Hamidullah Bhat vs D/o Youth Services & Sports Ut Of J&k

ITEM 21 1 TA 8660 OF 2020

CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
SRINAGAR BENCH, SRINAGAR

T.A. 8660/2020
Heard and Reserved on: 01-10-2026
Pronouncement of Order on: 28.10.2026
C O R A M
HON’BLE MS. JUSTICE RITU TAGORE, MEMBER(JUDL.)
HON’BLE MR. PRASANT KUMAR, MEMBER(Admn.)

Hamidullah Bhat, Age: 44 years,
S/o Gh. Nabi Bhat,
R/o Nunmai, Yaripora, Kulgam,
Jammu & Kashmir.
… Applicant/Petitioner
By Advocate : Mr. F A Wani
VERSUS
1. Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir
through Commissioner/Secretary to Government,
Technical Education, Youth Services & Sports Department,
Civil Secretariat, Srinagar/Jammu.
2. Director General, Youth Services & Sports,
Jammu & Kashmir, J&K.
3. District Youth Services & Sports Officer, Rajouri,
Jammu & Kashmir.
4. Secretary, Jammu & Kashmir Services Selection Board,
Srinagar/Jammu.
..…. Respondents

By Advocate :- Mr. Syed Musaib, DAG

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ITEM 21 2 TA 8660 OF 2020

O R D E R (FINAL)

HON’BLE MR. PRASANT KUMAR, MEMBER (Admn.)

01. The present Transfer Application arises out of the writ
proceedings instituted by the applicant before the
Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir as SWP
No. 2531 of 2018, whereby the applicant, having been
appointed as Physical Education Teacher (PET) in
District Cadre Rajouri, pursuant to Advertisement
Notification No. 06 of 2008 dated 21.05.2008, seeks
consequential service benefits on the ground that his
appointment ought to have been given effect from the
date on which the other candidates were selected
pursuant to the same selection process and were
appointed. Accordingly, the applicant has sought the
following reliefs:–
i. Writ in the nature of Mandamus commanding the
respondents to give effect to the appointment order
from the date the order has been issued in favour of the
other candidates who stand selected and appointed in
terms of Notification No. 06 of 2008 dated 21.05.2008,
published on 26.02.2010.
ii. Writ in the nature of Mandamus commanding the
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ITEM 21 3 TA 8660 OF 2020

respondents to pay the salary/wages to the petitioner as
are paid to other candidates and give notional
increments to the petitioner.
iii. Writ in the nature of Mandamus commanding the respondents
to pay compensation to the petitioner for causing great
financial loss to the petitioner and causing mental agony to the
petitioner, and further, the litigation charges incurred by the
petitioner be awarded to the petitioner.

02. The SWP No. 2531 of 2018 was transferred to the
Jammu Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal by
the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and
Ladakh vide order dated 14.8.2020 and numbered as
TA No. 62/8660/2018. The same was listed before the
Jammu Bench on 18.2.2021 and before this Bench on
14.2.2022. The applicant seeks, inter alia , grant of
consequential service benefits with effect from the date
on which other candidates selected pursuant to
Advertisement Notification No. 06 of 2008 were
appointed. The applicant was ultimately appointed as
Physical Education Teacher (PET) in District Cadre
Rajouri vide order dated 10.04.2018.
03.
The factual background, in brief, is that the
respondents had issued Advertisement Notification No.
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ITEM 21 4 TA 8660 OF 2020

06 of 2008 dated 21.05.2008 inviting applications for
various posts of Physical Education Teachers,
including posts in District Cadre Rajouri. The applicant
participated in the selection process but was initially
not selected. He subsequently approached the Hon’ble
High Court through the medium of SWP No. 508/2010,
titled Hamidullah Bhat v. State & Ors.
04. The Hon’ble High Court, vide order dated 11.04.2011,
passed in the aforesaid writ petition, declined to
interfere with the selection already made, observing
that it would not be appropriate to quash the selection
of any candidate. However, the applicant’s case was
directed to be considered if any post was vacant and
yet to be filled, after examining his certificate relating
to participation in the national event and if found
within the merit zone within the stipulated period.
05. Pursuant to the aforesaid directions, the Services
Selection Board considered the applicant’s claim and
passed Order No. 128-SSB of 2011 dated 21.07.2011.
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ITEM 21 5 TA 8660 OF 2020

