CAT tells Centre to reconsider DGCA ex-officer's claim for promotion to DG

The Central Administrative Tribunal has questioned the decision of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to deny J S Rawat, now retired, promotion to the post of Director General of Civil Aviation since 2013.

The tribunal has directed the ministry, under which the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) functions, to place Rawat's case before the selection committee for consideration from the date when he became eligible for promotion.

In its order dated July 14, the tribunal stated, "If he is otherwise found suitable...he shall be given promotion along with all consequential benefits. It is clarified that since the applicant has not shouldered the responsibility of the next higher post, he is not entitled for monetary benefits. His benefits shall be calculated on notional basis."

After his retirement in 2019 as a Joint DG, Rawat approached the tribunal alleging that the government flouted norms to deny him promotion to the post of DG, which is a highly technical post, since 2013 and raising questions over the subsequent appointments to the post.

However, the government counsel submitted before the tribunal that Rawat was ineligible for the post of Director General (DG).

Rawat claimed that after serving as Joint Director General for three years, he was eligible to be promoted as DG in November 2013 but the government didn't hold any Department Promotion Committee (DPC) as required under the recruitment rules of 2005.

According to the Recruitment Rules (RR) of 2005, the appointment of DG was supposed to be done by a DPC.

Further, the post of DG would have been filled by way of promotion from within the DGCA and if there were no suitable candidates available, then a person would have been brought on deputation from outside.

Due to stringent recruitment norms such as mandatory 12 years of experience in aviation, the government claimed that it started facing problems around 2008 necessitating relaxation of the rules due to non-availability of suitable feeder grade incumbents, according to the order.

In 2013, the government sent a proposal to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to fill up the post of DG, DGCA by way of deputation, however, the UPSC disagreed and submitted that when departmental candidates were available for being considered then why deputationist be considered for filing up the post of DG.

It advised the ministry to submit the proposal to the DPC for promotion to the post for the vacancy year 2014-15.

Rawat claimed that in 2015 after becoming the senior most Joint Director General, he was once again the sole claimant for the post of DG.

However, a year later in 2016, the government amended the recruitment rules and as per the new rules, made applicable from June 3, 2016, the selection to the post of Director General of Civil Aviation shall be done by a search-cum-selection committee consisting of the Cabinet Secretary, Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

The government further laid down that the consultation of the Union Public Service Commission would not be required.

After that on October 10, 2016, the Ministry of Civil Aviation called the officers in the grade of Joint Director General from DGCA, who were within the zone of consideration for the post of Director General, for personal interaction.

While Rawat was the senior most, other officers in the order of seniority were Bir Singh Rai, Arvind Sardana, and Lalit Gupta.

Rawat alleged before the tribunal that much to the surprise of the candidates, the government did not declare the result of the said personal interaction and, keeping recruitment rules of 2016 in abeyance, it appointed B S Bhullar, an IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre who was additional secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, as the Director General.

Rawat later learnt that he was denied promotion in 2016 on the ground that his vigilance was not clear, however, during the hearing of the case, his lawyer Dewakar Goel submitted a communication sent from the Civil Aviation Ministry to the Central Vigilance Commission which stated that there was no vigilance case against him.

The CAT has said in its order that the government counsel was unable to place any material on record to show that there was any disciplinary proceeding pending before Rawat.

Goel also argued that the post of Director General is a highly technical position that cannot be filled up by a non-technical person. He alleged that the government, once again keeping the Recruitment Rules of 2016 in abeyance, appointed Arun Kumar, IAS, who was then an additional secretary in the Aviation Ministry, as DG in 2019.

Agreeing with Rawat's contention, the tribunal has said, "...we are of this considered view that the applicant's case from the year 2013 onwards may be placed before Selection Committee for consideration from the date when he became eligible for promotional post under the Recruitment Rules framed under Article 309 of the Constitution of India."

"If he is otherwise found suitable under the Recruitment Rules of 2005 as well as 2016, he shall be given promotion along with all consequential benefits. It is clarified that since the applicant has not shouldered the responsibility of the next higher post, he is not entitled for monetary benefits. His benefits shall be calculated on notional basis," the tribunal added.