In short. Posted in Delhi or Uttarakhand, or retired and living there? Then your service case is most likely heard on Copernicus Marg, at the Principal Bench of the CAT. This page sets out its territory and how an OA moves through it. B.K. Singh & Associates, a private firm of advocates, wrote it; the tribunal publishes its own official site separately. Uttarakhand joined Delhi under this bench in July 2023. Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad belong to other benches. Most cases finish within one to three years. Your first check is your place of posting, or your home address if you are out of service.
Is this your situation?
- A Delhi office of the Central Government has passed an order against you that you think is wrong.
- You are posted in Dehradun, Haridwar, Haldwani or elsewhere in Uttarakhand and were told your bench has changed.
- You live in Noida, Ghaziabad or Gurugram and are unsure whether Delhi or another bench will hear you.
- You served in Delhi but have settled in another state after retirement, or served elsewhere and now live in Delhi.
- You are a Delhi Police officer, a Delhi Government employee or a DSSSB candidate.
- You have a case pending at another bench and want it moved to New Delhi, or moved out.
Who is writing this, and who is not
B.K. Singh & Associates, an advocates' firm with offices in Dwarka and Vaishali, runs this website. The tribunal has no connection with it. Treat what you read here as a lawyer's explanation, never as a cause list, an official form or a notice from the registry. The tribunal's own information, including cause lists, orders and its jurisdiction table, is on its official website, cgat.gov.in. Where we mention a notification or a sitting, check the current position there or with the registry.
The Principal Bench is the tribunal's main seat. The Chairman sits here, and the bench carries one of the heaviest loads of central service cases in the country, simply because so many central offices are in Delhi. What follows is a practical account of who files here, who does not, and how a case moves through the bench.
Delhi, the NCR and Uttarakhand: which bench hears you
| Your place of posting (or home, after leaving service) | CAT bench | Writ court after the tribunal |
|---|---|---|
| Any district of the NCT of Delhi, including New Delhi, Dwarka, Rohini, Shahdara | Principal Bench | Delhi High Court, Division Bench |
| Uttarakhand: Dehradun, Haridwar, Roorkee, Rishikesh, Nainital, Haldwani, Kumaon and Garhwal districts | Principal Bench, New Delhi (since the notification of 18 July 2023) | Contested; check whether the Delhi or Uttarakhand High Court will hear it |
| Noida and Greater Noida (Gautam Buddh Nagar), Ghaziabad, Meerut, Bulandshahr | Allahabad Bench | Allahabad High Court |
| Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Panipat, Jhajjar and the rest of Haryana | Chandigarh Bench | High Court at Chandigarh (Punjab and Haryana) |
| Alwar and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan | Jaipur Bench | Rajasthan High Court (Jaipur seat) |
| A ministry headquarters in Delhi deciding the case of someone posted elsewhere | Usually the bench where the employee is posted; the Delhi cause of action may give a choice | The High Court over the bench chosen |
Rule 6: how a case ends up here
Two facts normally fix your bench under Rule 6 of the 1987 Procedure Rules: the place where you are currently posted, and the place where the dispute arose, in full or in part. Leaving service adds a third: a retiree, or someone dismissed or terminated, may choose the bench for his or her usual home. A proviso to the rule also lets an application be presented at the Principal Bench with the Chairman's permission, though it is then heard by the bench that has jurisdiction.
So three kinds of applicant reach Copernicus Marg. The first is posted in Delhi or Uttarakhand today. The second is posted elsewhere but is fighting a decision taken in a Delhi headquarters, which arguably places part of the dispute here. The third has left service and lives in Delhi or Uttarakhand, wherever the career was spent.
The cause-of-action route is the one that causes arguments. A railway employee in Lucknow whose seniority was settled by a Railway Board decision in Delhi may say part of the cause arose in Delhi. The department may answer that the real dispute is with the zonal railway. Benches have not always taken the same view on such questions, and the tribunal can return an application for presentation at the proper bench. Where both are open to you, the bench at your place of posting is normally the less risky pick, unless Delhi offers some clear advantage.