The applicant thereafter instituted contempt
proceedings, vide contempt petition no. 334 / 2011,
wherein the Hon’ble High Court directed
reconsideration of the matter. On such reconsideration,
and after taking into account the applicant’s
participation in the National Taekwondo
Championship, 2004, the applicant was found to have
secured 40.09 points, which were higher than the
points secured by the last selected candidate under the
Open Merit category for Advertisement Notification
No. 06 of 2008.
06. Consequently, the Services Selection Board passed
Order No. 46-SSB of 2013 dated 22.02.2013
recommending the applicant for appointment against
any vacant/unfilled post under Advertisement
Notification No. 06 of 2008, subject to the conditions
recorded therein. The record further shows that the
Directorate General, Youth Services & Sports,
subsequently informed the Administrative Department
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ITEM 21 6 TA 8660 OF 2020

that no vacancy of Physical Education Teacher for the
year 2008 was available in District Cadre Rajouri,
though one vacancy had become available on account
of the resignation of Shri Mohammad Rayees on

19.04.2011.
07. The recommendation of the Services Selection Board
was, however, not accepted by the Administrative
Department at that stage. Vide Government Order No.
23-Edu(Tech) of 2013 dated 24.01.2014, the claim of
the applicant for appointment against the select list of
the year 2008 was rejected on the ground that the said
select list stood exhausted and that the recommendation
of the Services Selection Board was in excess of the
referred vacancies.
08.
Aggrieved of the aforesaid rejection, the applicant
again approached the Hon’ble High Court. In the
proceedings arising therefrom, the Hon’ble High Court,
vide order dated 09.06.2015, directed the respondents
to consider the claim of the applicant for appointment
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ITEM 21 7 TA 8660 OF 2020

in terms of the communication dated 27.09.2013, on
the basis of the merit already determined. The matter
thereafter remained under consideration before the
concerned authorities. The record reflects that the
Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
opined that, the applicant being higher in merit, the
Department was advised to implement the judgment
dated 09.06.2015. The matter was thereafter processed
for compliance with the directions of the Hon’ble High

Court.
09. Eventually, the applicant came to be appointed as
Physical Education Teacher in District Cadre Rajouri
under Advertisement Notification No. 06 of 2008,
under Open Merit category, vide order No. DG-
YSS/Estt/445-48 dated 10.04.2018, against the vacancy
caused due to the resignation of Shri Mohammad
Rayees, who had earlier been appointed against the
selection list issued by the Services Selection Board.
10. The grievance of the applicant in the present
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ITEM 21 8 TA 8660 OF 2020

proceedings is essentially that, having regard to the
merit subsequently determined in his favour and the
long litigation pursued by him for securing
appointment, he ought to have been granted the benefit
of appointment from the date on which the other
candidates selected under the same notification were
appointed, together with consequential seniority and
other service benefits.
11. The respondents, in their objections, have contested the
claim of the applicant. According to them, the
applicant was not initially selected and was ultimately
appointed only on 10.04.2018. It is contended that the
applicant cannot claim retrospective seniority or
service benefits from a date on which he was not borne
on the cadre. Reliance has, inter alia , been placed upon
Rule 24 of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services
(Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1956, and
the judgments governing determination of seniority
with reference to the date of first appointment.
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ITEM 21 9 TA 8660 OF 2020

12. The case was listed for hearing before this Bench and
on 24.7.2026, the Ld. Counsel for the respondents
raised an objection with regard to the territorial
jurisdiction of this Bench to entertain the matter in
question. According to the Ld. Counsel for
respondents, the instant matter was required to be heard
by the Jammu Bench of Central Administrative
Tribunal. However, this contention of the Ld. Counsel
for the respondents was objected to by the Ld. Counsel
for the applicants with the argument that such objection
was required to be raised at the very outset; that the
selection of the applicant was made by J&K Service
Selection Board, Jammu and Kashmir; that all
subsequent actions have been taken by higher
authorities of Jammu and Kashmir and Jammu and
Kashmir Services Selection Board and that Jammu
Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal, after due
consideration, has transferred the instant case to this
Bench.
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ITEM 21 10 TA 8660 OF 2020

