CAT sets aside transfer orders of DD staff

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, AUG. 29. The Central Administrative Tribunal's Chennai Bench has set aside the orders passed by the Prasar Bharati Corporation (Broadcasting Corporation of India) transferring a group of employees of All India Radio and Doordarshan Kendra- Chennai to the PBC.

A reading of the Prasar Bharati Act showed that the AIR and DD employees could be deemed to be on deputation to the Corporation having a lien on government service, the Bench comprising its Vice-Chairman, Mr. Justice K.S. Bakthavatsalam and administrative Member, Mr S Bapu, said allowing a batch of applications challenging the transfer orders.

``We do not think that the Prasar Bharati has got the right to transfer the applicants, they having not yet become employees of the Corporation,'' it noted.

In their applications, the AIR and DD employees contended they were not given an opportunity to express their willingness or otherwise under Sec. 11 of the Prasar Bharati Act; and the Corporation had no jurisdiction over the applicant employees for passing the transfer orders. Agreeing with the contention, the Bench said it might be true that AIR and DD were no longer government departments and they were not part of the Prasar Bharati which was an autonomous body. Till now, the employees of AIR and DD had not been absorbed in the Corporation. The option under Sec. 11 of the Act had not been exercised.

A reading of Sec. 11, 12 and 16 of the Act showed that the employees of AIR and DD could be deemed to be on deputation to the PBC having a lien on government service. In such circumstances the Bench held that the applicant (AIR and DD) employees had not been absorbed in PBC but they continued to be retained there on lien as Central Government employees and they were working in PBC was to be treated as on deputation.

Though, the staff concerned got salary from the PBC, they surely could not be transferred. This situation might cause administrative difficulties, but ``we cannot help it'', the Bench said setting aside the transfer orders. It was for the Central Government to take expeditious steps to rectify the anomaly, the Bench added.

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