IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 29TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2019 PRESENT THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE S.N.SATYANARAYANA AND THE HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE SACHIN SHANKAR MAGADUM WRIT PETITION NO.50238/2019 [S-CAT] BETWEEN:
RAMAPPA HATTI S/O IRAPPA HATTI AGED ABOUT 59 YEARS NOW POSTED AS ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER REPORTED TO THE D.P.A.R SERVICES II, VIDHANA SOUDHA BENGALURU AND RESIDING AT C-4 “SUBBHIKSHA DEFODIL”, NO.25, RUSTUM BAUG LAY OUT, BENGALURU- 560 017. …PETITIONER (BY SRI NARAYANA BHAT.N, ADVOCATE) AND :
1. UNION OF INDIA REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY DEPT. OF PERSONNEL & TRAINING, MINISTRY OF PERSONALITY, PUBLIC GRIEVANCE AND PENSION, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI-110 001 2. STATE OF KARNATAKA REPRESENTED BY ITS CHIEF SECRETARY VIDHANA SOUDHA, BENGALURU – 560 001.
3. STATE OF KARNATAKA REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY DEPT. OF PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS, VIDHANA SOUDHA, BENGALURU – 560 001 4. KARNATAKA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION REP. BY ITS SECRETARY UDYOG SADAN BENGALURU – 560 001 5. UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY DHOLPUR HOUSE, NEW DELHI – 110 069 6. H.BASAVARAJENDRA, IAS S/O B.HONNAPPA AGED ABOUT 52 YEARS PRESENTLY WORKING AS CEO ZILLA PANCHAYATH, DAVANAGERE – 577 001 7. SHIVANANDA KAPASHI, IAS S/O BHIMAPA KAPASHI AGED ABOUT 51 YEARS WORKING AS REGISTRAR RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, BENGALURU AND RESIDING AT NO.12, SHIVAKRUPA, GROUND FLOOR 8TH MAIN, 1ST CROSS, GANESH BLOCK MAHALAKSHMI LAYOUT BENGALURU – 560 086 8. KAVITHA S MANNIKERI, IAS D/O S.K.MANNIKERI, AGED ABOUT 46 YEARS WORKING AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ZILLA PANCHAYATH YADGIR GULBARGA DISTRICT – 585 201 9. H.N.GOPALAKRISHNA , IAS S/O LATE NARAYANA GOWDA AGED ABOUT 46 YEARS WORKING AS MANAGING DIRECTOR CESE, MYSURU & DIRECTOR ADMINISTRATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES KPTCL, BENGALURU AND RESIDING AT NO.253, GIRINIVAS 15TH ‘D’ CROSS, MAHALAKSHMIPURAM BENGALURU – 560 086 10. G.C.VRUSHABHENDRA MURTHY, IAS S/O LATE G.N.CHANDRASHEKARAIAH AGED ABOUT 59 YEARS PRESENTLY WORKING AS DIRECTOR MSME, DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIES AND COMMERCE, KANIJA BHAVAN, BENGALURU AND RESIDING AT NO.6/8, NAMMA MANE, 1ST MAIN ROAD, KONENA AGRAHARA, HAL, BENGALURU – 560 017 11. KAREE GOWDA, IAS S/O SIDDE GOWDA AGED ABOUT 48 YEARS WORKING AS DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BENGALURU RURAL DISTRICT BENGALURU – 560 001 AND RESIDING AT NO.1144, 64TH CROSS 18TH ‘B’ MAIN, BEHIND NATIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL RAJAJINAGAR BENGALURU – 560 010 12. P.VASANTHA KUMAR, IAS S/O LATE PUTTAMADAIAH AGED ABOUT 46 YEARS WORKING AS COMMISSIONER BACKWARD CLASSES WELFARE DEPARTMENT DEVRAJ URS BHAVAN, VASANTH NAGAR BENGALURU – 560 001 13. N.SHIVASHANKARA, IAS S/O LATE NINGE GOWDA AGED ABOUT 47 YEARS EARLIER WORKING AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER KARNATAKA INDUSTRIAL AREAS, DEVELOPMENT BOARD, KANIJA BHAVAN (NOW AWAITING POSTING AFTER TRANSFER) RACE COURSE ROAD, BENGALURU - 560 001 14. MEENA NAGARAJ, IAS W/O ARJUNA REDDY AGED ABOUT 45 YEARS WORKING AS DIRECTOR OF TREASURIES V.V.TOWER, DR.AMBEDKAR VEEDHI BENGALURU- 560 001 15. R.S.PEDDAPPAIAH S/O SANJEEVARAYAPPA AGED ABOUT 57 YEARS WORKING AS COMMISSIONER SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT M.S.BUILDING BENGALURU – 560 001 16. AKRAMPASHA, IAS S/O LATE SRI NANNE JAN AGED ABOUT 49 YEARS EARLIER WORKING AS DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HASSAN DISTRICT HASSAN – 573 201 17. SRI VEERABHADRA HANCHINAL NOW WAITING FOR POSTING ORDERS C/O PRINCIPAL SECRETARY DPAR, VIDHANA SOUDHA BENGALURU – 560 001 18. SMT.YASMIN BEGUM WALIKAR JOINT COMMISSIONER OF COMMERCIAL TAXES (LEGAL) DHARWAD – 580 001 19. SMT.SUSHILAMMA N NOW WAITING FOR POSTING ORDERS C/O PRINCIPAL SECRETARY DPAR, VIDHANA SOUDHA BENGALURU – 560 001 20. SRI PRAVEEN P. BAGEWADI NOW WAITING FOR POSTING ORDERS C/O PRINCIPAL SECRETARY DPAR, VIDHAN SOUDHA BENGALURU – 560 001 21. SMT.SEEMA NAIK.B DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF COMMERCIAL TAXES (AUDIT) DGSTO 4, KORAMANGALA BENGALURU – 560 068 22. SRI SHIVAKUMAR H.R NOW WAITING FOR POSTING ORDERS C/O PRINCIPAL SECRETARY DPAR, VIDHANA SOUDHA BENGALURU – 560 001 23. SMT.B.V.ROOPASHRI JOINT CONTROLLER OF STATE ACCOUNTS KRRDA, III FLOOR GRAMEENA ABHIVRIDHI BHAVANA BENGALURU – 560 009 24. SRI MANJUNATHSWAMY G.N NOW WAITING FOR POSTING ORDERS C/O PRINCIPAL SECRETARY