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TMI Blog2019 (2) TMI 2098X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s by transferring a Member from one Bench to another, authorizing the Judicial Member or the Administrative Member appointed to one Bench to discharge the functions of Judicial Member or Administrative Member of another Bench. A careful reading of the provisions of the Act and in particular Sections 14 and 15 thereof in juxtaposition with Article 323A of the Constitution leaves no manner of doubt that an Administrative Tribunal constituted under the Act to give effect to Article 323A of the Constitution exercises all the jurisdiction powers and authority exercisable by all the Courts before commencement of the Act and has all the attributes of a Court of law except that it is not bound by the strict rules of procedure embodied in the Civil Procedure Code or the strict rules of evidence prescribed by the Evidence Act, as observed above. All norms of judicial propriety and judicial discipline apply as much to the Tribunal as to Courts including the High Court. An interim order passed by a court, on consideration of the prima facie case made out by an applicant, should ordinarily have been vacated by a Bench of coordinate strength after giving open notice to the applicant. If th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Deputy Secretary was created with the approval of the Department of Expenditure, inter alia, to coordinate and manage infrastructure projects and ensure their timely completion, to exercise management and control of the Institute and to coordinate with Multi Disciplinary Experts. 5. At its 195th meeting held on 20.7.2010, the Standing Finance Committee of the Institute decided against the creation of a new post of Central Vigilance Officer and resolved that the work of Central Vigilance Officer should also be assigned to the officer, joining the newly created post of Deputy Secretary of AIIMS. The Governing Body and Institute body of AIIMS headed by the Union Health Minister ratified the decision of the Standing Finance Committee. 6. An order dated 23.6.2011 was issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare enumerating the duties pertaining to the said post of Deputy Secretary of AIIMS. 7. As stated above, respondent no.1 was appointed Deputy Secretary of AIIMS on 29.6.2012. As per the work allocation order the respondent no.1 was also made Central Vigilance Officer of the AIIMS. 8. It is the case of the respondent no.1 that the work of the General Section was wit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... directions on the concerned authorities to allocate the work of Deputy Secretary to the respondent no.1. The said application has been dismissed by a judgment and order dated 17.5.2016. 14. The respondent no.1 has alleged that the duties of Central Vigilance Officer were withdrawn from him as he had unearthed irregularities and corruption in infrastructure projects. The nature or reasons for the disputes between the respondent no.1 and the appellant are not relevant to the issues involved in this appeal. 15. A memorandum dated 7.1.2016 was served on the respondent no.1, informing him that the Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences had placed on record his displeasure with insubordination, indiscipline and lack of work ethics of the respondent no.1 during the Winter Session of Parliament in the year 2015, and directed that a copy of the said memorandum be kept in the personal file of the respondent no.1. A representation made by the respondent no.1 against the aforesaid memorandum was rejected by the Competent Authority. 16. Being aggrieved, the respondent no.1 filed OA No.1342 of 2016 before the Principal Bench of the CAT at New Delhi challenging the said ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e the said date. In the meantime, in the interest of justice, it is directed that if any matter related to the career progression of the applicant comes up for consideration before the terms of the impugned orders shall not be taken into account while assessing and the applicant s suitability or fitness and he shall be considered on the basis of the rest of his ACRs/APARs. 22. The Union of India filed an application before the Chairman of the Tribunal being PT 316 /2017 seeking transfer of OA No. 331/00790/2017 to the Principal Bench at Delhi. By an ex parte order dated 18.9.2017 passed in the said transfer application, the Chairman of the CAT, sitting singly, stayed proceedings in OA No.331/00790/2017 pending before a two member Bench at Nainital for a period of six weeks, and directed that notice be issued to the respondent no.1. 23. Challenging the aforesaid order on the ground that the Chairman of CAT, sitting singly, could not have stayed proceedings pending before a Division Bench, the respondent no.1 filed a writ petition being W.P.(SB) No. 259/2018 in the High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital. 24. By the impugned order dated 21.8.2018, which is under appeal, the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on the Additional Solicitor General Shri Rakesh Thapliyal. The Additional Solicitor General and senior government counsel had been representing both Union of India and AIIMS in the High Court as well as in Nainital Bench of CAT where the Union of India and AIIMS had jointly filed reply through counsel for Union of India. 30. Counsel appearing for the Respondent no.1 emphatically argued that the Chairman of CAT sitting singly had no power under the Act to stay the proceedings in a part-heard matter before a Division Bench of the same Tribunal. It was trite that a body created by statute could only have those powers provided by statute and nothing more. 31. Counsel for the respondent no.1 further argued that the appellant had filed O.A No.331/790 of 2017 pursuant to the order of the Division Bench of the High Court, in the writ petition filed by the respondent no.1, being WPSB No.225 of 2017. The order of the Chairman was, thus, in violation of the order of the Division Bench of the High Court. 32. Counsel appearing for the respondent no.1 also submitted that under Section 24 of the Act, the maximum duration of an ex-parte interim order could be two weeks and that too subje ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... enting the Central government in the same proceedings, is prima facie preposterous, considering that the AIIMS is under full control of the Central Government. It is, however, not for this Court to examine whether the learned Additional Solicitor General of India had been authorized to appear before the High Court on behalf of AIIMS or not. 38. The judgments of this Court in Munna Lal Karosia vs. State of Madhya Pradesh and Others [(2012) 12 SCC 255] and Association of Synthetic Fibre Industries vs. Apollo Tyres Limited and Others [(2010) 13 SCC 735], cited by the appellant to argue that a final order ought not be passed by the High Court against any person without giving that person an opportunity of hearing, have no application in the facts and circumstances of this case, since the appellant had apparently been represented by the Additional Solicitor General. The judgments were rendered in the particular facts and circumstances of those cases. 