Bhaskar Bhattacharya, ACJ. - (1.) This writ application under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India is at the instance of a respondent in an application under section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) and is directed against order dated August 30, 2006 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Kolkata Bench, thereby allowing an application for amendment of the original application under section 19 of the Act.
(2.) The facts giving rise to filing of the present writ-application may be summed up thus: a) The respondent No. 1, a member of West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) filed an application under section 19 of the Act before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Kolkata Bench, thereby praying for the following relief: "1) A direction upon the respondent authorities to review the selection process de novo for filling up the promotional vacancies in IAS for the year 2003 and 2004 upon the determination of inter se seniority of the officers in WBCS (Executive) in terms of the judgment and order dated 15th December, 1997 of the Hon'ble Division Bench, Calcutta and to prepare and publish a gradation list thereof for the purpose of promotion to vacancies in IAS. 2) A direction upon the respondent authorities concerned to consider the appellant's representations being Annexures A6, A7, A8, A9 and A10 to the instant application in accordance with law and upon granting an opportunity of hearing to the applicant. 3) A direction that the select list of candidates be prepared for the purpose of filling up with vacancies of IAS by promotion for the years 2003 and 2004 is illegal, unlawful and liable to be struck down by this learned Tribunal. 4) An order directing the respondent authorities to consider the case of the applicant for grant of promotion in IAS with retrospective effect from the date on which promotional vacancies in IAS pertaining to the year 2003 were filled up." b) The writ petitioners before us were made respondent Nos. 3 and 4 respectively in the said original application. The writ petitioners took a preliminary objection as to the jurisdiction of the Central Administrative Tribunal to entertain such application and insisted on determining such question as preliminary issue. The writ petitioners also to be pointed that the respondent No. 1, in the past, having filed another application under section 19 of the Act but having withdrawn the said application with liberty to seek appropriate remedy before appropriate forum, the second application claiming self-same relief was not maintainable before the Central Administrative Tribunal. c) After the aforesaid preliminary objection was taken by the writ petitioners, the respondent No. 1 came up with an application for amendment of the original application under section 19 of the Act, 1985 thereby praying for amending the original relief claimed in the application in the following manner: 1) To delete the words "upon determination of inter se seniority of officers in WBCS (Executive)" after the numerical "2004" in paragraph 8 (a). 2) To delete the words "and to prepare and publish a gradation list thereof for the purpose of promotion of vacancies in IAS" after the words "the Hon'ble Division Bench, Calcutta" in paragraph 8(a) of the original application. 3) To add the words "accordance with the provisions of IAS (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations, 1955 and further in" before the words "terms of judgment and order...." in paragraph 8(a) of the original application. d) The said application for amendment of the original application under section 19 of the Act was opposed by the present writ petitioners, but the learned Tribunal below by the order impugned herein turned down the objection raised by the writ petitioners and allowed the application for amendment filed by the respondent No. 1.
(3.) Being dissatisfied, the present writ application has been filed by the Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal along with the Secretary to the Government of West Bengal, Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department.;