DPAR, VIDHANA SOUDHA BENGALURU – 560 001 …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI G.D.SRINIVAS, ADVOCATE FOR R1, SMT.SHILPA S GOGI, HCGP FOR R2 & R3, SRI K.M.PRAKASH, ADVOCATE FOR R4 SRI RAJKUMAR, ADVOCATE FOR R5 VIDE ORDER DATED 25.10.2019, NOTICE TO R-17 TO R-24 IS DISPENSED WITH R9 & R24 SERVED AND UNREPRESENTED SRI M.S.BHAGWAT, ADVOCATE FOR R15, SRI A.S.PONNANNA, SENIOR COUNSEL FOR PUTTEGOWDA, ADVOCATE FOR R13 & R16) THIS PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, PRAYING TO DIRECT, PROHIBIT/RESTRAIN THE HON’BLE CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL FROM PROCEEDING WITH THE ORIGINAL APPLICATIONS PENDING ON ITS FILES IN NUMBERS PRODUCED AT ANNEXURE-A1 TO A11 AS THE HON’BLE CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL HAS NO JURISDICTION U/S 14 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS ACT 1985 AND ETC.
THIS PETITION COMING ON FOR ORDERS THIS DAY, SATYANARAYANA J., MADE THE FOLLOWING:
ORDER The petitioner herein is challenging the authority of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Bengaluru Bench [‘CAT’, for short] to decide the proceedings pending in OA Nos.170/437 to 441 and 448-449, 961- 964 of 2019 on the file of the CAT. The copies of the said applications are Annexures-A1 to A11 before this Court.
2. The grievance of the petitioner herein is that the Respondent Nos. 6 to 16 whose appointment to the post of KAS Officers, Junior Grade, Group-A, being subject matter of challenge before this Court in W.P. No.27674/2012 and connected matters, having suffered an adverse order on 21.06.2016, are trying to pursue their personal right in the said applications pursuant to certain rights reserved to them by Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the aforesaid batch of writ petitions disposed of by order dated 21.06.2016 wherein the relevant portion of the order relied upon by them to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal is as under:
“6. All other issues/disputes which are personal in character are relegated to be decided by the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal, where the applications of the petitioners are pending consideration. It is open to the petitioners to amend the said application to include those issues which are not decided in this Public Interest Litigation. Similarly, it is open to the respondents to agitate their rights/put forth their defence in the pending proceedings before the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal, if they are made parties. Otherwise, they can also initiate independent proceedings for protecting their rights or agitate their rights.”
3. It is further contended that while filing the said applications, the Respondent Nos. 6 to 16 have deliberately left out the petitioner herein to secure an order behind his back suppressing his seniority. It is his further grievance that pursuant to order of Co- ordinate Bench of this Court dated 21.06.2016 in the earlier round of litigation, the right to expose their personal grievance is only before the KAT and not CAT. It is in this background, this writ petition is filed.
4. In this writ petition, some of the respondents who are applicants before the CAT are served and notice is yet to be served in respect of some other applicants therein. When this matter came up before this Court to consider issuance of notice to other respondents, this Court felt that the present writ petition is premature in nature. At the first instance, the CAT ought to have decided whether it has jurisdiction to decide the applications filed by Respondent Nos. 6 to 16 in view of the fact that the liberty reserved to them was in approaching the KAT and not CAT. When that being the case, the CAT ought not to have considered their applications for maintainability. The same should not have been taken up on merits.
5. In this background, this Court is of the considered opinion that at the first instance, the CAT instead of passing one line order that it has right to hear the said applications, shall have to look into the order of the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court dated 21.06.2016 and thereafter shall pass appropriate order regarding maintainability of the applications before the CAT. The same shall be done on or before 10.12.2019. Till such time, there shall not be further deliberations with reference to merits of the case. Interim order granted by the CAT shall be in operation until the maintainability of the applications is decided. While considering the maintainability, the CAT shall also hear and dispose of the applications pending for vacation of the interim order.
With such observations, this writ petition is disposed of.
Sd/- JUDGE Sd/- JUDGE AN/-