In short. If you hold a Union post, draw a central pension or applied for a central job anywhere in Bengal, Sikkim or the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, your service case is decided by the Kolkata Bench of CAT on A.J.C. Bose Road. For islanders, the bench crosses the sea a few times a year for circuit sittings at Sri Vijaya Puram, the old Port Blair. A defended case generally takes one to three years. Check that your post is central, count one year from the final order, then prepare the OA. We are a private law firm; this page is not the tribunal's and does not speak for it.
Is this your situation?
- A penalty, recovery or seniority order has reached you from Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway, Metro Railway or the loco works at Chittaranjan.
- You are on the staff of the Geological, Zoological, Botanical or Anthropological Survey of India and your promotion or pay is stuck.
- You serve with the Andaman and Nicobar Administration and cannot easily travel to Kolkata.
- You hold a central post in Sikkim, such as in the post office, income tax or a central school, and need to know where to file.
- You retired from a central office and now live in West Bengal, and your pension or gratuity is short or delayed.
- You worked in an ordnance factory near Kolkata before the 2021 corporatisation and your dues or status are in dispute.
- You already have an order from the Kolkata Bench and the department has filed a writ, or you want to.
One bench for a metro, a Himalayan state and an island chain
Few benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal cover places as different as the Kolkata Bench does. Its territory is West Bengal, the state of Sikkim, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which lie more than a thousand kilometres away across the Bay of Bengal. A clerk in Siliguri, a postman in Namchi and a teacher on Car Nicobar all file their service cases with the same registry.
The bench sits at 234/4, A.J.C. Bose Road, in the Nizam Palace complex in Kolkata. Its case numbers begin with the code 350, so an Original Application looks like O.A. 350/00XXX/2026. You will need that number to check the cause list and to find earlier orders on the same point.
To be clear about who is talking: we are B.K. Singh & Associates, a private firm of advocates, and the tribunal has no hand in this page. Treat what you read here as a lawyer's explanation. For sitting dates, cause lists and the registry's own directions, go to the tribunal.
If you work or live in West Bengal
Most of this bench's work comes from West Bengal, and much of that from Kolkata and its industrial belt. Eastern Railway (headquartered at Fairlie Place), South Eastern Railway (at Garden Reach), Metro Railway Kolkata and Chittaranjan Locomotive Works each employ a very large number of people, and their pay, promotion and discipline disputes fill the lists. Our page on railway staff service cases explains the railway's own discipline and pension rules.
Four of the country's oldest survey organisations, for geology, zoology, botany and anthropology, are run from Kolkata. People who work for them, from a field collector on tour in the Sundarbans to a senior scientist at Salt Lake, bring cases on recruitment rules, assessment promotions and field allowances. Add the National Library, customs at the port and the airport, the land customs station at Petrapole, income tax, central GST, the postal circle and defence civilians under the Army's Eastern Command at Fort William.
North Bengal is a separate world in practical terms. Staff posted at Siliguri, Jalpaiguri or in the Alipurduar railway division are a long way from Kolkata, and for some of them the controlling office is in Guwahati, the headquarters of the Northeast Frontier Railway. Rule 6 lets them file where they are posted, which is Kolkata Bench territory, or where the order was passed. Choose with care, because it also decides which High Court will hear any writ.
If your post is in Sikkim
Sikkim has no CAT bench of its own. Central employees in Gangtok, Namchi, Mangan or Gyalshing, such as postal staff, income tax officers, Kendriya Vidyalaya teachers and central agricultural or research staff, file at Kolkata. Sikkim state government employees do not come to CAT at all; there is no state administrative tribunal, so they approach the Sikkim High Court.
Some people mention circuit sittings of the Kolkata Bench at Gangtok. We have not found a recent notified sitting there, so plan on filing at Kolkata and attending by video, and check the bench's notices for any new arrangement. Many Sikkim matters are paper cases about pay, allowances or pension, which suit video hearings well.
