CAT Jammu imposes Rs 50,000 cost on Agriculture Deptt for declaring officer ‘Dead’

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu Bench, has imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on the Agriculture Department for wrongly declaring a serving officer as “expired” and promoting his juniors in his place.
The order was passed while allowing a petition filed by Bushan Lal Munshi. The Division Bench comprising Judicial Member Rajinder Dogra and Administrative Member Ram Mohan Johri termed the act a case of sheer negligence and a deliberate attempt to favour others.
The Tribunal directed the respondents to issue a corrigendum correcting the erroneous record that showed the applicant as having expired on June 15, 2001. The Court ordered that his status be recorded as alive and in service till his superannuation on December 31, 2002.
The Bench further directed the Department to grant him notional promotion to the post of Chief Agriculture Officer/Dy. Director Agriculture with effect from July 1, 2001- the date on which his immediate juniors were promoted.
These included Subash Chander Saraf, Pushkar Nath Tiku, Behari Lal Kantru and Brij Mohan Sharma. The Tribunal also ordered re-fixation of his pay and re-determination of pension and other retiral benefits accordingly.
As per the case details, a Government Order dated October 7, 2008 had notified an eligibility list of officers for promotion, including those already retired. Munshi’s name appeared at serial number 38, and he was fully eligible for promotion. However, due to the erroneous entry showing him as deceased, he was denied the benefit despite his seniority.
Observing that the lapse was not a mere human error but a deliberate act to defeat his claim, the Tribunal directed strict compliance with its order.