Uttarakhand cases since July 2023
For decades an employee in Dehradun or Almora had to look to Prayagraj, many hundreds of kilometres away, with the Allahabad Bench visiting Nainital on circuit from time to time. That ended with a central notification dated 18 July 2023, which attached Uttarakhand to the Principal Bench. Lawyers of the Uttarakhand High Court at Nainital had asked for this, and Delhi is roughly 300 km from Nainital. Pending Uttarakhand files were to move from Allahabad in line with the notification; if you had a case there, check where it now stands.
The Principal Bench has since held circuit sittings at Nainital; a notice of May 2024, for example, announced a sitting there with some days in physical mode and the rest by video. Circuit sittings are not continuous, so ask the registry or check the tribunal's website for the current schedule before planning to file or appear in Nainital. Hearings by video conference also make it possible for an employee in Pithoragarh or Uttarkashi to attend without travelling to Delhi; our guide on joining a virtual CAT hearing explains the steps.
Something remains open after the move. If the Principal Bench decides an Uttarakhand case, does the losing side go to the Delhi High Court or the Uttarakhand High Court? L. Chandra Kumar ties the writ to the High Court over the bench, which suggests Delhi, but the employee, the office and the dispute all sit in Uttarakhand, and that argument has been raised too. Get advice on your own case before choosing. More on Dehradun's offices is on our page for central employees in Dehradun.
The offices that fill the Principal Bench's list
- Ministries and attached offices. The secretariat buildings around Raisina Hill and the CGO Complex on Lodhi Road employ thousands of Central Secretariat Service staff, stenographers and MTS. Seniority lists, CSS promotions and APAR disputes come from here.
- Railways. Northern Railway's headquarters at Baroda House and the Delhi division generate pay fixation, MACP, running staff and discipline cases. Railway Board decisions taken at Rail Bhawan also touch employees across the country.
- Posts, tax and customs. The Delhi Postal Circle, Income Tax offices at the Civic Centre and ITO, and CBIC formations including the customs at IGI Airport are large employers with steady flows of transfer, promotion and recovery cases.
- Science and research. CSIR headquarters and the National Physical Laboratory, DRDO headquarters and its Delhi laboratories, ICAR and IARI at Pusa produce assessment promotion and pay disputes for scientists and technical staff.
- Works and education. CPWD divisions across Delhi, and the KVS headquarters and Delhi region schools.
- Delhi's own services. A big slice of the daily board consists of Delhi Police and GNCTD matters, both being Union Territory services. See our pages on Delhi Police service cases and GNCTD staff and teachers.
- Uttarakhand offices. Survey of India and CSIR's petroleum institute in Dehradun, postal and railway staff across the state, and central offices in Haridwar and Haldwani, now that the state is with the Principal Bench.
Job candidates and recruiters headquartered in Delhi
UPSC sits at Dholpur House on Shahjahan Road, and the Staff Selection Commission's headquarters is at the CGO Complex. Many candidates assume that, because the examining body is in Delhi, every recruitment grievance must be filed at the Principal Bench. That is not quite how it works. A candidate's case is usually taken where the candidate applied from or where the relevant decision was communicated, and the SSC's regional offices take many decisions locally. For a candidate in Patna rejected at document verification by the SSC's eastern region, the Patna or Kolkata bench may be the more natural forum, depending on where the cause of action arose.
There are cases where Delhi is plainly right: a candidate living in Delhi, a decision taken by UPSC itself on a final result, or a dispute about an advertisement issued from Delhi for posts in Delhi. Where the choice is genuinely open, filing close to where the candidate lives keeps costs down and avoids an objection to territorial jurisdiction from the commission's counsel. A short delay spent fighting over the bench can be expensive in a recruitment case, because posts get filled and waiting lists lapse while the argument goes on.