Allowances are a frequent Sikkim grievance. Central staff posted in the North East, which for this purpose includes Sikkim, may be paid Special Duty Allowance only if their post carries all-India transfer liability, and some who drew it for years were later told it was never due. Whether money already paid can then be recovered, and from whom, depends on the employee's group, the length of time and whether any undertaking was given. Do not sign a consent to recovery before getting advice. The concessional air travel scheme for LTC to the North East and the islands, which the government has extended to September 2028, also produces claim rejections that end up before this bench.
Personnel of the SSB, ITBP and other forces posted in Sikkim, and Army personnel, are outside CAT. A force member's grievance about pay or punishment is normally taken to a High Court by writ, and a soldier's to the Armed Forces Tribunal. Our page on the right forum for CAPF and armed forces personnel sets this out.
If you serve in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Because the islands are governed directly by the Union through a Lieutenant Governor, every post in the Administration is a Union civil post. An APWD overseer, a deck hand with the Directorate of Shipping Services, a nurse at the G.B. Pant hospital and a teacher at a Nicobari village school are all in that category. Their service disputes come to the Kolkata Bench. Civilians in the tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command and central staff such as postal, customs and lighthouse employees also file here.
Distance is the big problem. A passenger ship from Kolkata takes about three days, and flights are costly in peak seasons. That is why the bench's circuit sittings at Port Blair, renamed Sri Vijaya Puram in 2024, matter so much. A transfer from Sri Vijaya Puram to Campbell Bay or Car Nicobar, or a dispute about island special duty allowance, can be heard without crossing the sea.
Island postings bring their own rules on tenure, island special duty allowance and travel concessions for joining and leaving the islands. Recruitment in the Administration also raises disputes about local candidates and the Nicobar tribal areas, where entry and residence are regulated. If your dispute is about one of these island-specific rules, bring the circular or order that created it; the bench will want to read the exact words.
How the Port Blair circuit sittings work in practice
- They are held on notified dates, not continuously. Recent sittings were reported in February 2023, and from 28 April to 2 May 2025. Dates are announced in advance by the bench and publicised by the island administration.
- Fresh cases can be filed at the sitting. The 2025 notice said fresh applications would be received during the sitting. Confirm this for each sitting rather than assuming it.
- Island matters are listed together. Pending OAs from the islands are usually listed for that week, so a case that has waited for months can move quickly if both sides are ready.
- The department prepares too. Island departments are told to brief their panel counsel and send nodal officers with records, so expect the department to be ready with its reply.
- Between sittings, the case stays at Kolkata. Urgent matters cannot wait for the next sitting; your counsel can mention them at Kolkata or by video.
Workplaces in this region that do not come to CAT
- West Bengal state government staff. They go to the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal, which is functioning, not to CAT.
- Central PSUs headquartered in Kolkata. Coal India, its subsidiaries and other central companies are outside CAT unless notified under Section 14(2). Their staff generally file writs in the Calcutta High Court.
- The port and the mint. Employees of the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority and of the government's security printing and minting company are usually not under CAT. Check the notification before filing.
- Banks and insurance companies. Nationalised bank and insurer staff go to the High Court.
- BSF, SSB and CRPF personnel. Force personnel normally move the High Court. Uniformed members of the Army, Navy and Air Force have the Armed Forces Tribunal's regional bench in Kolkata.
Ordnance factory staff after corporatisation
Kolkata was the seat of the Ordnance Factory Board, and the Hooghly belt still has big ordnance units: the rifle factory at Ishapore, the gun and shell works at Cossipore, the factory at Dum Dum. From 1 October 2021 the factories were transferred to new defence public sector companies, and their employees were first placed with those companies on deemed deputation.
This has produced a new kind of forum dispute. Some grievances, such as pension under the central rules or matters arising from the period of government service, are still argued before CAT. Others, about the new company's own policies, may belong in the High Court. Our page on ordnance and defence production employees sets out the arguments. Get the forum right before you spend time on drafting.
