TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2007 (8) TMI 836
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....ssistants. 3. The Karnataka Administrative Tribunal was constituted on 6.10.1986. The Government of Karnataka sanctioned the cadre strength and framed the Cadre and Recruitment Rules, 1986. The appointments of stenographers were made in the year 1988. The Government published on 23.9.1992 a new set of draft rules. The stenographers filed objections to the draft rules. On 31.5.1993 the Government published the Recruitment Rules. Though the stenographers made representations to the Government, their representations were rejected. Thereupon they filed application Nos.2250-2252 of 1993 and 2253-2258 of 1998 before the Administrative Tribunal challenging the prescription of degree and test as qualifications for promotion to the post of Junior Judgment Writer in the Rules. It is seen that the assistants or any one that would be affected from that branch by an adjudication, were not impleaded in the proceeding. The Administrative Tribunal allowed the applications and quashed the Rules in part. Essentially, what the Administrative Tribunal did was to alter the qualifications provided for promotions in the cadre of stenographers by doing away with the higher qualifications prescribed. Th....
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....he main aspect, we need consider the grievance of the assistants that the High Court should have, as a consequence of its own decision, set aside the promotions of graduate stenographers as well, since those were illegal promotions. We will, therefore, first deal with the appeals by the stenographers. 5. It is argued on behalf of the stenographers that the High Court was in error in setting aside the order of the Administrative Tribunal dated 6.7.1994 when the assistants had not taken any step to get that order reviewed or modified. It is submitted that only after the decision in the case of L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India and Ors. [1997] 228 ITR 725 (SC) that the High Court got jurisdiction to entertain a proceeding against the decision of the Administrative Tribunal and when the order was passed on 6.7.1994 by the Administrative Tribunal, only an appeal could have been filed to the Supreme Court and in that situation, in the subsequent writ petition, the High Court was not competent to quash the order of the Administrative Tribunal dated 6.7.1994. It is also contended that in any subsequent application filed by the assistants under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals....
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...., what the Administrative Tribunal could do in such a situation. If this were not the position, the assistants would be able to say that since they were not parties to the earlier proceedings, they were not bound by it and they are entitled to ignore the decision therein and that the said decision cannot affect them since it would be a decision that is void in law for non-compliance with the rules of natural justice. There is, therefore, no grace in the submissions that the assistants could not have approached the Administrative Tribunal with their grievance and the Tribunal could not have consider their grievance or gone back on its earlier decision. We are in agreement with the approach made by the High Court and the conclusion arrived at by it and hence have no hesitation in overruling this contention. The argument that the jurisdiction of the High Court came to be recognized only later, cannot change the situation, since when the High Court entertained the writ petition it had the jurisdiction to do so and it had jurisdiction also to consider what was the effect of the earlier order or the proceeding before it and whether the earlier order was legal and justified in the context....
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....er. A thing that is to be done has not only to be done properly but also appear to be done properly. But this is only incidental and has no relevance to the question falling for decision except for the contention that the Vice-Chairman has no power to appoint, with which we will deal later, if it becomes necessary. 9. Suffice it to say that we agree with the conclusion of the High Court that the decision dated 6.4.1997 rendered by the Administrative Tribunal was totally unsustainable and the question of promotion has to be on the basis of the Rules as they stood prior to the interference with it by the Tribunal. 10. Thus, we find no merit in the appeals filed by the stenographers and the cancellation of their promotions on the basis they did not possess the requisite qualifications for promotion as per the Rules. 11. We then come to the appeals filed by the assistants. Their grievance is that the High Court having found that the order of the Administrative Tribunal dated 6.4.1997 was unsustainable and having found that the amendments brought to the rules by it were also illegal and unsustainable, should have followed up that finding by setting aside the promotions of all t....