Retirees and family pensioners who now live in Delhi
Delhi has a large population of central pensioners who served elsewhere: a railway guard from Jhansi who moved to his son's flat in Uttam Nagar, a widow of a defence civilian from Pune now living with her daughter in Janakpuri. Rule 6(2) lets such people file at the Principal Bench on the strength of where they live, even though the department, the records and the pension sanctioning authority are in another state. For an elderly applicant, being able to reach the bench by metro is worth a lot.
The trade-off is that the department's counsel and records are far away, so replies can take longer and notices to distant offices sometimes go unserved for a while. Make sure the OA names the correct pension sanctioning authority and the Central Pension Accounting Office or the bank where relevant, with full addresses. If the dispute is about family pension after the employee's death, attach the death certificate, the PPO and proof of your relationship at the start; these are the papers the department most often says are missing.
The provisions you will hear mentioned at this bench
Section 14, Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985
Covers recruitment and service disputes of people in central civil posts, defence civilians and staff of bodies the Centre has notified under Section 14(2). Soldiers, most CAPF personnel, and the staff of most PSUs and banks fall outside it.
Sections 19 and 21
You come to the tribunal through an OA under Section 19. The time allowed by Section 21 is twelve months, counted from the final order, or from the end of a six-month wait on an unanswered appeal. Section 21(3) lets the bench forgive delay for sufficient cause, provided every gap is explained.
Section 25
Lets the Chairman shift a pending matter between benches, on request or on his own motion. With the Chairman based in Delhi, transfer petitions from every bench end up being heard at Copernicus Marg.
Rule 6, CAT (Procedure) Rules, 1987
The bench-selection rule explained above; for Uttarakhand, read it with the 2023 notification.
Rule 7, CAT (Procedure) Rules, 1987
Sets the OA fee at Rs 50, historically paid through a crossed draft or postal order drawn in the Registrar's favour. Online filing may use a different method of payment, so confirm the present amount and method with the registry.
How an OA moves through the Principal Bench
Prepare the paper book
The OA, the impugned order, a list of dates, annexures in date order, the vakalatnama and an affidavit. Annexures should be legible and paginated. A badly copied pay slip or a missing page delays everything that follows.
File, online or at the counter
The tribunal's e-filing portal accepts OAs, and paper filing at the filing counter remains available. As reported in the service press, the tribunal issued a circular on 21 October 2026 aiming at the same filing practice in every bench, covering matters such as bookmarked, searchable PDFs and time limits for scrutiny. Ask the registry how it applies to you before filing.
Clear the defects
Registry staff examine the paper book and return a list of objections, such as an unsigned affidavit, a missing page, a fee problem or an unreadable annexure. Fix them fast. A case cannot be listed until the defects are cleared.
First listing
A Division Bench (one judicial, one administrative member) or, for some categories, a single member takes up the OA. Common outcomes at this first hearing: notice to the respondents, an interim order under Section 24, or an immediate disposal telling the department to decide your pending representation.
Reply and rejoinder
The respondents file their counter, frequently after asking for more time. You file a rejoinder dealing with new points. This stage takes the longest in most cases.
Final hearing and order
The matter is argued and the order is pronounced or uploaded later. Obtain a certified copy and deliver it to the respondents, keeping their receipt.
After the order
Non-compliance can be taken up in a contempt petition. A party dissatisfied with the decision can seek review within 30 days, or move the High Court in a writ.
Drafting and annexures are dealt with at length in our page on filing an Original Application under Section 19.
Practical points about attending the bench
Copernicus Marg runs from the Mandi House roundabout down towards India Gate, and the tribunal building is within walking distance of the Mandi House metro interchange. Parking nearby is limited on working days, so most applicants come by metro. Carry a photo identity card; entry is regulated. Daily cause lists are put up on the tribunal's website the previous evening, and each court has its own list, so note your item number and court number.
