As per IREC Vol 1 Para 1401 Railway employees may be given 4 opportunities in a year to apply in response to notices of Government Departments/ Public Sector Undertakings/ autonomous bodies wholly or substantially financed and controlled by Central or State Government except where holding of any such applications is considered justified in the public interest by the competent authority. Applications in response to UPSC advertisement will not be counted against the four opportunities mentioned above.
Note
: The authorities should interpret the term 'public interest' strictly subject
to the condition that forwarding of application should be the rule rather than
the exception. In taking the decision to withhold the application the competent
authority has to balance the interest of the state against the necessity of
causing hardship to the individual. This discretion should be applied with
utmost objectivity and not mechanically. While it is not feasible to lay down
the specific exhaustive guidelines for withholding of applications, some of
them can be listed illustratively as follows :—
(i)
The Railway employee is engaged on important time-bound projects and the work
would be seriously dislocated if he is relieved.
(ii)
A railway employee is under suspension or is facing departmental
proceedings/prosecution in a Court.
(iii)
A railway employee is applying for a post which is equivalent in status and
rank.
[E(NG)/78/AP/l
dated 27-2-1979]
