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Judgment
Heard Mr. S.C. Keyal, learned Assistant SGI for the petitioners as well as Mr. H.K. Das, learned counsel for respondent no. 1 and Mr. R.
Dhar, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate, Assam for respondent no. 2.
Challenge is made to the Order dated 22.12.2014 of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Guwahati Bench in O.A. No. 418/2014. By the said
order, the petitioners herein were directed to assign the correct year of allotment in the Indian Forest Service (IFS) cadre to the respondent no. 1
herein.
In the said O.A. the respondent no. 1 herein, as the applicant, had prayed for directions to the authorities to treat the ""Select List 2008"" as the
Select List 2007"", coinciding with the vacancies of the year 2007 with further direction to provide him with the correct year of allotment with all
consequential benefits.
Brief facts to be noticed are that in the year 1981 the respondent no. 1 was appointed as Assistant Conservator of Forest. In course of time he
was inducted into the Indian Forest Service (IFS) vide Notification dated 09.10.2012 taking the year 2008 as the year of selection. As the Select
List of 2008 pertained to the vacancies of the year 2007, representations were made by the respondent no. 1 on 17.11.2012 and 25.12.2012
requesting that the Select List 2008 be treated as Select List 2007. The said representations not having evoked any response, the respondent no. 1
had earlier instituted O.A. No. 205/2013, which was disposed of by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Guwahati Bench on 10.07.2013 with
direction to the authorities concerned to dispose of the representations by a speaking order. Following the said directions, the authority issued
Notification dated 17.09.2013 whereby the respondent no. 1 was assigned 1999 as the year of allotment. According to the respondent no. 1,
having regard to the date of entry into the State Forest Service and the year of selection which ought to have been 2007 instead of 2008, his year
of allotment should have been 1997 and not 1999.
Materials that stood for consideration and found in favour of the respondent no. 1 by the Tribunal were in respect of an Order dated
19.12.2014 passed in O.A. No. 124/2012 (Sohrab Ali and Others v. Union of India), the provisions under Rule 3(3)(ii)(a) & (b) of the Indian
Forest Service (Regulation of Seniority) Rules, 1997 (in short the ""Rules, 1997"") and the proviso thereof as well as the letter dated 18.04.2013 of
the Govt. of Assam, Environmental & Forest Department. As the order of the Tribunal in directing assignment of the correct year of allotment to
the respondent no. 1 is primarily based on the aforesaid letter dated 18.04.2013 and with regard to the proviso to Rule 3(ii) of the aforesaid Rules,
1997, it would be apposite to reproduce the said letter dated 18.04.2013, which is as under:
No. FRE.11/2011/128
Dated Dispur, the 18th April, 2013
From : Smti Ahmed, IAS
Secretary to the Govt. of Assam
Environment & Forest Department
Dispur, Guwahati-6.
To : Shri C.S. Thakur
Under Secretary to the Govt. of India
Ministry of Environment & Forest (Section IFS-II)
Paryavaran Bhawan, CGO Complex,
Lodhi Road, New Delhi - 110003.
Sub : Year of allotment of Sri R.C. Goswami, IFS on the basis of Select List- 2008.
Ref : Your letter F. No. 17013/22/2008-IFS.II dated 27.02.2013.
Sir,
In inviting a reference to your letter quoted above, I am directed to convey the views of the State Govt. for favour of your information
and necessary action.
Sri R.C. Goswami, IFS has been selected in IFS after holding review SCM in 2012 (3.11.12) against the Select List
of 2008. During 2008, three vacancies have been filled up by Sri Hem Kanta Talukdar, IFS, Sri C.R. Bhobora, IFS
and Sri Madhusudan Sinha, IFS. In the event of selection of Sri R.C. Goswami in the year 2012 against the Select List
of 2008, his seniority as well as year of allotment have to be fixed now.
As there are no vacancy left for his accommodation against the year 2008, a supernumerary post may perhaps be
created for the post, for which Finance Department''s concurrence is necessary and it will take time.
You are, therefore, requested to take necessary steps for fixing the year of allotment considering his (Sri R.C. Goswami, IFS)
position above Sri Hem Kanta Talukdar, IFS against Select List of 2008, which may however be treated as the select list of 2007 as
the vacancies were occurred during 2007.
Yours faithfully
Secretary to the Govt. of Assam
Environment & Forest Department
Dated Dispur, the 18th April, 2013
No. FRE.11/2011/128-A
The stand of the State Government with regard to the status of the Select List of 2008 was amply made clear in the said letter of 18.04.2013.
The Ministry of Environment & Forest was made to take necessary steps towards fixing the year of allotment by considering the position of the
respondent no. 1 as above one Sri Hem Kanta Talukdar, IFS against the Select List of 2008, which is now to be treated as the Select List of
2007 since vacancies had occurred during the year 2007. Having regard to the clear stand as above, the direction of the Tribunal to the concerned
authorities to assign the correct year of allotment to respondent no. 1 in view of the aforesaid letter dated 18.04.2013 and also having regard to the
provisions under the aforesaid Rules, 1997, is clearly in order and not liable to be interfered with. There cannot be any scope for any confusion
with regard to assigning the correct and appropriate year of allotment to the IFS cadre to the respondent no. 1 by treating the Select List of 2008
as the Select List of 2007. The findings and decisions recorded by the Tribunal while allowing the O.A. No. 418/2014 receives our absolute
agreement. Accordingly, we affirm the same and reject the present writ petition as being devoid of merits, however, without any order as to costs.