New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stated that the introduction of the Biometric Attendance System (BAS) in a government office is for the benefit of all stakeholders, and the fact that employees were not consulted before its installation does not render the facility illegal, according to official sources on Tuesday.
A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B Varale allowed the 2015 petition filed by the Centre challenging the Orissa High Court decision of August 21, 2014, which said that the circulars introducing the BAS were issued without prior consultation with the employees and were not in conformity with the complete manual on establishment and administration for Central government offices. The SC noted that in the Office of Principal Accountant General (A&E), Odisha, a BAS was introduced with effect from July 1, 2013 by various circulars dated July 1, 2013, October 22, 2013 and November 6, 2013. “Therefore, in the facts and circumstances of the case, when the introduction of the Biometric Attendance System is for the benefit of all the stakeholders, merely for the reason that the employees were not consulted before implementing the same does not render the introduction of the system illegal,” it said in its October 29 order.
The bench set aside the HC order and permitted the Office of the Principal Accountant General (A&E) to implement the BAS as envisaged by its various circulars. It noted that these circulars were initially challenged by the employees by filing an original application before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) but that challenge was turned down because the petition was not maintainable as it did not relate to the service condition.
The employees aggrieved by the tribunal’s order then approached the HC, which ruled in their favour. When the plea of the Centre was taken up for hearing by the SC after a gap of 10 years October 29, the counsel appearing for the Centre submitted that the manual on establishment and administration for Central government offices nowhere contains any rules which may have been formulated and followed by the Office of the Principal Accountant General (A&E) and therefore, the introduction of the BAS cannot be said to violate any rules of the department.
The counsel further said that the employees are now not opposed to the introduction of the BAS as it is for the overall benefit of the employees as well as the department. The counsel appearing for the employees agreed that now the employees are not opposed to the introduction of the BAS in the office. The bench said, “Once the employees have no reservation on the introduction of the Biometric Attendance System, we think that no controversy in this regard survives and the department can very well go ahead with the implementation of the above system.” It said the exercise undertaken by the HC appears to be unnecessary.
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