JUDGMENT : Amit Rawal, J. 1. An association namely, All India Naval Clerks Association, represented by its General Secretary, along with four(4) individual persons, had approached the Tribunal, seeking declaration of Annexure-A1 Recruitment Rules, relating to promotion to the post of Office Superintendent, to be illegal to the extent it did not incorporate the directions given in Clause 3.1.3 of the DoPT (Department of Personal and Training) O.M dated 31.12.2010, Annexure-A9, which governs the retention of the existing eligibility service criteria for all those employees who were adversely affected by the change in the existing Rules. On the basis of the aforementioned pleadings, learned Tribunal noticed the fact that the said guidelines have not been incorporated in the Rules, therefore, issued a direction to the Union to amend the Rules. The aforementioned direction would have been justified, had any of the individual applicants pleaded the case by proving on record that, as per DoPT guidelines envisaging eight(8) years of service for promotion from UDC to Assistant, they were ripe for promotion, therefore, in the absence of incorporation of Clause 3.1.3 of the DoPT guidelines dated 31.12.2010 in the amending Rules, seriously prejudiced and affected. On perusal of the O.A., we found that there is no such independent pleadings with regard to the fact that any of the applicant Nos.2 to 5 had pleaded or proved on record by any documentary evidence that they were adversely affected by the Recruitment Rules. 2. It is also settled law that an Association cannot espouse the grievance of all the affected parties in general as, it has to be qua individual persons, who were in the zone of consideration for being promoted to the post of Assistant. It is a matter of record that by causing an amendment in 2019, called Ministry of Defence (Navy) Group B (Non Gazetted), Ministerial Staff Posts Recruitment Rules 2019, the post of Assistant had been merged with the post of Office Superintendent, and ten(10) years have been fixed for being promoted to the post of Office Superintendent. It is a matter of record that by causing an amendment in 2019, called Ministry of Defence (Navy) Group B (Non Gazetted), Ministerial Staff Posts Recruitment Rules 2019, the post of Assistant had been merged with the post of Office Superintendent, and ten(10) years have been fixed for being promoted to the post of Office Superintendent. Thus, keeping the question open in case any of the individuals raise the grievances in terms of the observations, we are of the view that by entertaining the plea of the Association in the absence of any proof on behalf of the applicant Nos.2 to 4, the directions to the Union of India for amending the Rules incorporating clause 3.1.3 for retaining eight(8) years of service to be eligible service criteria for existing employees, was totally a farcical exercise. Accordingly, we set aside the judgment of the Tribunal and allow the original petition with liberty to the individual employees to espouse their grievances independently by establishing prima facie on record the non-consideration of their retention in the service by not incorporating Clause 3.1.3 while amending the Rules 2019.