The ASSAM ADMINISTRATIVE 1AND PENSION TRIBUNAL ACT, 1977(Single Document)
## ASSAM ACT VIII OF 1977 (Received the assent of the President of India on 2nd May 1977) THE ASSAM ADMINISTRATIVE [1][AND PENSION] TRIBUNAL ACT, 1977

 An

 Act

**Preamble.** to provide for the constitution of a Tribunal to adjudicate disputes in respect of
certain conditions of service [2][including pension matters] of certain classes of
Civil servants of the State.

It is hereby enacted in the Twenty-eighth year of the Republic of India
as follows:

**Short title,**
**extent and**
**Commencement.**


**1.**


(1) This Act may be called the Assam Administrative **_[3][and Pension]_**
Tribunal Act, 1977.

(2) It shall extend to the whole of Assam.

(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the Third day of January,
1977.

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 a 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 placed at the
disposal of a local or other authority, any person in the service of a local
or other authority whose services have been temporarily placed at the
disposal of the State Government, a person in service under the State
Government on a contract and a person who has retired from 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, persons in the All
India Service and other Civil services of the Indian Union, or persons of
Civil services 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
1. Ins. by Assam Act No. XXX of 2005.
2. Ins. by Assam Act No. XXX of 2005.
3. Ins. by Assam Act No. XXX of 2005.

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**Definitions.** **2.**


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(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 Services and other civil services of the Indian Union ;

(d) 'competent authority' means any officer or other authority having
power to pass any order whether original, appellate or revisional,
under any service rule, executive instruction or order, general or
special, of the State Government in respect of any conditions of
services of a civil servant;

(e) ‘conditions of service’ includes all matters relating to the
(i) appointment, seniority, confirmation and termination of service
**_1[and pension matters] of a civil servant ;_**

(ii) censure, withholding of increments or promotion, recovery
from pay of any loss to the Government, reduction to a lower
service, grade or post, or to a lower time scale, or to a lower
stage in a time scale, denial or variation of pension or denial of
the maximum pension;

**_2[(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 **_[3][and pension] Tribunal_**
constituted under Section 3 of this Act.

**Constitution of** **3.** (1) The State Government shall constitute for the State of Assam a
**the Tribunal.** Tribunal to be known as the Assam Administrative **_[4][and Pension ]_**

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.


1. Ins. by Assam Act No. XXX of 2005.
2. Ins. by Assam Act No. III of 1992.
3. Ins. by Assam Act No. XXX of 2005.
4. Ins. by Assam Act No. XXX of 2005.


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**Jurisdiction.** **4.**


(4) The Chairman shall be a person who at the time of appointment to the
Tribunal is a senior administrator with wide experience and 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) **_[1][No person shall be retained as a member of the Tribunal after he has_**
attained the age of sixty five years or after completion of a period of 5
years from the date of his re-employment, whichever is earlier :

Provided that,
(a) any Government servant appointed as a member of the Tribunal
shall retire as such member on attaining the age of 60 years as
usual applicable to a servant of the State Government ;

(b) if such a member, who was a servant of the State Government,
retired at the age of 60 years as such member of the Tribunal is
re-employed as a member of the Tribunal, he shall retire on
attaining the age of 65 years or shall continue for a period of 5
years from the date of his re-employment, whichever is earlier ;

(c) the provisions of clauses (a) and (b) shall not be applicable in
the case of the Chairman of the Tribunal who shall retire on
attaining the age of superannuation as per condition of service
governed by the respective Service Rules of his service cadre.]

(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 places as the Chairman may, from
time to time, specify.

(1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in sub-section (2) below the
Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to entertain and dispose of appeals
preferred by civil servants against any order passed by a competent

authority in respect of any condition of service **_[2][.]_** **_[3][and pension_**
matters.]

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (I) above, the
Tribunal shall have no 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 instructions or orders :


1. Subs. by Assam Act No. IV of 2008.
2. The punctuation “.” (full stop) omitted by Act No. XXX of 2005.
3. Ins. by Assam Act No. XXX of 2005.


