Biometric Attendance System Not Illegal Merely Because Employees Weren't Consulted Before Its Introduction : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently upheld the Union Government's move to introduce the Biometric Attendance System (“BAS”) in the Office of Principal Accountant General(A&E), Odisha, rejecting the employee's argument that they were not consulted before implementing the BAS.

A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B Varale set aside the Odisha High Court judgment that had quashed the introduction of a Biometric Attendance System (BAS).

The Court said that “Therefore, in the facts and circumstances of the case,when the introduction of the Biometric Attendance System is for the benefit of all the stakeholders, merely for the reason that the employees were not consulted before implementing the same does not render the introduction of the system to be illegal.”

The dispute arose after the department issued circulars dated July 1, October 22, and November 6 of 2013, introducing biometric attendance for staff members. The employees challenged these circulars before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), arguing that the decision was made without their consent and violated norms mentioned in Swamy's Complete Manual on Establishment and Administration for Central Government Offices. The CAT dismissed their plea, but the High Court later allowed it in 2014, citing a lack of prior consultation.

Before the Supreme Court, the Union argued that the Manual on Establishment and Administration for Central Government Offices nowhere contains any rules which have been formulated and followed by the Office of the Principal Accountant General (A&E) and therefore, the introduction of the Biometric Attendance System cannot be said to be in violation of any rules of the Department.

Before the Supreme Court, the employees also supported the BAS, conceding that the introduction of the BAS was for their benefit.  Thus the Court noted “once the employees have no reservation on the introduction of the Biometric Attendance System, we are of the opinion that no controversy in this regard survives and the department can very well go ahead with the implementation of the above system.”

Accordingly, the appeal was allowed.