Rs 25,000 for man who lost out on J&K revenue dept job for no fault of his
Rs 25,000 for man who lost out on J&K revenue dept job for no fault of his
An alleged oversight by an assistant in the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) in noticing the deposit of Rs 400 examination fee in its account made a successful candidate lose at least six years in getting appointed as a patwari in the revenue department.
On Tuesday, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) imposed Rs 25,000 as cost on the erring official of the recruiting agency as his ‘negligence’ and ‘irresponsible behaviour’ deprived a successful applicant his appointment as a patwari more than six years ago.
The CAT bench, presided over by Rajinder Singh Dogra, also directed the SSB to declare the result of the applicant against the post of patwari and recommend the Commissioner-Secretary of the revenue department for issuance of appointment letter to him within four weeks.
According to the details of the case, Kushal Dev Singh of Akhnoor successfully applied online for the post of patwari in Jammu district in response to an advertisement issued by the JKSSB on September 1, 2015. He also deposited Rs 400 as prescribed fee in favour of JKSSB.
However, the recruiting agency did not issue him the admit card on the grounds of not depositing the fee, and Dev filed a writ petition in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in 2018.
The court, while issuing notices to the State of J&K and the JKSSB, asked the recruiting agency to allow the petitioner to appear in the examination. However, despite repeated reminders from the court, the respondents did not file any reply.
Following establishment of a bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal in Jammu in May 2020, the case was transferred from the high court to CAT on August 24 of the same year.
The manager of the J&K Bank’s Akhnoor branch appeared before the CAT and stated that he had received a challan of Rs 400 as examination fee and that the amount was deposited in the account of JKSSB.
The tribunal observed the applicant was harassed for more than six years and was deprived of his legitimate right to be appointed as a patwari, along with other candidates, who were selected six years ago by virtue of the same advertisement.
The applicant has also suffered a loss of seniority which he would have otherwise gained, observed the bench.
Holding it to be a fit case where a cost of Rs 25,000 should be burdened on the JKSSB, the tribunal held that the amount shall be recovered from the salary bills/pension of the erring official who was dealing with the matter at that time.
For the latest news from across India, Political updates, Explainers, Sports News, Opinion, Entertainment Updates and more Top News, visit Indian Express. Subscribe to our award-winning Newsletter Download our App here Android & iOS