JUDGMENT
Mukul Mudgal, J.
1. Rule DB.
2. With the consent of both the parties, the Writ Petition is taken up for final hearing.
3. This Writ Petition challenges the judgment passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, (CAT), Principal Bench, New Delhi dated 8th July, 2004 in O.A. No. 3173/2003. The learned Counsel for the Petitioner has urged that the Writ Petition was disposed of on the basis of additional affidavit filed pursuant to an opportunity given to the Petitioner on 29th June, 2004 by an order of the CAT. The Respondent was granted three days time to file additional affidavit and it is not in dispute that the said additional affidavit formed the basis of the disposal of the OA of the Petitioner.
4. The petitioner’s principal grievance in the present Writ Petition is that he was not given adequate opportunity to respond to the additional affidavit filed by the Respondent which was the mainstay of the impugned judgment of the CAT and he has articulated his grievances in the following terms:
3.11 That the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal erroneously dismissed the OA of the petitioner on 8.7.2004 on the basis of additional affidavit filed by the Respondents on 1.7.2004 after pleadings had already been completed, without extending an opportunity to the petitioner for filing counter to the same and also by taking wrong appreciation of the orders of the Allahabad Bench, dated 29.10.2001 in OA 44/2001 (R.S. Shukla v. U.O.I.).
5. The counter affidavit deals with para 3.10 and then deals with 3.12 and accordingly the averments made in the Writ Petition in paragraph 3.11 remain uncontroverter.
6. Accordingly, we are of the view that the appropriate course in the present Writ Petition would be to set aside the impugned judgment dated 8th July, 2004 of the CAT and direct the CAT to dispose of the OA No. 3173/2003 filed by the Petitioner after permitting him to file an affidavit in response to the additional affidavit dated 1st July, 2004 filed by the Respondent. The said reply to the additional affidavit shall be filed within two weeks of the first date of hearing before the CAT which is fixed as 1st May, 2007. CAT is also directed to dispose of the OA after taking the response to the additional affidavit on record not later than 30th November, 2007.
7. Parties are directed to appear before the CAT on 1st May, 2007.
8. The Writ Petition stands disposed of accordingly. All pending CM also stand disposed of.