AFT tells bank officer to rejoin air force

The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) here on Wednesday dismissed the petition of a corporal who had joined Bank of India as a probationary officer (PO) on getting a provisional no-objection certificate (NOC) from the air force.

He now has to report back to 3 Base Repair Depot (BRD), Chandigarh, failing which the air force could take penal action against him.

Corporal Amit Kumar Roy was enrolled in the air force on January 12, 2004. He applied online for a bank job in August 2010 without seeking permission from the air force authorities and also appeared in the interview on March 16, 2011, again without taking the mandatory NOC.

The air force policy states that airmen who have completed seven years of service from the date of enrolment are permitted to apply for Group A government posts or equivalent posts in public sector undertakings (PSUs), irrespective of the "critical manning of the trade" to which he belongs.

Further, airmen belonging to non-critical trades can apply for Group B and Group C government posts or equivalent in PSUs after seven years and 15 years of service, respectively.

As per the air force policy, "The NOC is issued subject to service exigencies and cannot be claimed as a matter of right within the engagement period of 20 years." The NOC is required both before applying and after getting the interview letter.

Aggrieved by the denial of NOC as well as discharge from service, Corporal Roy approached the Chandigarh bench of the AFT. On August 18, 2011, the AFT passed an interim order directing the air force authorities to provide a provisional NOC and discharge Roy, keeping the petition pending.

Roy again approached the tribunal, with a contempt application. On September 2, 2011, the AFT ordered the air force to issue the NOC or else pay Rs 10 lakh damages to Roy.

Issuing the NOC the same day, the air force told Roy that if his petition in the AFT was dismissed, he would have to join back, otherwise he would be declared deserter/absent without leave and be punished under the Air Force Act, 1950.

On March 26 this year, the air headquarters dismissed Roy's application for NOC and discharge from service and declared the act of not disclosing that he was applying for a job as indiscipline.

On Wednesday, the AFT bench comprising justice NP Gupta and Lt Gen NS Brar (retd) ruled that Roy obtained the interim order by suppressing material facts. It further said that in view of the March 26 order of the air force, the petition was infructuous. Hence, the bench dismissed it.