Stays and urgent relief, especially for island transfers
Transfers into and out of the islands produce many of this bench's urgent applications. A posting from Sri Vijaya Puram to Campbell Bay, or from Kolkata to the islands, can uproot a family, and the tribunal does take note of tenure rules for hard postings and the government's guidelines on keeping spouses together. It will not stop a transfer merely because the new station is remote. What helps is a specific breach: a tenure completed and ignored, a junior left untouched, a medical condition with records, or a policy not followed.
Timing matters more than anything. Once you have been relieved and have joined the new station, interim relief is rarely granted. Section 24 also requires the department to be heard before most interim orders, so file early enough for notice to be served. For island employees that means using the Kolkata registry or e-filing, and your counsel mentioning the matter there, rather than waiting for the next circuit sitting.
Recovery is the other common ground for a stay. A Group C clerk or a retired employee facing deduction of an old overpayment can often point to the Rafiq Masih principles and the government's own instructions limiting such recovery. Ask for a stay in the OA itself; do not wait to see how much is cut.
The legal basis for filing at Kolkata
Rule 6(1), CAT (Procedure) Rules, 1987
Your posting at the time of filing fixes one bench; the place where the grievance arose, even partly, can fix another. A Botanical Survey scientist posted in Gangtok whose promotion was refused at headquarters in Kolkata has Kolkata either way. A railway clerk in Alipurduar, whose order came from Guwahati, may have a choice between the Kolkata and Guwahati Benches.
Rule 6(2), CAT (Procedure) Rules, 1987
Retired employees, and those dismissed or terminated, may also file where they ordinarily live. A retired ZSI scientist who settled in Bhubaneswar can file at Cuttack instead of Kolkata, and a Kolkata-born officer who retired in Delhi and came home can file here.
Sections 20 and 21, Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985
The appeal or representation under your rules comes first, but you need not wait more than six months for a reply. Twelve months is the limit, running from the final order, or from the day the six months expired. Miss it and you must convince the bench, by a separate application, that the delay was not your fault.
Section 14, Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985
This is the threshold test for coming to CAT at all: central civil posts, All India Services, defence civilians, and bodies notified under Section 14(2). For a quick map of where other employees go, read our guide on the forum map for central employees.
Bringing a case to the Kolkata Bench
Pin down the forum and the date
Check that your post is central or notified, using the lists above. Then note when the final order reached you and the date a year later; if you are relying on an unanswered representation, count six months from it first.
Use the departmental remedy
Penalty orders under the CCS (CCA) Rules or the railway discipline rules carry an appeal, usually within 45 days. For pay, seniority or pension complaints, send a representation through your office to the authority with power to correct it. Keep proof of dispatch.
Collect records and translations
Gather the service record, orders and correspondence. Documents in Bengali, Nepali or Hindi need English translations if you rely on them. Island employees should scan everything and keep originals safe, since posting papers across the sea takes time.
Prepare the OA
The application states the facts in order, the legal grounds, the relief, and any interim relief, with a verification and a vakalatnama. Our page on filing an Original Application walks through each part.
File at Kolkata, online, or at a circuit sitting
File at the A.J.C. Bose Road registry, through the e-filing portal, or, for island cases, at a Port Blair sitting if fresh filings are being received. Rule 7 sets the fee at Rs 50; confirm the present figure and mode of payment with the registry.
Follow through to the final order
After admission the department files a reply and you may file a rejoinder. Ask for your island case to be listed at the next circuit sitting if that suits you. When the order is passed, get a certified copy without delay.
Advocate B.K. Singh's first question to a client from this region is usually about the address on the impugned order. In North Bengal and the islands, that one line often decides the bench and the High Court.
