Fresh cause of action arising from compliance with Tribunal orders requires a new original application.

The petitioner originally approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in O.A. No. 1188/2015, seeking promotion to the post of Inspector (Examiner).

On 18.03.2025, the CAT directed the respondents to conduct a medical re-examination to evaluate the petitioner’s specific disability in each limb and, if found eligible within the prescribed classifications, grant him an exemption from physical standards and consider him for promotion.

In compliance, a Medical Board examined the petitioner and found he had disability in both lower limbs (BL) with 30% in each limb. Consequently, the 5th respondent issued an order dated 07.10.2025 rejecting the petitioner’s claim as "Both Limbs" (BL) is not an identified category for the post.

The petitioner filed the present Writ Petition challenging both the original CAT order and the subsequent rejection order.

1. Whether the Writ Petition challenging the Central Administrative Tribunal's order is maintainable after the respondents have already complied with the directions and issued a fresh order on merits.

2. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to challenge the new cause of action (the rejection order dated 07.10.2025) directly before the High Court.

Principle of "new cause of action" within the framework of Article 226 of the Constitution of India and the administrative law hierarchy, recognizing that once an adjudicatory body’s directions are implemented through a fresh speaking order, the original grievance merges or is superseded by the new decision.

Exhaustion of alternative remedies, implying that challenges to service matters involving Central Government employees must first be adjudicated by the Central Administrative Tribunal under the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985.

The High Court observed that the respondents had fully complied with the CAT's directions by arranging a medical re-evaluation and passing a fresh order based on those results.

The Court found that the rejection order dated 07.10.2025, which clarified that "Both Limbs" (BL) disability was not among the four eligible categories (OA, OL, OAL, HH) for the post of Inspector (Examiner), constituted a "new cause of action".

The Court reasoned that because the authorities had already acted upon the CAT’s directions, the original challenge to the CAT order became redundant, and any grievance regarding the merits of the new rejection order must be addressed through a fresh application before the Tribunal.

The Court dismissed the Writ Petition but granted the petitioner liberty to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal to challenge the new order dated 07.10.2025.