Assam Administrative Tribunal Act, 1977

Preamble.- An Act to provided for the constitution of a Tribunal to adjudicate disputes in respect of retrain condition of service of certain classes of Civil servants of the state.
It is here by enacted in the Twenty-eighth years of the Republic of Indian as follows:
Act VIII of 1977
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 dome into force on the
Third day of January 1977.
2. Definition.- 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 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
place at the disposal of a local or other authority, any
person in the service of a local or other authority
whose service have been temporarily place at the
disposal of the state Government, a person in service
under the State government on a contract and a
person who has retired for the government service
elsewhere and has been re-employed under the State
Government but does not include employees of the Gauhati High Court, employees of the Assam Legislative Assembly Secretariat, employees of the Assam Public Service Commission, person in the All Indian Services and other civil service of the Indian Union or person of Civil Service of other State Government serving on deputation in Assam;
(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 Service and other Civil Service of the Indian Union;
(d) 'competent authority' means any officer or other authority having power of pass any other whether original, appellate or revisional, under any service rule, executive instruction or order, general or social, of the State Government in respect of any condition observed of civil servant;
(e) 'conditions of services' includes all matters relating to the-
(i) appointment, seniority, confirmation and termination of service of a civil servant ;
(ii) censure, withholding of increments or promoting, recovery from pay of any loss to the Government, reduction to a lower service grade or post, or to lower time scale, or to a lower stage in a time scale, denial or variation of pension or denial of the maximum pension
(iii) all matters arising out of application of the Fundamental Rules and Subsidiary Rules;
(f) 'member' means a member of the Tribunal and includes the Chairman;
(g) 'notification' means a notification published in the Assam Gazette;
(h) 'prescribed' means prescribed by rules made under this act;(i) 'State Government' means the Government of Assam;
(j) Tribunal' means the Assam Administrative Tribunal constituted under S. 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 in a senior Administrator with wide experience an 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 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 place as the Chairman may, form time to time specify.
4. Jurisdiction.-
(1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in sub-S. (2) below the Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to entertain and dispose of appeals referred by civil servants against any order passed by a competent authority in respect of any condition of service.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-S. (1) above, the Tribunal shall have on 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 instruction or 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 been finally disposed of by the competent authority within a period of six months form the date of filing such appeal, revision petition of representation.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub- S. (1) above, the Tribunal shall have no jurisdiction to entertain and dispose of appeals against any order passed by a competent authority under Art, 31 (2) proviso (a), (b) and (c) as also under R. 56 (b)
5. Limitation.- No appeal shall lie to the Tribunal after the expiry of 60 days form the date order appealed against:
Provided that the Tribunal any 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 the sufficient cause for preferring the appeal within the aforesaid period.

6. Power of the tribunal as civil court.- The tribunal shall, for the purposes of the disposal of an appeal, have all the powers of a civil court of the trail of a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) in respect of the following matters, namely:
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any
person and examining him on oath;
(b) repairing the discovery and production of document;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavit;
(d) requisitioning any public record or a copy thereof from
any court or officer; and
(e) issuing commission for examination of witnesses or
documents.
7. Amendment of decision or orders.- Clerical or arithmetical mistakes in decision or orders or errors arising therein from any accidental slip or omission any at any time be corrected by the Tribunal either of its own motion or on the application of any of the parties.

8. Procedure before Tribunal.-
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the Rules
framed there under the Tribunal shall have power to
regulate its own procedure and for the constitution of
Benches, if any, for the disposal of all matters arising
out of the exercise of its powers under the provisions
of this Act.
(2) At least two of the member of the Tribunal will hear
and pass orders on appeals referred before the
Tribunal.
(3) The decisions of the majority of the members resent
and hearing the matter shall be the decision of the
Tribunal. Where the members are equally divided in
their opinion, the appeal would be heard and decide by
all the members and the decision arrived at by the
majority opinion of all the members shall be the decision of the Tribunal.
(4) The Tribunal shall have power to confirm, modify or
reveres the order against which the appeal is preferred
or to remand the matter for a fresh decision by the
competent authority a passing the order in accordance
with such directions, if any, as may be given by the
Tribunal.

9. The order of the Tribunal.-

(1) (a) The order of the tribunal passed in any appeal under the provisions of theist Act shall be final.
(b) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub - S. (1) (a) the Tribunal may, on the application of any of the parties, review its own decision or order in any case and may pass such order as it thinks fit:
Provided that no such decision or order shall be reviewed unless notice has been given to the opposite parties to appear and to show cause, why such order or decision should not be reviewed;
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law, no civil court or other authority shall entertain any civil suit or other proceedings with respect to any matter relating to any condition of service of any civil servant or question in any form any order passed by the Tribunal in any appeal or review with respect to any matter or with respect any other matter which arises out of the exercise of powers under the Act.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law, all suits or other proceedings with respect of any matter relating to any condition of service of any civil servant and which are pending before any civil court or other authority on the date of coming into force of his Act, shall stand transferred all relevant and connected papers and records to the Tribunal and thereupon the Tribunal shall decide the suit and proceedings in the same manner as if they where appeals referred under the provision of this Act
(4) the decision of the tribunal shall be implemented within such reasonable time as may be specified by the Tribunal.

10. Representation before Tribunal.- The Government, the competent authority as well as the civil servant preferring any appeal shall have the representative or by and Advocate.
11. Contempt.-
(1) Tribunal shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purpose of Ss. 345 and 365 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1971, (Central Act 2 of 1974) and the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (Central Act 70 of 1971)
(2) The proceedings before the Tribunal shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of S 193 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Central Act No of 1860).
12. Power to make rule.-
(1) The State Government may, by notification in the
official Gazette, make rules for the purposes of giving
effect to the provision of this Act.
(2) All rules made under this section shall be laid for not
less than fourteen day before the Assam Legislative
Assembly as soon as possible after they are made and
shall be subject to such modification as the Legislative
Assembly may make during the session in which they
are so laid or the session immediately following.
13. Power to make regulation by the Tribunal.-
(1) Subject to the previous sanction of the Government,
the Tribunal shall, form time to time frame regulation
consistent with the provisions of this Act and rule
made under S. 12 regulation its procedure and
disposal of its business.
(2) The Regulation made under sub - s. (1) shall be
published in the Assam gazette.

14. Repeal of Assam Administrative Tribunal Ordinance.-
(1) The Assam Administrative Tribunal Ordnance, 1971 in
hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, any order passed,
notification issued, anything done or any action taken
under the Assam Administrative Tribunal Ordinance,
1976, shall be deemed to have been assed issued, one
or taken under the corresponding provision of this Act.