13. Before entering into the merits of the rival claims in the
matter, question of territorial jurisdiction of this Bench
needs consideration.
14. The record before us bring out that the applicant seeks
service benefits in relation to his appointment as
Physical Education Teacher against a post belonging to
District Cadre Rajouri and the relevant selection itself
was for the said District Cadre. It is further borne out
from the record that the Services Selection Board,
Jammu, issued Order No. 46-SSB of 2013 dated
22.02.2013 recommending the applicant’s name for
appointment to the said post. The material placed on
record also includes the selection list for the post of
Physical Education Teacher, District Cadre Rajouri,
issued by the Directorate General, Youth Services &
Sports, Jammu.
15. Likewise, the decision whereby the recommendation of
the Services Selection Board was declined was issued
by the Technical Education/Youth Services & Sports
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ITEM 21 11 TA 8660 OF 2020

Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir,
Civil Secretariat, Jammu. The said order specifically
dealt with the applicant’s claim for appointment as
Physical Education Teacher in District Cadre Rajouri

against the select list of the year 2008.
16. The record further discloses that the vacancy against
which the applicant was ultimately appointed was a
vacancy in District Cadre Rajouri, caused by the
resignation of an earlier appointee who had been
selected in pursuance to the same recruitment process.
The appointment order dated 10.04.2018 also
specifically appointed the applicant as Physical
Education Teacher in District Cadre Rajouri under
Advertisement Notification No. 06 of 2008.
17.
Thus, the post in question is a District Cadre Rajouri
post, and the selection, recommendation, consideration
of the applicant’s claim, rejection thereof and eventual
appointment are all directly connected with the said
cadre and with authorities functioning at Jammu in
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ITEM 21 12 TA 8660 OF 2020

relation to the recruitment and appointment process.
18. Rule 6(i) of the Central Administrative Tribunal
(Procedure) Rules, 1987, governs the place of filing /
hearing with reference to territorial jurisdiction and

reads as below –
6. Place of filing applications
(1) An application should ordinarily be filed by an
applicant with the Registrar of the Bench within
whose jurisdiction –
(i) the applicant is posted for the time being, or
(ii) the cause of action, wholly or in part, has
arisen;
Provided that with the leave of the
Chairman the application may be filed with
the Registrar of the Principal Bench and
subject to the orders under section 25, such
application shall be heard and disposed of by
the Bench which has jurisdiction over the
matter.
19. Having regard to Rule 6(i) of the Central
Administrative Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1987, and
the location of the District Cadre post involved and the
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ITEM 21 13 TA 8660 OF 2020

material facts emerging from the record, we are of the
considered view that the matter falls within the
territorial jurisdiction of the Jammu Bench of the
Central Administrative Tribunal.
20.
It is also relevant to observe that the above finding is
confined to the question of territorial jurisdiction only.
Since the jurisdictional issue itself is determinative of
the appropriate forum, it would not be proper for us to
express any opinion on the merits of the applicant’s
claim for retrospective appointment, seniority, arrears
of salary, notional increments or any other
consequential service benefits.
21. The merits of the applicant’s claim, inter-alia,
including the effect of the orders passed by the Hon’ble
High Court, the recommendation made by the Services
Selection Board, the subsequent appointment of the
applicant on 10.04.2018, the applicability of Rule 24 of
the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Classification,
Control and Appeal) Rules, 1956, and the judgments
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ITEM 21 14 TA 8660 OF 2020

relied upon by the respondents, are therefore left open
for consideration by the Jammu Bench of Central
Administrative Tribunal.
22. In view of the foregoing discussion, and having regard
to Rule 6(i) of the Central Administrative Tribunal
(Procedure) Rules, 1987, the present Transfer
Application is required to be placed before the Jammu
Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal.
Accordingly, without expressing any opinion on the
merits of the controversy, the Registry is directed to
transmit the complete record of the present Transfer
Application, including all connected Miscellaneous
Applications, to the Central Administrative Tribunal,
Jammu Bench, for consideration and disposal in

accordance with law.



(PRASANT KUMAR)
(JUSTICE RITU TAGORE)
Member (Admn.)
Member (Judl.)

28.10.2026
DEVENDRA TRIPATHI
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