Kolkata Bench: time and outlay at each stage
| Stage | Typical time | Money, in general |
|---|---|---|
| Appeal or representation to the department | 45 days for an appeal; decision may take up to six months | Postage; nothing payable to the government |
| Getting papers ready, including from the islands | Two to five weeks | Copying, translation and notary charges |
| Filing and registry objections | One to two weeks | Fee of Rs 50 under Rule 7, subject to the current rule |
| Admission and interim prayer | Within weeks at Kolkata; island cases may wait for a sitting unless mentioned urgently | Counsel's fee as agreed in writing at the start |
| Pleadings and wait for hearing | Six months to two years | Further appearances, stage by stage |
| Final order | One to three years from filing in a defended case | The tribunal seldom awards costs |
| Writ in the Calcutta High Court | One year or more | Separate court fee and counsel fee |
A junior engineer at Mayabunder
Here's a made-up example. Bimal, 52, is a Junior Engineer in the Andaman Public Works Department posted at Mayabunder in North and Middle Andaman. He receives a minor penalty memo alleging delay in certifying a contractor's bill, and replies within ten days, pointing out that the measurement book had not reached him. The disciplinary authority withholds one increment for a year without dealing with his reply.
He appeals within 45 days. Seven months pass without a decision. A colleague tells him the Kolkata Bench will sit at Sri Vijaya Puram the following month. He gets his OA ready with the memo, his reply, the penalty order, the appeal and the dispatch receipt, and files it during the sitting, where fresh applications are being received.
The bench issues notice and, at a later hearing, finds that the penalty order does not consider his defence at all. It quashes the penalty and asks the authority to look at the case again and pass a speaking order. This is invented to show how such a case can move; in real life the bench may uphold the penalty if the reasons on record are adequate. Our page on minor penalty memos under Rule 16 explains what a proper order should contain.
Documents to gather
Basic file
- The impugned order, plus anything that fixes the day it reached you
- Appointment letter and latest pay slip
- Promotion, MACP or pay fixation orders
- Appeals or representations, with dispatch receipts
- The department's replies, if any
Extra papers by type of case
- Discipline: memo or chargesheet, your reply, inquiry report, penalty and appellate orders
- Pension: PPO, last pay certificate, retirement order and any recovery letter
- Island transfers: transfer policy, posting history and family circumstances
- Candidates: notification, application, admit card, result and rejection notice
- Translations of Bengali, Nepali or Hindi documents
The writ after a Kolkata Bench order
A party who loses at A.J.C. Bose Road goes next to the Calcutta High Court, where two judges hear the writ, as L. Chandra Kumar (1997) requires. That court has circuit benches at Jalpaiguri for northern districts and at Sri Vijaya Puram for the islands; whether a particular writ against a tribunal order can be filed at a circuit bench depends on that court's rules, so check with counsel. Most such writs are filed at the principal seat in Kolkata.
Sikkim cases raise a harder question. The tribunal bench sits in Kolkata, which points to the Calcutta High Court, but the employee, the office and the cause of action are in Sikkim, within the Sikkim High Court's territory. The Supreme Court has referred the broader question of which High Court can examine a CAT order to a larger bench (Union of India v. Sanjiv Chaturvedi, 2023). Until that is settled, the Calcutta High Court is the safer choice. Our page on writs against tribunal orders describes the grounds the High Court considers.
Hearings by video, language and getting around the Kolkata registry
Hearings by video are allowed in suitable matters, which helps clients in Darjeeling, Gangtok and the islands. The advocate appears, and the client needs only to be reachable by phone during the hearing. Final hearings in complicated discipline cases are still better argued in person, so counsel usually attends at Kolkata for those.
Many documents in this region are in Bengali, and some Sikkim papers are in Nepali. The tribunal works in English, so every document you rely on needs a typed English translation. Medical certificates from district hospitals, police reports and panchayat or municipal certificates are the usual culprits. Arrange translations before drafting starts, not the night before filing.
Registry objections at Kolkata are usually about missing translations, unsigned pages, illegible copies or a missing index. Each objection means the file comes back, and the clock under Section 21 keeps running while it is being corrected. A clean first filing saves weeks.
