LEELAMMA DEVASSIA Vs. SR SUPDT OF POST OFFICES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPLICANT's case is that she belongs to 'Mala Araya' community, which is included in the list of Scheduled Tribes in the State of Kerala and is entitled to reservation/concession admissible to Scheduled Tribe Community. Annexure A/1 is the true copy of 3rd page of SSLC Book showing her caste as CSI (Mala Araya). The applicant applied for selection and appointment to the post of Time Scale Clerk in the Post Office against one of the vacancies showing her community as 'Mala Araya'. Annexure A/2 is the true copy of the letter dated 12.11.71 addressed to the 3rd respondent. The 2nd respondent informed the applicant that on scrutiny of her application it was found that she did not furnish the community certificate issued by the Competent Authority and directed the applicant to obtain and forward the said certificate in the prescribed form issued by an officer of the Revenue Department, not below the rank of Tahasildar, within five days of the receipt of the said letter as per the letter dated 25.3.72 (Annexure A/3). The applicant forwarded the aforesaid certificate and she was selected for appointment as Post Office Clerk against the quota reserved for Scheduled Tribe Community and she was allotted to Kottayam Division as per Memo dated 18.5.72 (Annexure A/4). The applicant entered into service as Post Office Clerk on 13.3.79 at Collectorate Post Office, Kottayam Division. She has passed the confirmation examination for the post of P.O. Clerks 11.11.73, which was communicated to her by the 2nd respondent vide letter dated 12.3.74. Annexure A/5 is the true copy of the letter referred to above. She was transferred to Ernakulam Division on her request under Rule 38 of the P&T Manual, Volume IV and subsequently, on formation of the Aluva Postal Division, she opted for Aluva Division and has been continuing in that Division.

(2.) Applicant submitted that Time Bound One Promotion Scheme (TBOP Scheme, for short) was introduced with effect from 30.11.1983 in the P&T Department. Annexure A/6 is the copy of TBOP Scheme. As per D.G's letter dated 28.12.90, it has been clarified that minimum service to be rendered by SC/ST officials for being eligible for promotion to selection grade post under TBOP Scheme as per roster is ten years. Applicant completed ten years of service by 13.3.83 and on the date of introduction of TBOP Scheme, the applicant became eligible for promotion under the said Scheme against shortfall vacancies to a reserved point for ST. However, the applicant was promoted to the higher grade under TBOP Scheme with effect from 13.3.89 on completion of 16 years qualifying service as per Memo dated 12.8.88. She was not given the benefit of Annexure A/7. It was subsequently modified by correcting the date of promotion as 13.3.89 instead of 1.3.89 as per Memo dated 19.11.97. Applicant submitted that her junior, namely Johnson Samuel T.P. who belongs to ST has been given promotion under TBOP Scheme with effect from 1.12.92 on completion of ten years of service against a shortfall vacancy in terms of Annexure A/7. Two other juniors to the applicant, namely M.M. Aniamma and K.S. Saramma belonging to S.T. category have been promoted under TBOP Scheme on completion of ten years of service as is evident from the Divisional Gradation list of Postal Assistants as on 1.7.95, corrected upto 1.7.96. Annexure A/9 is the true copy of the Gradation List of official promotion under TBOP Scheme showing the latest position of the applicant and her above named juniors. She was not given the benefit of promotion under TBOP Scheme as per Annexure A/7 presumably for the reason that her caste status was not noted in the file relating to here service particulars at the time of her transfer to Ernakulam Division. She was given promotion under TBOP Scheme only after completing 16 years of service. The applicant was not known that there was an omission to note her caste as ST when the service records were transferred to Ernakulam Division on her transfer. She came to know about this fact only on 28.11.98 while affixing her signature in the service register as instructed by the Post Master, Muvattupuzha Head Office.

(3.) IN the meanwhile, the applicant has been promoted to the next higher grade in the scale of pay of Rs. 5,000-150-8,000 on completion of 26 years of service in the basic cadre of Postal Assistant and L.S.G. put together under Biennial Cadre Review Scheme with effect from 1.7.99 as per Memo dated 20.9.99 (Annexure A/20). As per letter dated 6.1.93 (Annexure A/21), if sufficient number of officials of SC/ST communities having 26 years of service (in the basic scale and TBOP scale put together) are not available against the points reserved for them in the 40 point roster, SC/ST officials with even less than 26 years of service will be given promotion to the extent of the shortfall, provided they have rendered a minimum of 17 years of service in the two grades put together as Government of INdia, Department of Posts letter dated 6.1.93 (Annexure A/21). The applicant completed 17 years of service in the two grades put together by 13.3.90 and became eligible for the benefit of concession for promotion under BCR Scheme in terms of Annexure A/21. Therefore, the applicant ought to have been considered for promotion under BCR Scheme in the next BCR conducted after 6.1.93. But she was not considered for promotion under BCR Scheme after completing 17 years of service for the reason that she was wrongly treated as belonging to open category. Applicant submits that she is legally entitled to the concessions and benefits admissible to ST category. Aggrieved by the said action/inaction on the part of the respondents, the applicant has filed this O.A. seeking following reliefs and pleaded that the respondents are compellable to make available all the benefits and concessions disallowed to the applicant by way of full restitution: