SC tells KPTCL to go ahead with finalising staff seniority list

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) to go ahead with finalising seniority list of its employees within two weeks.

A bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and U U Lalit, however, dismissed an application filed by KPTCL General Category Association for seeking action against its managing director for failing to revise and publish the promotion and seniority list as per the directions issued by the apex court on February 9.

Representing the association, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan insisted on issuing direction to the public sector company. The court said that in view of its order passed on September 8, no further direction was required.

“However, it is open to the respondent (KPTCL) to go ahead with finalising the seniority list and publishing the same, within two weeks from today,” the bench said in its order on Friday. Hearing a batch of petitions for contempt against the top state officers, the bench had on September 8 given the state government time to revise seniority list till November 30, 2017 and take further action by January 15, 2018.

The court had then also clarified that if any government department finalised the seniority list before time, it can take further steps earlier than the extended time schedule.

The court also modified a High Court of Karnataka order for giving personal hearing to the affected parties, saying there was no requirement for it.

Over hundred of Karnataka government employees have sought contempt action against top officers over the failure to comply with the apex court’s direction pertaining to reservation in promotion of the SC/ST employees.

The apex court had on February 9 directed for revision of the seniority list of employees within three months. It also declared as unconstitutional the provisions of the Karnataka Determination of Seniority of the Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (To the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act, 2002. It had said the consequential promotions granted to serving employees, based on seniority benefit, will be treated as ad hoc and liable to be reviewed.

The court would hear all applications in last week of January 2018.