UNION OF INDIA AND ORS V. K.V. VIJEESH INSC 329; 1996 SCC 139; 1996 SCALE 631

By its Employment Notice No. 1/90 the Railway Recruitment Board invited applications for 308 vacancies in the post of Diesel Assistants in Palghat and Trivandrum Divisions of the Southern Railways. Among others the respondent applied for the above post, and on his success in the written examination and viva voce test held for the purpose, the Board included his name in the select list, published under Notification No. 4/91 dated March 25, 1991 and forwarded the same to the Southern Railway Administration recommending appointments therefrom. As in spite of his such inclusion in the panel he was not being given any appointments he filed an application before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Ernakulam, contending inter alia, that even though in the select list his rank was 172 he had not been given appointment but persons lower in rank were appointed. Accordingly, he prayed for necessary directions for his appointment as a Diesel Assistant in accordance with his position in the panel. Though the above discussion of ours was sufficient to set aside the impugned order, we had, - keeping in view the observations of this Court in Shankarsan Dash's case (supra)

- called for and looked into the relevant records of the Railways to ascertain whether the Railway Administration had acted arbitrarily in rejecting the respondent's claim and, for that matter, whether appointments had been made according to the comparative merits of the candidates or not. The records not only indicate that the contention of the Railways that the respondent was placed at the bottom of the list is correct but also that the appointments have been made according to the comparative merits of the candidates. It cannot, therefore, be said that the rejection of the respondent's claim was arbitrary or discriminatory.