Srinagar, Jan 5: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in Srinagar has directed the Sheep Husbandry Department (SHD) to prepare and notify the final seniority list of the Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) in keeping with the SO 133 of 2022 within eight weeks, saying the restructuring of the erstwhile Class-IV cadre through a uniform MTS designation is binding on all departments.
Allowing a plea by some aggrieved employees of the SHD, a division bench of Justice Ritu Tagore (Member Judicial) and Prasant Kumar (Member Administrative) quashed the final seniority lists of MTS for Budgam, Baramulla and Bandipora districts. The Tribunal observed that the lists had been issued in violation of statutory orders governing cadre restructuring, saying there was no discretion left to continue with outdated or obsolete classifications.
The Tribunal quashed and set-aside the SHD’s order dated May 15, 2025 whereby the aggrieved candidates’ claim was rejected besides scrapping the tentative and final seniority lists and all related circulars that paved the way for district-level Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs).
The Tribunal observed as “cryptic and non-speaking, the SHD’s rejection order,” saying the department failed to meaningfully address the objections raised by employees or comply with earlier directions of the Tribunal.
The Tribunal directed the AHD to a fresh speaking and reasoned consideration order in compliance with the earlier order it had passed.
In their plea, as many as the aggrieved MTS of SHD through their counsel, advocates Ishtiyaq and Ms Inayat had sought court’s intervention to quash the rejection order dated May 15, 2025. They had also sought to set aside the final seniority lists dated May 21, 2025, May 24, 2025 and May 24, 2025 for districts Budgam, Baramulla and Bandipora, respectively.
The aggrieved employees’ contention was that once the statutory framework had abolished the earlier nomenclature, the government could not have legally continued with wing-wise or designation-wise seniority.
In its decision, the Tribunal noted that despite S.O. 133 of 2022, which redesignated all Class-IV posts as MTS, the department continued to reflect obsolete designations such as Assistant Stockman, Chowkidar and Fieldman while fixing seniority. “This defeated the very purpose of the statutory reorganisation aimed at eliminating artificial distinctions among similarly placed employees.”
The Tribunal also observed that in a similarly situated matter, identical relief had already been granted by the CAT Jammu Bench saying denial of parity would amount to hostile discrimination.
With this conclusion, the Tribunal directed the SHD to prepare and notify a fresh final seniority list of the MTS in consonance with SO 133 of 2022 within eight weeks and thereafter convene the Departmental Promotion Committee meeting expeditiously. It also ordered the Department to clearly notify any exceptions for posts requiring technical qualifications, as permissible under the statutory order.
The Tribunal also directed the Department to amend the Recruitment Rules expeditiously to provide uniform career progression for all Class-IV employees in compliance with the SO 151 of 2022.