Early dates are frequently adjourned since the respondents' counter has not come in yet. That is normal and not a sign that your case is going badly. If you are appearing in person, arrive before the court sits, keep a set of your paper book with you, and be ready to state in one or two sentences what order you are challenging and what you want. Hybrid hearings allow appearance by video in many matters; the joining details usually appear with the cause list or come from the court staff, and you should test your connection the evening before.
How long it takes and what you will spend
| Stage | Usual time | Costs to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Departmental appeal or representation before filing | Six months' wait if undecided (Section 20) | Postage only |
| Filing and clearing defects | Days, sometimes weeks | A small fixed fee (Rs 50 under Rule 7 of the CAT (Procedure) Rules; check the current figure and mode with the registry), typing, photocopies, notarisation |
| First listing and notice | Often within a few weeks of a defect-free filing | None beyond travel or a video link |
| Reply, rejoinder and final hearing | Commonly one to three years in all, depending on the department and the bench's list | Copies of additional documents |
| Review application | Within 30 days of the order | Modest; mainly copies |
| Writ in the High Court | One to three years or more | Court fee and filing costs as per that High Court's rules |
| Advocate's fee | Not listed here | Explained at the first meeting and set down in writing for each stage |
Before you file at the Principal Bench, make sure you have
- The impugned order, marked with the day it reached you
- Proof that you appealed or represented, and when
- Any reply from the department, even a one-line one
- Your current posting order, or for retirees, proof of your present address
- Whatever appointment, promotion or pay orders the dispute turns on
- Text of each rule, OM or circular you plan to cite
- Details of any colleague whose position changes if you succeed
- A short chronology on a single page
- For Uttarakhand cases, any notice about circuit sittings or transfer of your old Allahabad file
A made-up case: a retired clerk from Shastri Bhawan who lives in Indirapuram
Here's a made-up example. Ramesh spent his last years of service as an ASO in a Shastri Bhawan ministry and retired in 2025. He lives in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. His pension was fixed without counting an old period of officiating service, and his representation has been pending for eight months.
Ramesh can pick. Delhi is where he worked and where the pension was fixed, which opens the Principal Bench. Being retired, he can also go by his home address, and Indirapuram falls under Allahabad. He chooses New Delhi, because his records, the ministry and its counsel are all there, and the Principal Bench is closer to Indirapuram than Prayagraj. Had he lived in Lucknow, the choice might have gone the other way. The question here is convenience; the law and the remedy are the same at both benches.
A second made-up case: a Survey of India draughtsman in Dehradun
Here's another made-up example. Kavita works as a draughtsman with Survey of India in Dehradun. Her MACP was granted in 2021 and then withdrawn in 2024 after an audit objection, with a recovery order of Rs 2.2 lakh. Her appeal was rejected in March 2026.
Her case now goes to the Principal Bench, not to Allahabad. She files online from Dehradun with the help of counsel, asks for a stay of recovery, and requests that hearings be by video where possible. Should either side later want a writ, the Delhi-or-Uttarakhand question discussed above will need fresh advice. The recovery itself would be tested against the Rafiq Masih principles, because she is Group C staff and did nothing to cause the overpayment.
After the tribunal: the High Court on Sher Shah Road
The Supreme Court's 1997 decision in L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India sends challenges to tribunal orders to a two-judge bench of the High Court that oversees the tribunal bench. For a Delhi case decided on Copernicus Marg, that means the Delhi High Court. Departments in Delhi regularly file writs against orders that go in favour of employees, especially in promotion, seniority and pay cases that affect many people, so a win at Copernicus Marg may be followed by a second round. That stage is covered on our page about service writs in the Delhi High Court, and the firm's site on Delhi High Court cases has more about practice there.
Before a writ, consider whether a review application within 30 days of the order is more suitable. Review is a small door. It opens for a mistake obvious on the face of the record, or for material you genuinely could not produce before; it does not allow the same arguments to be run again.
