SURENDRA KUMAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SHRI Surendra Kumar and six others have filed this Original Application under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, and have sought the following reliefs:

(2.) The indubitable facts of the case necessary for adjudication of the controversy involved are that applicants have under gone a training under the Apprenticeship Act, 1961 and have passed in 69th All India Trade Test Examination vide letter dated 15th January, 1999 (Annex.-P/5). Their names are placed Sl. Nos. 7, 9, 6, 10, 3 and 12 respectively. The said training was imparted in the Northern Railway Workshop, Jodhpur. The Railway Board have issued the instructions regarding recruitment of Course completed Act Apprentices on the Railways vide letter dated 26.8.1996 (Annexure-A/2. This has been issued in view of the verdict of Hon'ble the Supreme Court's judgment in the case of U.P. State Road Transport Corporation and Ors. v. U.P. Parivahan Nigam Shikshukh Berozgar Sangh and Ors. (hereinafter referred to as 'UPSRTC' for brevity) case for reported in (1995) 2 SCC 1, on the basis of which the Ministry of Labour also have issued directions on 26.2.1996 (Annex.-A/3). It has been also averred that as per the judgment of the Supreme Court in the said case, it has been specifically directed that Act Apprentices trainees could not be required to appear in any written examination for employment, if any, provided by the Regulation. A common seniority list was prepared by the respondent No. 4 of Act Apprentices trainees for appointment on the post of Diesel Khalasi. The interview letters were issued on 11.2.1999 to the applicants. However, for want of vacancies, the applicants had not alternative except to stand in the que and wait for their turn. Further, before their turns were to come the Railway Board, issued an order dated 19.8.1999 restraining the concerned authorities from providing appointment to Act Apprentices on Group 'D' post.

(3.) THE O.A. has been filed on multiple grounds mentioned in Para 5 and its sub-para of the O.A. We are skipping up narrating the same here and would be dealing the grounds which are stressed during the arguments, in the later part of this order.