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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 not been
finally disposed of by the competent authority within a period of six
months from the date of filing such appeal, revision petition or
representation:

**_1[Provided further that in an appropriate case the Tribunal may_**
relax the provisions contained in the foregoing proviso regarding the
period of six months specified therein.]

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) above, the
Tribunal shall have no jurisdiction to entertain and dispose of appeals
against any order passed by a competent authority under Article 311
(2) provisos (a), (b) and ( c) as also under F. R . 56 (b).

**Limitations.** **5.** No appeal shall lie to the Tribunal after the expiry of 60 days from the date

of the order appealed against :

Provided that the Tribunal may 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 any sufficient cause from preferring the
appeal within the aforesaid period.


**Power of the** **6.**
**Tribunal.**


**Amendment of**
**decisions or**
**orders.**


**7.**


The Tribunal shall for the purpose of the disposal of an appeal have all the
powers of a civil court for the trial 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) requiring the discovery and production of documents;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavit;
(d) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or
office ; and
(e) issuing commissions for examination of witness or documents.

Clerical or arithmatical mistakes in decision or orders or errors arising
therein from any accidental slip or omission may at any time be corrected
by the Tribunal either of its own motion or on the application of any of the
parties.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules framed thereunder
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.


**Procedure** **8.**
**before Tribunal.**


1. Ins. By Assam Act No.V of 1996.


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**Finality of**
**decision and bar**
**of suit, powers of**
**review of its own**
**order and**
**transfer of**
**pending**
**proceedings.**


**9.**


(2) At least two of the members of the Tribunal will hear and pass orders
on appeals preferred before the Tribunal.

(3) The decision of the majority of the members present 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 decided
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 reverse the order
against which the appeal is preferred or to remand the matter for a fresh
decision by the competent authority passing the order in accordance
with such directions, if any, as may be given by the Tribunal.

(1)  (a) The order of the Tribunal passed in any appeal under the provisions
of this Act shall be final.

(b) Notwithstanding any thing contained in sub-section (1) (a) above,
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 :

Provided further that an application for review under subsection (I) (b) shall be made within thirty days from the date of
decision or order of the Tribunal.

**_1[ (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 to 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 this Act,
shall stand transferred to the Tribunal and the civil court or other
authority before whom such a suit or proceeding is pending shall
transfer 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 were appeals referred
under the provisions of this Act.]


1. Subs. by Assam Act No. III of 1992 .


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**Representation** **10.**
**before Tribunal.**

**Contempt.** **11.**


(4) The decision of the Tribunal shall be implemented within such
reasonable time as may be specified by the Tribunal.

The Government, the competent authority as well as the civil servant
preferring any appeal shall have the right to be represented before the
Tribunal through a duly authorised representative or by an Advocate.

(1) The Tribunal, shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purpose, of
Sections 345 and 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
(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 Section 193 of Indian Penal Code,
1860 (Central Act No. 45 of 1860).


**Power to make** **12.** (1) The State Government may, by notification in the official Gazette,
**rules.** make rules for the purposes of giving effect to the provisions of this

Act.

(2) All rules made under this Section shall be laid for not less than
fourteen days before the Assam Legislative Assembly as soon as
possible after they are made and shall be subject to such
modifications as the Legislative Assembly may make during the
session in which they are so laid or the session immediately
following.

**Power to make** **13.** (1) Subject to the previous sanction of the State Government, the Tribunal
**regulation by the** shall, from time to time, frame regulations consistent with the
**Tribunal.** provisions of this Act and rules made under Section 12 for regulating

its procedure and disposal of its business.

(2) The regulations made under sub-section (1) shall be published in the
Assam Gazette.

**Repeal and** **14.** (1) The Assam Administrative Tribunal Ordinance, 1976, is hereby
**saving.** repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, any order passed, notifications issued
anything done or any action taken under the Assam Administrative
Tribunal Ordinance, 1976, shall be deemed to have been passed,
issued, done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act.

### U. TAHBILDAR,
Secretary to the Govt. of Assam,
Legislative Department.

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