Assam Administrative Tribunal Act, 1977
No: 8 Dated: May, 02 1977
Amendment:- Assam Administrative Tribunal (Amendment) Act, 1992
THE ASSAM ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL ACT, 1977
Act No. VIII of 1977
An Act to provide for the constitution of a Tribunal to adjudicate disputes in respect of certain conditions of service of certain classes of Civil servants of the State.
It is hereby enacted in the Twenty-eight years of the Republic of India as follows—
1. Short title, extent and commencement:- (1) This Act may be called the Assam Administrative Tribunal Act, 1977.
(2) It shall extend to the whole of Assam.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the Third day of January, 1977.
2. Definitions:- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires :—
(a) "Chairman" means the Chairman of the Tribunal;
(b) "Civil Servant" means a person who is or has been a member of a civil service or who holds or has held a civil post in connection with the affairs of the State of Assam and includes any such person on foreign service, a person whose services have been temporarily placed at the disposal of a local or other authority, any person in the service of a local or other authority whose services have been temporarily placed at the disposal of the State Government, a person in service under the State Government on a contract and a person who has retired from the Government service elsewhere and has been reemployed under the State Government but does not include employees of the Gauhati High Court, employees of the Assam Legislative Assembly Secretariate, employees of the Assam Public Service Commission, persons in the All India Service and other Civil services of the Indian Union, or persons of Civil services of other State Government serving on deputation in Assam; his original employer. For the meaning of civil servant see Sri Khagendralal Baishya v. State of Assam & Ors..
(c) "Civil services" means the Civil services of the State of Assam and such other services as may be specified by the State Government from time to time by notification, but shall not include—
(i) Services under the Gauhati High Court;
(ii) Services under the Assam Legislative Assembly;
(iii) Services under the Assam Public Service Commission;
(iv) All India Services and other Civil services of the Indian Union;
(d) "Competent authority" means any officer or other authority having power to pass any order whether original, appellate or revisional, under any service rule, executive instruction or order, general or special, of the State Government in respect of any conditions of services of a civil servant;
(e) "Conditions of service" includes all matters relating to the—
(f) "appointment, seniority, confirmation and termination of service of a civil servant;
(g) "Member" means a member of the Tribunal and includes the Chairman;
(h) "Notification" means a notification published in the Assam Gazette;
(i) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(j) "State Government" means the Government of Assam;
(k) "Tribunal" means the Assam Administrative Tribunal constituted under Section 3 of this Act.
3. Constitution of the Tribunal:- :- (1) The State Government shall constitute for the State of Assam a Tribunal to be known as the Assam Administrative Tribunal.
(2) The Tribunal shall consist of three members to be appointed by the State Government.
(3) The State Government shall appoint one of the members of the Tribunal to act as the Chairman thereof.
(4) The Chairman shall be a person who at the time of appointment to the Tribunal is a senior administrator with wide experience and of the other two members, one shall have experience in legal affairs and the other shall have experience in technical matters, none being lower in the rank than Secretary to the State Government.
(5) No person shall be retained as a member of the Tribunal after he has attained the age of sixty years.
(6) The salary and allowances of the members of the Tribunal shall be such as may be prescribed.
(7) The principal seat of the Tribunal shall be at Gauhati but the Tribunal may also sit at such other place or places as the Chairman may, from time to time, specify.
4. Jurisdiction:- (1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in sub-section (2) below the Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to entertain and dispose of appeals preferred by civil servants against any order passed by a competent authority in any condition of service.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) above, the Tribunal shall have no jurisdiction with respect to any order passed, when the civil servant has not availed of all the remedies available to him under the relevant service rules, executive instructions of orders :
Provided that notwithstanding anything contained in the above paragraph the Tribunal may entertain an appeal from a civil servant, if any appeal, revision petition or representation filed by him under the relevant service rules before the competent authority has not been finally disposed of by the competent authority within a period of six months from the date of filing such appeal, revision petition or representation:
"Provided further that in an appropriate case the Tribunal may relax the provisions contained in the foregoing proviso regarding the period of six months specified therein."
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) above, the Tribunal shall have no jurisdiction to entertain and dispose of appeals against any order passed by a competent authority under Article 311 (2) provisos (a), (b) and (c) as also under F.R. 56(b).As may be seen in the proviso attached to sub-section (2) the Tribunal is permitted to entertain appeal if the departmental appeal, revision or representation are not disposed of within six months. The Act is, however, silent to say what will be the position of the aforesaid appeal, revision or representation when the appeal by the tribunal is entertained as above. The only legal presumption available in such circumstances is that the said pending matters shall automatically be frustrated. If this is not allowed there may be a conflict of decisions. Sub-section (3) further debars the tribunal to entertain appeal against any order passed by a competent authority under Article 311(2), provisos (a), (b) & (c) as also under F.R. 56(b).
5. Limitation:- No appeal shall lie to the Tribunal after the expiry of 60 days from the date of the order appealed against :
Provided that the Tribunal may entertain an appeal after the expiry of sixty days from the date of passing the order if the Tribunal is satisfied that the civil servant was prevented by any sufficient cause from preferring the appeal within the aforesaid period.
6. Tribunal shall have powers of Civil Court:- The Tribunal shall, for the purpose of the disposal of an appeal have all the powers of a Civil Court for the trial of a suit under the Code Of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908) in respect of the following matters, namely :—
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of documents;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavit ;
(d) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any Court of office ; and
(e) issuing commissions for examination of witness or documents.