New Delhi, Nov 4 : The Supreme Court has said that the introduction of the Biometric Attendance System is for the benefit of all the stakeholders, and just because employees in a government office were not consulted before installing does not make it illegal.
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 Biometric Attendance System (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 top court 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 to be illegal,” it said in its October 29 order.
The bench set aside the order of the High Court and permitted the office of the Principal Accountant General (A&E) to implement the Biometric Attendance System 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 on the grounds that the petition was not maintainable as it does not relate to the service condition.
The employees aggrieved with the order of the tribunal then approached the high court, which ruled in their favour.
When the plea of the Centre was taken up for hearing by the apex court after a gap of ten years on 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 be in violation of any rules of the department.
The counsel further said that the employees now are not opposed to the introduction of the Biometric Attendance System 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 Biometric Attendance System in the office.
The bench said, “Once the employees have no reservation on the introduction of the Biometric Attendance System, we are of the opinion 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 High Court appears to be totally unnecessary. (PTI)
