The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Madras Bench, has set aside the appointment of a Puducherry Civil Service (PCS) cadre officer as the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes Department. It has also directed the Puducherry government to consider the name of M. Rajesaker, Deputy Director (Enforcement) on deputation with the Directorate of Enforcement, Chennai Zonal Office, for promotion to the post of Deputy Commissioner, as per the then existing Recruitment Rules.
The bench of P. Madhavan (member-judicial) and T. Jacob (member-administration) delivered its judgement on November 13 in a petition filed by M. Rajesaker, who challenged the validity of the appointment of a PCS officer as the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes Department.
According to sources, the applicant Rajesaker, was ordered to hold the full Additional charge of Deputy Commissioner with effect from April 18, 2007. He continued to hold the additional charge of Commissioner till April 29, 2012. Thereafter, the government had transferred him and posted him as the Managing Director of Puducherry Cooperative Sugar Mills and posted G. Srinivas, an officer holding full additional charge of Commissioner on deputation from Pondicherry Civil Service.
As per Recruitment Rules, the government can appoint a person on deputation on transfer only if there are no qualified candidates for promotion. The applicant was posted as Assistant Commissioner with effect from June 26, 2001. Though he continued to hold the charge of Deputy Commissioner till 2012 his posting was not regularised by the department.
Agreeing with the contentions raised by Rajesaker, the CAT bench held that the Recruitment Rules (RR) were the basis of every appointment and the rules prefer method of promotion instead of appointing a person on transfer/deputation.
“The respondents had acted in arbitrary manner against the existing RR when the post became vacant. They have not cared to consider the possibility of promotion before going for deputation. The applicant has a right to be considered for promotion as per RR prevailing for appointment to the post of Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes,” the bench said.
The bench also held that the promotion of the applicant to the post of Assistant Commissioner has to be considered as regular. He has worked as such from 2001 and he was not reverted to any lower post. The action of the respondents in not following the RR before the appointment of a PCS officer in the year 2012 is against the RR and is arbitrary.
The CAT bench also directed the government to consider the name of the applicant for promotion to the post of Deputy Commissioner as per the existing RR considering his appointment to the post of Assistant Commissioner as regular. The bench also directed the government to complete the exercise within a period of three months.
