Facts
Nine applicants, seeking appointment to Level-1 vacancies under Centralized Employment Notice (CEN) RRC 01/2019 for the Chennai Zone, filed an application under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985
Source reference: p. 1-3They challenged a Railway Board letter dated 16.12.2024 and sought directions for the respondents to operate a reserve/replacement panel to fill unfilled vacancies in accordance with DoPT O.M. No. 41019/18/97-Estt (B) dated 13.06.2000
Source reference: p. 3During the pendency of the proceedings, the Railway Board issued a subsequent letter dated 20.03.2026, revoking the impugned letter of 2024 and directing Railway Recruitment Cells (RRCs) to immediately commence Document Verification (DV) to fill unfilled and replacement vacancies based on the merit list
Source reference: p. 4Issues
1. Whether the impugned Railway Board letter dated 16.12.2024, which restricted the filling of vacancies, should be quashed and set aside
Source reference: p. 32. Whether the respondents are required to operate a replacement panel for CEN RRC 01/2019 in light of the subsequent revocation of the impugned letter
Source reference: p. 4-5Law Applied
The Tribunal considered Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, regarding the adjudication of grievances of public servants
Source reference: p. 3It referred to the DoPT O.M. No. 41019/18/97-Estt (B) dated 13.06.2000, which provides guidelines for the preparation and operation of reserve panels
Source reference: p. 3The core legal development was the Railway Board’s communication dated 20.03.2026 (Annexure R-1), which revoked the previous restrictive policy and mandated the resumption of the Document Verification process for unfilled vacancies as per merit
Source reference: p. 4Reasoning
The Tribunal analyzed the respondents' short reply, which stated that the primary grievance regarding the letter dated 16.12.2024 had been rendered moot by its revocation on 20.03.2026
Source reference: p. 5The respondents demonstrated that the process for filling 68 vacancies in RRC/Chennai had already been set in motion with DV scheduled for 06.04.2026
Source reference: p. 4However, the Tribunal observed that while the replacement panel process was reinstated, the specific applicants in this O.A. had secured marks lower than the cutoff for their respective communities in the current merit list
Source reference: p. 4Consequently, the court found that because the respondents had already addressed the policy grievance and the applicants did not currently fall within the zone of consideration based on merit, no further judicial intervention was necessary
Source reference: p. 5-6Holding
The Tribunal held that the primary relief sought by the applicants no longer survived due to the revocation of the impugned letter and the commencement of the fresh recruitment process
The O.A. was disposed of as no further adjudication was required. The Tribunal allowed M.A. 811/2026 (Joining Together) and M.A. 812/2026 (Exemption), while all other pending M.A.s were disposed of accordingly with no order as to costs
Source reference: p. 3, 6Original Court PDF
Anil yadavvsM/O RAILWAYS
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