Saroja Devi vs Rajesh Pandey, Divisional Railway Manager, East Central Railway, Mughalsarai

Tarun Shridhar, Member (A)

We have joined this Division Bench online through video conferencing.

Shri P.K. Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioner is present and Shri P.K. Rai, Government counsel puts in appearance for the respondents.

The instant contempt petition has been filed alleging willful disobedience of the order passed by this Tribunal on 21.9.2021 in OA No. 1339/2014. In

the said OA, the applicant had sought the relief of appointment on compassionate grounds and while deciding the OA, this Tribunal had passed the

following order:-

“11. In view of the definition of ‘Family’ that “married daughters of any age and widowed daughters provided they are wholly

dependent on the employee†in the Pass Rules of the respondents, the applicant may file a fresh representation to the respondents to

support her case that she was dependent to the deceased employee (father of the applicant at the time of the death of the employee). The

respondents are directed to consider and decide the representation of the applicant, if file, in the light of the supporting documents and in

view of the Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment (supra) by passing a reasoned and speaking order within a period of two months from the

date of receipt of a certified copy of this orderâ€​.

It is obvious that the directions of the Tribunal were restricted to the competent authority of the respondents to consider and decide the

representation of the applicant by way of passing a reasoned and speaking order.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that while the respondents have decided the representation by way of a detailed order, they have not

taken into consideration the observations made by the Tribunal while issuing such directions, specifically the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme

Court which has been mentioned in para 10 of the judgment.

We have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length and also gone through the documents on record. The order passed by the competent

authority on the representation of the applicant is a detailed order and we would surely define it as a reasoned and speaking order. We do not find any

infirmity in this order and according to us the directions issued by this Tribunal in the aforesaid OA stand complied with. Therefore, this contempt

petition stands dismissed at admission stage itself.