39. In Munna Lal Karosia (supra), the High Court had held Munna Lal Karosia to be guilty of contempt without hearing him. It was in the aforesaid context that this Court deprecated the passing of stigmatic orders against a person with ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ble to the Act states the object of the Act, which is to provide for adjudication or trial by Administrative Tribunals, of disputes and complaints in respect of recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of any State or of any local or other authority within the territory of India or under the control of the Government of India or of any corporation owned or controlled by the Government, in pursuance of Article 323A of the Constitution of India and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. 47. The reference by Counsel for the appellant to the Preamble of the Act is of no relevance. The respondent no.1 approached the Tribunal for redressal of his grievances. His case was heard by a Division Bench and a reasoned interim order passed on 18.9.2017. The preamble, which states the aims and objects of the Act is of no assistance to the appellant, as it does not lend support to appellant s contention that the Chairman of the Tribunal sitting singly could have stayed further proceedings before a Division Bench. The reliance placed by Counsel on the Preamble is misconceived. 48. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... airman or, as the case may be, referred to him for transfer to, such Bench as the Chairman may deem fit. (7) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal shall ordinarily sit at New Delhi (which shall be known as the principal Bench), Allahabad, Calcutta, Madras, New Bombay and at such other places as the Central Government may, by notification, specify. (8) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the places at which the principal Bench and other Benches of a State Administrative Tribunal shall ordinarily sit shall be such as the State Government may, by notification, specify. xxx xxx xxx xxx 24. Conditions as to making of interim orders. - Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provisions of this Act or in any other law for the time being in force, no interim order (whether by way of injunction or stay or in any other manner) shall be made on, or in any proceedings relating to, an application unless - (a) copies of such application and of all documents in support of the plea for such interim order are furnished to the party against whom such application is made or proposed to be made; ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... an two Members having regard to the nature of the cases involved, by issuance of general or special orders. 52. Section 5(6) enables the Chairman or any other Member authorized by the Chairman to function as a Single Bench and exercise jurisdiction, powers and authority of the Tribunal in respect of such classes of cases or such matters pertaining to such classes of cases as the Chairman may by general or special order specify. 53. The proviso to Section 5(c) of the Act states that if at any stage of hearing of any such case or matter it appears to the Chairman or the Member functioning singly that the case or matter is of such a nature that it ought to be heard by a Bench consisting of two Members, the case or matter may be transferred by the Chairman, or as the case may be, referred to him for transfer to such Bench as the Chairman may deem fit. 54. A perusal of Section 5 indicates that the Chairman is empowered to discharge administrative functions of constituting Benches by transferring a Member from one Bench to another, authorizing the Judicial Member or the Administrative Member appointed to one Bench to discharge the functions of Judicial Member or Administrative M ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the Tribunal. 61. A Tribunal created under the Act as also its Chairman derives its powers from the Act and can only exercise such powers as are conferred by the Act. The Chairman of the Tribunal exercising its power under Section 25 of the Act does not function as a Tribunal. The proposition that the power to grant interim relief must expressly be provided by statute finds support from the judgment of the Supreme Court in Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund vs. Kartick Das [(1994) 4 SCC 225] . The Chairman of CAT does not have power under Section 25 to pass any interim order of stay of proceedings pending before a Bench of the Tribunal. 62. A careful reading of the provisions of the Act and in particular Sections 14 and 15 thereof in juxtaposition with Article 323A of the Constitution leaves no manner of doubt that an Administrative Tribunal constituted under the Act to give effect to Article 323A of the Constitution exercises all the jurisdiction powers and authority exercisable by all the Courts before commencement of the Act and has all the attributes of a Court of law except that it is not bound by the strict rules of procedure embodied in the Civil Procedure Code or the strict ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , regardless of their doubts about its correctness. 67. It is true that the interim order passed by a Court does not operate as a precedent and the law declared by the Supreme Court with regard to the precedential value of judgments of Benches of larger strength may not operate as a binding precedent in the facts and circumstances of this case. The judgments referred to in the preceding paragraphs lay down the norms of judicial decorum and propriety which give precedence to Benches of higher strength. There is no reason at all why the same principles should not apply even to interim orders in pending proceedings. 68. An interim order passed by a court, on consideration of the prima facie case made out by an applicant, should ordinarily have been vacated by a Bench of coordinate strength after giving open notice to the applicant. If the Chairman was of the considered opinion that there was urgency in the application for vacating the interim order, the Chairman ought to have assigned the application for vacating and/or vacation of the interim order to a Bench of two or more Members to consider whether the interim order should continue or be vacated. The Chairman could also have ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ver any question involving the interpretation of a statutory provision or rule in relation to Constitution arose for consideration of a Single Bench of the Administrative Tribunal, the provision to Section 5(6) would automatically apply and the Chairman or the member concerned would be obliged to refer the matter to a Bench consisting of at least two members one of whom must be a judicial member. This would ensure that questions involving vires of statutory provisions or rules would never arise for adjudication before a Single Member Bench or a Bench which does not consist of a judicial member. So construed, Section 5(6) would no longer be susceptible to charges of unconstitutionality and, therefore, valid and constitutional. 72. In Dr. Mahabal Ram vs. Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Others [(1994) 2 SCC 401], the Supreme Court held that subsections (2) and (6) appearing as limbs of the same Section 5 of the Act, have to be harmoniously construed. While allocating work to a single Member, whether Judicial or Administrative in terms of sub-section (6), the Chairman should keep in view the nature of the litigation and where questions of law or interpretation of constit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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