Moving a case to or from this bench
A pending case can be shifted to another bench by the Chairman under Section 25. Employees who were transferred from Delhi to a far posting after filing, or whose witnesses and records are in another city, sometimes ask for a transfer. So does the department, at times. The applicant has to show real hardship or a reason of justice, not mere preference. Our page on Section 25 bench transfer petitions sets out the grounds that are usually accepted.
Someone living in Noida or Gurugram but working in Delhi already belongs here because of the posting, so no transfer is needed. If you work in Noida, you belong to the Allahabad Bench, and if in Gurugram, to the Chandigarh Bench, however close Copernicus Marg may be.
When the Principal Bench cannot hear you at all
Being in Delhi does not bring every public employee to this bench. Soldiers, sailors and airmen use the Armed Forces Tribunal, whose own principal bench is also in Delhi. Personnel of the central armed police forces, and most public sector and bank employees, usually begin with a writ in the High Court. Staff of MCD, DTC and the Delhi Jal Board usually do too. Our page on the forum for CAPF and armed forces personnel explains the split.
An autonomous body's staff come under the tribunal only where the Centre has issued a Section 14(2) notification for that body. If you work for a society or institute set up by a ministry, check the notification before filing here.
What Advocate B.K. Singh tells clients before their first date at Copernicus Marg
To someone filing for the first time, Advocate B.K. Singh usually says this: expect the first two or three dates to be short. Notice, time for reply and adjournments take up the early listings, and most of the real work happens on paper in between. Clients who take leave and travel from Dehradun for every listing often do not need to; a lawyer can appear, and hybrid hearing options exist.
He also asks clients from Uttarakhand to bring any notice they received about the transfer of their pending file from Allahabad, and the old case number. Files transferred under the 2023 notification sometimes reach the Principal Bench with a new number, and linking the two numbers early saves confusion at listing.
Talk to us about a Principal Bench case
We appear at the Principal Bench from our offices in Sector 7, Dwarka and in Vaishali, Ghaziabad, and advise online clients in Uttarakhand and elsewhere. Fees are not quoted on this site; we explain them at the first meeting and confirm them in writing before each stage begins.
If your service case belongs at Copernicus Marg, or you are unsure whether it does, contact Advocate B.K. Singh for advice on your papers or for updates on the Principal Bench's practice and jurisdiction.
Frequently asked questions
Is this site run by the tribunal?
No. It belongs to B.K. Singh & Associates, an independent firm of advocates. The tribunal's official site is cgat.gov.in, where cause lists, orders and notices are published.
I work in Noida. Can I go to the Delhi bench?
Not on the basis of your posting; Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad offices come under the Allahabad Bench. It is different for a retiree living in Noida whose service and dispute were in Delhi: the Delhi cause of action keeps the Principal Bench open.
Which bench hears Uttarakhand central employees now?
New Delhi's Principal Bench. A Central Government notification of 18 July 2023 took the state away from Allahabad. The bench has visited Nainital on circuit; confirm upcoming dates with the registry.
Can I file at the Principal Bench if my ministry headquarters is in Delhi but I am posted in Chennai?
It may be possible where some part of the dispute arose in Delhi, yet filing in Chennai, where you are posted, is the more secure course. The department may object, and the bench can return the application for filing at the proper place. Take advice on your specific order.
What is the filing fee for an OA at the Principal Bench?
The Procedure Rules fix Rs 50 per OA. How you pay it, particularly online, can change, so ask the registry for the present amount and method. Advocates' fees are a separate matter.
Which High Court hears a writ against a Principal Bench order?
Delhi cases go to two judges of the Delhi High Court. Uttarakhand cases are less clear, since both High Courts have been suggested, so get advice on your facts first.
Can I attend a Principal Bench hearing by video?
Hybrid hearings are available in many matters, and the link is generally given through the cause list or the court staff. Check the instructions for your court on the hearing date and test your connection in advance.
How do I find my case listing at the Principal Bench?
The official website carries each day's lists, normally from the previous evening. Look up your OA number or name, then write down the court and serial number. If your case was transferred from Allahabad, search by the new number too.