Innocuous Orders by CAT - HC Directs CAT not to dispose of OAs without putting respondents to Notice
THE High Court of Delhi has recently come down heavily on the CAT deprecating the manner in which the OAs are disposed of by it. The High Court was dealing with the Writ Petition filed by the UOI against the directions of CAT to the department to consider the OA as representation and to take appropriate decision. The High Court observed:
We have repeatedly cautioned the Members of the Central Administrative Tribunal not to dispose of Original Applications without notice to the respondents. Such kind of decisions, without notice to the respondents, disposing of Original Applications on the very first day of listing, create problems for the department in the form of stale claims resuscitating. We are noticing that the so-called innocuous directions issued by the Tribunal that either the Original Application be treated as a representation and a reasoned decision taken, or a direction that the representations already made, be decided with reasons, gives birth to an ostensible fresh cause of action.
In the year 2011 they had raised a grievance pertaining to promotions which had been made to the post of Upper Division Clerk, from amongst Lower Division Clerks, in the year 1994. They were questioning the Select List prepared in the year 1993.
It is apparent even to a layman that a claim for promotion made in the year 2011 with respect to a Select List prepared in the year 1993 was barred by limitation. Yet in spite thereof, without putting the respondents to notice, O.A was disposed of by passing the seemingly innocuous direction as aforenoted; but a direction which contains a time-bomb with a ticker.
Ex-facie, the claim of the respondent was hopelessly barred by limitation. In the year 2011 they pick up an issue pertaining to the promotions made in the year 1994
We direct that a copy of this decision be sent to the Registrar of the Central Administrative Tribunal who shall circulate the same to all Members of the Tribunal, and it is hoped and expected that in future, no Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal disposes of Original Application without notice to the respondents.
Howsoever strong a case may appear to be, no adjudicatory system can countenance a matter to be disposed of without even putting a notice to opposite party.
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