Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Union Of India & Ors vs Ravi Prakash on 8 August, 2022
5
Court
No. 11 08.08.2022
G.S.Das
FMA 651 of 2022
With
CAN 1 of 2022
Union of India & Ors.
-Vs-
Ravi Prakash
Mr. Kushi Prasun Chatterjee
Mr. Aveek Biswas
... for the Appellants
Mr. Ujjal Ray
Mr. Arpa Chakraborty
... for the Respondent
Party/Parties is/are represented in the order of
their name/names as printed above in the cause title.
Mr. Chatterjee, Learned Counsel, appears for the
appellants with Mr. Biswas, Learned Advocate.
The Respondent is represented by Mr. Ray,
Learned Counsel with Mr. Chakraborty, Learned
Advocate.
This appeal is directed against the Judgement
and Order of the Hon'ble Single Bench dated 25 th
January, 2022.
By the said impugned Judgment and Order the
Respondent Authorities/the Railway Protection Force
(for short, RPF) were directed to forthwith issue the
medical decategorization certificate of the writ
petitioner in compliance with the previous Order of the
Hon'ble Court dated 27th July, 2020 in another writ
petition.
The Hon'ble Single Bench was further pleased to,
inter alia, direct the Respondents/RPF to issue, in the
alternative, a certificate of change of occupation to the
writ petitioner and to assign the writ petitioner either
a lighter category of service or lighter duty in similar
category.
Mr. Ray, Learned Counsel, strongly argues that
the directions of the Hon'ble Single Bench are pari
materia with the Rules connected to the medical
recommendation of the RPF, particularly being Rules
559, 560 and 561 thereto.
It is submitted that the writ petitioner was in the
Sick List of the RPF and following the provisions of the
Rules since such Sick List was declared by the RPF
itself to confer eligibility on the incumbent to be
decategorized, the RPF be held to be bound to its own
Rules.
Per contra, Mr. Chatterjee, Learned Counsel
appearing for the appellants/RPF, submits that the
writ petitioner was twice summoned to report back to
office and twice the writ petitioner ignored such
summons.
It is the contention of the appellants/RPF that
the writ petitioner had played truant.
Reliance is placed in this appeal on a Memo
dated 22nd December, 2014 of the Railway Board, inter
alia, purporting to constitute a Medical Board on the
issue that in the case of illness, the medical record of
the concerned employee for a period of two years,
which is far above the period of six months as stated
in the Rules (supra), will be considered.
The Circular dated 22nd December, 2014 is
however contradicted by Learned Counsel for the writ
petitioner on the ground that such administrative
Circular cannot supersede the statutory Rules of the
RPF which provides for decategorization of persons
who are declared to be in the Sick List by the RPF
itself.
Having heard the parties and considering the
materials placed at this stage, this Court does not find
that the Judgment and Order dated 25th January,
2022 deserves to be stayed.
Accordingly, the prayer for interim relief stands
refused.
The Respondent/the writ petitioner shall be
eligible to file Affidavit-in-opposition to CAN 1 of 2022
within a period of three weeks from this date. Reply, if
any thereto, be filed within two weeks thereafter.
At the end of the period granted to exchange
Affidavits, the appellant/the RPF shall prepare the
requisite number of Informal Paper Book(s)
incorporating all the documents necessary to this
appeal.
Let the matter appear for consideration next
under the heading "Hearing (Gr.-VI)" in the
Combined Monthly List of November, 2022.
All parties to act on a server copy of this order
duly obtained from the official website of the Hon'ble
High Court, Calcutta.
(Lapita Banerji, J.) (Subrata Talukdar,J.)
