TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1996 (5) TMI 423
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....in detail or giving any final decision. Briefly stated the facts are as under : In the Kalyanpur Police Station Crime Register No.62/93 related to a case booked for the offences punishable under sections 121, 121A, 122, 34 IPC and 25(1)(A)(D),25(1)(A)(2), 25(1)AA, 25(A)(B), 25 (A)(F) of the Arms Act, Section 20 of Wireless Telegraph Act and Sections 3,4 and 5 of TADA and Section 135(l) of the Bombay Police Act. In the course of investigation one diary of Hamir Sajan was found and it contained certain financial transactions relating to one Haji Ismail for purchasing the ships in question. The District Superintendent of Police attached those ships invoking powers under Section 7A of TADA. A report application No.1993 was filed before the learned Designated Judge seeking confirmation of attachment. The appellants claiming to be the owners of the ships in question objected to the attachment and sought revocation of such attachment before the learned Designated Judge. It was argued before the learned Designated Judge that section 7A of TADA came into force on and from 22.5.1993 and the purchases of all the ships having taken place well before that date, the provisions of TADA c....
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....dge what was required to be established was that the property in relation to which the investigation was made must be having sources of purchase from the amount or proceeds of terrorism or by way of commission of terrorist activity. Therefore, the learned Judge found that it was not necessary or incumbent upon the Investigating Officer to attach only properties of the persons who were involved in the offence under TADA Act and that on the other hand, any property can be attached if it is reasonably believed that it was derived from the commission of any terrorist activity or was acquired by the proceeds of 'terrorism'. The learned Judge also found that 'the aforesaid party (namely the appellants herein) are related to the main smuggler Haji Haji Ismail' who is absconding and by using the funds provided by him the ships in question were purchased and so it can be said that "prima facie, doing smuggling activity of keeping and possessing latest and modern foreign made arms and ammunitions in order to cause terrorism among the Customs and Police Officers would mean that by keeping the authority such as Custom Officers or Police Personnel in constant fear due to his terrorist activitie....
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....bsp; ------- 8652/96 11870/96 19260/93 8919-20/96 4250-51/93 8729/96 7406/93 8725/96 11911/96 20225/93 2570/93 8090/93 20528/93 8703/96 16410/93 ....
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....) Nos. 11178/94, 15438/94, 17640/94, 13168/94, 14415/95, 17196/95, 18159/95] Union of India & Anr. etc.etc. V. M. Bhaskar & Ors. etc.etc. J U D G M E N T HANSARIA.J. This batch of appeals requires us to decide two questions both of whom are relatable to the Railway Board's memorandum dated 15.5.1987 on the subject of recruitment of Traffic/Commercial Apprentices. The two questions are: (1) the purport of the memorandum: and (2) the validity of the same. 2. There has been a cleavage of opinion among the various Central Administrative Tribunals (CATs) of the country. Most of the Tribunals have rejected the understanding of the Union of India - the main appellant-relating to the meaning and scope of the memorandum. The Ernakulam Bench of the Tribunal has even regarded the memorandum as invalid. 3. The broad contents of the memorandum may be noted. It brought about some changes in the recruitment of Traffic/Commercial Apprentices - one of the changes being that on and from 15.5.1987 the recruitment of these Apprentices would be made in the pay scale of Rs. 1600-2660 (this s....
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....and 10% from Limited Departmental Competitive Examination; and the balance 75% by promotion from lower grade. Further, the term 'Apprentices' was being actually used to cover 'direct recruits', as distinct from 'promotees'. Another thing to be noted, which again missed the Tribunals in question, is that when the pay scale of Rs. 1400-2300 was being paid to Traffic/Commercial Apprentices, the higher pay scale of Rs. 1600-2660 was being paid to those who were in a higher grade. 6. Though the above is disputed by Mrs. Sharda Devi, appearing for some of the respondents, we entertain no doubt on this score, because from what has been stated in para 6 of the Affidavit filed by T.P.V.S. Sekar Rao, Deputy Chief Personnel Officer, South Central Railway Headquarters Office, Secunderabad, it appears that the Pay scale of Rs. 1400-2300 was being made available to Traffic Inspector Grade III, whereas scale of Rs. 1600-2660 was meant for Traffic Inspectors Grade II. Similarly, Commercial Inspector, Grade III, was getting the scale of Rs. 1400-2300 and Commercial Inspector, Grade II, the scale of Rs. 1600- 2660. Mrs. Sharda Devi has referred to us in this connection to the Table of "Avenue of ....
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....fic/Commercial Apprentices irrespective of the grade of the posts held by them, not only misunderstood the memorandum of 1987, but misconceived the provisions relating to the recruitment and promotion of these Apprentices as finding place in the Establishment Manual. Indeed, somehow or other they were oblivious of what has found place in the Manual in this regard. 9. This leaves for consideration the question of validity of the memorandum. The Ernakulam Bench, which held the memorandum invalid, did so for the reason that the Railway Board, which had issued the memorandum, could not have changed the provisions finding place in the establishment Manual. which are statutory in nature, whereas the memorandum was categorized as administrative instruction. Now, there is no dispute in law that statutory provision cannot be changed by administrative instruction. Now then, the Tribunal, despite having noted Rule 1-A of the Indian Railway Establishment Code (Volume-I) as published on 21st March, 1951 reading: "Normally recruitment will be to the lowest grade of the lowest class but direct recruitment on limited scale to intermediate grades will be made in accordance with instructions l....
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....s of which mention has been in detail in one of the documents on record. So, it cannot be said that the date (15.5.1987) is one 'picked out from a hat', in which case a cut-off date would be arbitrary, as stated by this Court recently in para 4 of Union of India v. Sudhir Kumar Jaiswal (1994) 4 SCC 212. We are rather satisfied that the date has relevance and the memorandum has come to be issued following the aforesaid discussion. So, we uphold the validity of the memorandum. Appeals @ SLP (C) Nos.2533-35 of 1994 12. In these appeals, it was contended by Shri Das on behalf of respondent Nos.2 to 4 that the cases of these respondents stand on different footing from other respondents. because, though they had come to be recruited pursuant to an advertisement of January 1987, they were called for training programme commencing from August 1989 and so, they should be taken as post - 1987 Apprentices, for which reason they would be entitled to the benefit of the memorandum. This contention has been advanced because of the language of sub-para (xii) of para 2 of the memorandum, according to which the revised pay scale of Rs. 1400-2300 was meant for "apprentices already under training". ....