Central Administrative Tribunal has jurisdiction as ‘Court of first instance’ to exercise all the jurisdiction, powers, and authority, in matter relating to service dispute

The matter before the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir was against order of the Single Judge wherein he declined to review the order whereby the appellant stands transferred to Central Administrative Tribunal. The service petition filed by the appellant was transferred to the Central Administrative Tribunal.

The subject matter of the Writ petition filed by the appellant before the learned Single Judge is the recruitment process concerning the civil post borne on the service of the Government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The claim of the appellant, admittedly, relates to the recruitment and/or matters concerning recruitment to a civil service and/order a civil post under the Union.

Section 14 of the Administrative Tribunal Act 1985, delineating the matters in relation with which the Tribunals have been prescribed to have the jurisdiction, speaks of recruitment, and matters concerning recruitment, inter alia, to any civil service of the Union or a civil post under the Union. The word ‘Union’ in terms of Explanation appended under Section 14(1)(c) has reference also to a Union Territory. The words used are ‘civil service’ or ‘civil post’.

Tribunals set up under the Act of 1985 have been tasked to act as the only courts of first instance in respect of areas of law for which they have been constituted and the litigants have been restrained to directly approach the High Court even in cases where they question the vires of statutory legislation, except where the legislation which creates the particular Tribunal is challenged, by overlooking the jurisdiction of the concerned Tribunal. Consequently, in these circumstances, the learned Single Judge could not have entertained a petition raising a service dispute of the employee borne on the service of the Government of India or the Government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh.

Consequently, in terms of the mandate of Section 14 of the Act of 1985, it is the Central Administrative Tribunal which has the jurisdiction as a ‘Court of the first instance’ to exercise all the jurisdiction, powers and authority vis-à-vis the petition filed by the appellant before the learned Single Judge, which was exercisable by this Court prior to the appointed day.

Appearing Counsel/s - Mr R. A. Jan, Mr Taha Khaleel, Mr D. R. Raina, Mr Sajjad Ashraf Mir, Mr Tahir Majid Shamsi, Mr Hanu Bhaskar