Delhi High Court
Union Of India vs The National Commission For ... on 3 March, 2017
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) No. 9547/2015
% 3rd March, 2017
UNION OF INDIA ..... Petitioner
Through: Mr. Sameer Agarwal, Advocate.
versus
THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SCHEDULE CASTES &
ANR. ..... Respondents
Through: Mr. S.K. Mohanty, Advocate for
R-1.
Dr. K.S. Chauhan, Advocate for
R-2.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VALMIKI J.MEHTA
To be referred to the Reporter or not?
VALMIKI J. MEHTA, J (ORAL)
1. By this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution
of India, the petitioner/Union of India impugns the order dated
18.8.2015 passed by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
The order is in the nature of Minutes of Meeting. The said Minutes of
Meeting dated 18.8.2015 reads as under:-
" No.R-7/I&B-1/2013-SSW-I
National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
Minutes of hearing held on 18/8/2015 in the Commission.
The matter relating to representation of Shri Ratan Singh, Surveyor of
Works (E), CCW, AIR, New Delhi for his promotion was discussed on
18/08/2015.
Shri Ajay Joshi, Deputy Secretary (Broadcasting-II) M/o I&B and the
petition, Shri Ratan Singh were present.
It was observed that the M/O I&B and the AIR authorities have not
implemented the Department of Personnel & Training O.M. No.
36012/45/2005-Esstt.(Res) dated 18.08.2010 regarding reservation in
promotion-treatment of SC/ST candidates promoted on own merit so far.
Further, this order has not been withdrawn by the DoP&T order. It is a
serious case and merely, on the court‟s decision, non(missing)
implementation of DoP&T guidelines (Nodal Ministry/Deptt.) is violation
of reservation policy of Govt. of India. Hence, it is decided that the
Secretary, M/o I&B and the Director General, All India Radio may be called
in the next heaving fixed on 08/9/2015 at 12:30 p.m. along with action taken
report.
Sd/-
(Dr. Raj Kumar Verka)
Vice-Chairman
18.8.2015"
2. The Supreme Court way back in the year 1996 passed its
judgment in the case of All India Indian Overseas Bank SC and ST
Employees' Welfare Association and Others Vs. Union of India and
Others, 1996 (6) SCC 606, that a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe
Commission is not a Civil Court and it cannot pass a judgment like a
Court of law and issue injunctions. The relevant paras of the judgment
in the case of All India Indian Overseas Bank SC and ST Employees'
Welfare Association (supra) are paras 10 and 11 and the same read as
under:-
"10. Interestingly, here, in clause (8) of Article 138, the words used are "the
Commission shall... have all the powers of the civil court trying a suit." But
the words "all the powers of a civil court" have to be exercised "while
investigating any matter referred to in sub-clause (a) or inquiring into any
complaint referred to in sub-clause (b) of clause 5". All the procedural
powers of a Civil Court are given to the Commission for the purpose of
investigating and inquiring into these matters and that too for that limited
purpose only. The powers of a civil court of granting injunctions, temporary
or permanent, do not inhere in the Commission nor can such a power be
inferred or derived from a reading of clause (8) of Article 338 of the
Constitution.
11. The Commission having not been specifically granted any power to
issue interim injunctions, lacks the authority to issue an order of the type
found in the letter dated March 4, 1993. The order itself being bad for want
of jurisdiction, all other questions and considerations raised in the appeal are
redundant. The High Court was justified in taking the view it did. The
appeal is dismissed. No costs."
3. A reading of the impugned order shows that though the
same is proffered in the form of „Minutes of Meeting‟ asking for an
„Action Taken Report‟, actually an Action Taken Report is for seeking
the report for implementation of the order, and therefore, the order
dated 18.8.2015 is in the nature of a judgment passing an injunction
order and which has been passed without the Scheduled Castes
Commission having jurisdiction to pass such an order in view of the
judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of All India Indian
Overseas Bank SC and ST Employees' Welfare Association (supra).
4. In view of the above discussion, the impugned order dated
18.8.2015 is totally illegal and is therefore set aside. The writ petition
is, accordingly, allowed and disposed of, leaving the parties to bear
their own costs.
MARCH 03, 2017/AK VALMIKI J. MEHTA, J