What goes wrong in cases from this region
- Waiting for the next circuit sitting when the matter is urgent. If a relieving order or a recovery is imminent, mention it at Kolkata or by video. A sitting two months away is too late.
- Filing at CAT for a state job. West Bengal state staff belong at the state tribunal, and Sikkim state staff at the Sikkim High Court.
- Overlooking the bench choice in North Bengal. A clerk whose order came from Maligaon may file at Guwahati or Kolkata, and should choose before filing, not after a defect is raised.
- Ignoring the recovery rules. Group C staff and retirees facing recovery of old overpayments often do not ask for a stay. Our page on recovery from pension explains the limits.
- Filing several identical OAs. Where many employees of one survey or one railway unit share the same grievance, a joint application may be better. See our page on OAs by several applicants.
How it differs for officers, staff, retirees and candidates
Group A officers here are often scientists in the four surveys, whose careers depend on recruitment rules that are decades old and on periodic assessments. Their cases tend to turn on whether the right version of the rules was applied in the year of the vacancy, so bring the rules as they stood then, not as they read today.
Group B and C staff, including railway employees, postal assistants and island administration clerks, bring most of the discipline, recovery, MACP and transfer cases. Gramin Dak Sevaks in rural Bengal and Sikkim come with put-off-duty and termination disputes under their own conduct and engagement rules.
Retirees bring pension fixation errors, notional increment claims, gratuity delays and family pension disputes. Candidates for railway, postal and other central posts come with certificate and eligibility problems, and should act quickly, before selected candidates join.
Our role in Kolkata Bench matters
We practise from Dwarka in New Delhi and from Vaishali in Ghaziabad, so a Kolkata Bench file is run jointly: we read and draft, and associate counsel in Kolkata appear. Clients in Siliguri, Gangtok or on the islands send scans and speak to us on video; few ever need to visit.
Some grievances are better left alone. A pay arrears claim that goes back fifteen years will usually be cut down to the last three years before filing, and a survey scientist whose assessment was deferred because his own APARs were never submitted has little to argue. Advocate B.K. Singh's practice is to give a written view of the risks before the drafting begins.
Next steps for this week
Check your forum against the lists above, and note your one-year date. If you are in the islands, find out when the next circuit sitting is announced, but do not wait for it if an order is about to take effect. Collect the documents and arrange translations.
For an urgent order, ask your counsel about mentioning the matter; our guide on urgent mentioning before the tribunal explains how it works.
To have your papers examined or to hear about new rulings relevant to your case, contact Advocate B.K. Singh.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sikkim covered by CAT Kolkata?
Yes. Central employees in Sikkim file at the Kolkata Bench. Sikkim state government employees do not come to CAT and approach the Sikkim High Court.
When does CAT sit in Port Blair?
The Kolkata Bench holds circuit sittings at Sri Vijaya Puram on dates it notifies in advance, such as 28 April to 2 May 2025. Check the bench's notices or the island administration's announcements for the next dates.
Can I file a fresh case at the Port Blair circuit sitting?
For the 2025 sitting, the notice said fresh applications would be received. Confirm this for each sitting, and file at Kolkata or online if your matter cannot wait.
Do West Bengal government employees go to CAT?
No. The West Bengal Administrative Tribunal hears them. CAT deals only with Union staff and notified bodies.
I work for Coal India in Kolkata. Can I go to CAT?
Generally not. Coal India and its subsidiaries are central public sector companies outside CAT unless notified. Their employees usually file a writ in the Calcutta High Court.
Where does a writ against a CAT Kolkata order go?
To a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court, usually at its principal seat. For Sikkim cases there is some debate about the Sikkim High Court, so take advice before filing.
How long does a case at CAT Kolkata take?
Allow one to three years where the department contests. A clear-cut arrears claim may finish at an early hearing with an order to pay within a set period.
Can I attend my Kolkata Bench hearing from Gangtok by video?
In many matters, yes. Counsel can appear in Kolkata, and the bench allows video hearings in suitable cases. Keep your phone on during the hearing so counsel can reach you.