Administrative Tribunals lack jurisdiction over Aadhaar disputes and cannot grant salary for unrecorded biometric attendance.

The applicant, an Assistant Teacher at an MCD Primary School, filed an Original Application (OA) seeking multiple reliefs, including the quashing of disciplinary orders and a declaration that Aadhaar-based biometric attendance is unconstitutional

Upon objection by the respondents regarding the maintainability of multiple reliefs under the CAT (Procedure) Rules, the applicant restricted his claim to Prayer ‘D’: the release of withheld salary for March 2018 to June 2018 and other arrears

The salary was withheld because the applicant failed to mark his biometric attendance, citing his lack of an Aadhaar card

Previously, the applicant had filed OA No. 2866/2018 on the same grounds, which was dismissed on 01.08.2018 with the observation that he could not refuse to mark biometric attendance

1. Whether the applicant is entitled to the release of arrears of salary for the period March 2018 to June 2018 despite failing to register for and mark biometric attendance

2. Whether the Central Administrative Tribunal has the jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the validity of Aadhaar-related mandates under the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985

The Tribunal applied the jurisdictional limitations set forth in the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, noting that issues regarding the mandate or constitutional validity of Aadhaar fall outside its purview

It further applied the principle of finality of litigation, noting that a similar prayer by the same applicant was previously dismissed in OA No. 2866/2018

The Tribunal also adhered to the CAT (Procedure) Rules regarding the impermissibility of seeking multiple distinct reliefs in a single OA

The Tribunal found that the applicant’s refusal to mark biometric attendance was the direct cause for the non-release of salary

While the applicant argued he could not mark attendance without an Aadhaar card, the Tribunal noted that the biometric system was available at the school and the applicant had simply failed to register

The court highlighted that the applicant was essentially re-agitating an issue already decided in OA No. 2866/2018, where it was held that a refusal to obtain Aadhaar does not entitle an employee to refuse biometric attendance

Furthermore, the Tribunal emphasized that the applicant had failed to challenge the specific office order dated 10.07.2018, which served as the legal basis for denying the salary

Consequently, the Tribunal reasoned that without a challenge to the underlying order or a change in circumstances, the prayer for salary release could not be entertained

The Tribunal reaffirmed that Aadhaar-related policy disputes remain outside its statutory jurisdiction

All pending Miscellaneous Applications were also dismissed