Summary
The Supreme Court restored recruitment rules equating the posts of Joint Chief Inspector of Factories and Principal, Group A (Senior Scale). The Government and UPSC had deliberately considered common feeder posts, promotion stagnation and rotation of a sensitive post; the Tribunal could not substitute its policy judgment on that record. The separate challenge concerning the employee’s transfer became academic after retirement. His right to contest the later dies-non pension treatment was expressly preserved.
Issues
- Whether the Tribunal properly invalidated the statutory rules equating the two posts.
- What survived of the transfer dispute after retirement.
- Whether the employee could challenge treatment of the disputed period as dies non.
Held
- UPSC concurrence followed detailed consideration of feeder-post interchangeability, promotion opportunities and vigilance-related rotation. The courts below had failed to consider those relevant factors in invalidating the common recruitment rules. (¶ 6.3–6.5)
- Service structure and recruitment conditions fell within policy discretion subject to constitutional limits. The considered statutory rule change could not be displaced by the Tribunal’s preferred assessment. The administrative-equivalence precedents relied upon below concerned different factual settings. (¶ 6.5–6.6)
- The transfer challenge became infructuous or academic upon superannuation; the Court also noted concurrent findings of mala fides. Restoration of the recruitment rules did not reverse the separate disposition concerning the transfer. (¶¶ 3.4, 7.2)
- The employee retained liberty to challenge the 18 August 2016 order treating the period from transfer until retirement as dies non. That issue was left to the appropriate forum on its own merits. (¶¶ 3.5, 7.2)
Result
Appeal concerning W.P.No.44922 of 2006 allowed without costs; High Court and Tribunal orders invalidating the recruitment rules set aside. Transfer-related appeal disposed of as academic, with liberty to challenge dies-non pension treatment before the appropriate forum.