for short), (Allahabad Bench) in OA No. 244 of 1986 decided on 29/06/1987 the appellant has come to this Cout in appeal. The appellant had prayed in his petition before the Tribunal for quashing the panel dated 28/04/1986 for promotion to the post of Chief Personnel Inspector in the Northern Railway. While D.K. Srivastava and P.N. Tripathi respectively respondents 4 and 5 were empanelled, the appellant could not make it. He also sought direction that he was entitled to appointment to this post of Chief Personnel Inspector.
(2.) DIVISIONAL Manager, Northern Railway, issued a letter on 17/03/1986 for holding interviews for two posts of Chief Personnel Inspector from DIVISIONAL Personnel Inspectors. At the relevant time only four persons were eligible for filling up the post of Chief Personnel Inspector. They were : (1) Rajkumar (S.C.) (2) P.N. Tripathi (respondent No. 5) (3) Siya Ram (the appellant) (4) D.K. Srivastava (respondent 4). At that time Rajkumar and P.N. Tripathi were working as Chief Personnel Inspector on ad hoc basis. Post of Chief Personnel Inspector is a selection post. Selection Board was comprising of three officials namely : Aslam Mehmood, Senior Divisional Personnel Officer, Northern Railway, Lucknow; Raghuram, Senior Divisional Personnel Officer, Allahabad; and R. B. Srivastava, Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer, Northern Railway, Lucknow. TheSelection Board interviewed all the eligible candidates and respondents 4 and 5 were selected to the posts of Chief Personnel Inspector. The criteria which the Selection Board adopted for selection were as follows : JUDGEMENT_566_2_1998Html1.htm
(3.) THOUGH D. K. Srivastava was lower in the seniority list to the appellant but it is admitted that both of them were promoted to the post of Divisional Personnel Inspector on the same day. Interview were held on 12/04/1986 and selection list was prepared on 28/04/1986. The appellant challenged his non selection in the Tribunal by filing petition on 14/05/1986 which, as noted above, was dismissed by the Tribunal by judgment dated 29/06/1987. Two principal contentions were raised by the appellant; (1) one of the members of the Selection Board namely, Raghuram was favourably inclined towards D. K. Srivastava and (2) the Rules regarding selection permitted only oral test in the form of viva voce and no written examination was held and result merely on the basis of viva voce could not be reasonably fair and was liable to lead to arbitrariness and that out of 100 marks 50 were allotted for professional ability without prescribing any norms.;