16 Feb Latest News

DoPT Case : Facts We Should Know

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Published Date

Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is the department of the Central Government bestowed with the authority to issue guidelines which control the Promotion and Training rules of PSUs under Central Government Control.

According to DoPT guidelines in any Cadre in a PSU where there is appointment through two streams ie via Direct Recruitment and via Promotion , the relative seniority should be done keeping a ratio of 1:1 for Direct Recruits and Promotees.

When the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 Provisional Gradation list were published, the First BSNL Direct Recruited official was placed at around 7000 ! while DoPT would have positioned him at 2nd Position !!. The Final Gradation List was never prepared or circulated, which itself is a big violation of DoPT/Natural Justice.

DRs decided act against this injustice & at Chennai they filed a Case in the Hon Chennai CAT under AIGETOA banner. In the mean time, A roster case ( for reservation roster ) was also made in Hon Chennai CAT for the list 2008-09 ; and both these cases made the Wrong Gradation list of 2008-09 & 2009-10 inoperative .

The DoPT case after remaining in Court for almost 2 year was dismissed on the following technical grounds.

1) The DR JTOs hadn't first given a representation to the Management.

2) The DR JTOs had challenged the Chennai Circle gradation list.

3) They had 'slept over their rights' for a long time as the irregularity had happened as early as 2000 but they had gone for the case only by about 2009

Immediately after the re-publishing of 2009-10 Gradation List ; some of our Colleagues in Kerala who were in the list had immediately given representation to Management (Director HR) siting the injustice that was done to Direct Recruits by the management by not following the DoPT Guidelines and the Procedure followed by BSNL. Having not received any response from the Management in the prescribed time they immediately without delay filed a Case in the Hon Ernakulam CAT & challenged the 2009-10 list also.

BSNL had not appeared in several of the hearings. Consequent to the legal proceedings On 18.04.2013 the Hon Ernakulam CAT had directed the BSNL Management to prepare a list based on DoPT Guidelines & legeal orders which they hadn't been able to do till date. It was also directed not to make any promotions from the challenged list without the Hon court's consent.

Now one of the associations - which claims to take care of the interests of both Promotees and Direct Recruits equally well - is moving fast to get the stay vacated to see their priority members (PROMOTEES) posted as SDEs to those Seniority Vacancies at the earliest, which should have been rightfully shared between Direct Recruits and Promotees equally (ie 1:1).  

Further, after so many hearings spanned for almost 2 years, and due to our justified grounds Hon. CAT extended the stay order. Astonishingly on 16th Jan 2015,  the case was dismissed.

Now an appeal is filed at Hon. High Court Kerala and Hon. court again granted stay (status quo) on operating from the list. 

None of the DR JTOs of 2001/2002/2005/2007/2008 know where they stand in All India JTO Seniority List, which should have been published / kept in internal circulation by BSNL Corporate office. For non-publication/non-circulation of the same some vested interests are still playing.

Wake up friends, The time to act is NOW. The point is not to take all this injustice sitting idle. We have to Stand up and fight for what is rightfully ours.