P U JOSHI Vs. ACCOUNTANT GENERAL AHMEDABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Civil Appeal No. 4679 of 1996 has been filed by the appellants herein, who lost in their application filed before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Ahmedabad Bench, in O. A. No. 162 of 1989, which came to be dismissed by an order dated 10-8-1994. Since their application for review in R. A. No. 31 of 1994 also came to be dismissed by an order dated 12-10-1994, Civil Appeal No. 4680 of 1996 has also been filed.

(2.) The various cadres of establishment in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department relating to the office of the Accountant Generals in the States were bifurcated and restructured w.e.f. 1-3-1984 into (i) Accountant General (Accounts and Entitlement), and (ii) Accountant General (Audit). So far as the State of Gujarat is concerned, the combined office of the Accountant General, which had its main office at Ahmedabad with a branch at Rajkot, was bifurcated into two separate offices, A.G. (Audit) at Ahmedabad/Rajkot and office of the A.G. (A. & E.) at Rajkot/Ahmedabad. Prior to the said bifurcation, the combined office, among other categories, had in the supervisory cadres (a) Section Officers (those who were promoted after passing Subordinate Accounts Services Examination) subsequently known as Section Officers Grade Examination, (b) Supervisors (those who were promoted on seniority-cum-rejection on unfit basis without passing S.A.S./S.O.G. Examination); and (c) Selection Grade Section Officers/Selection Grade Supervisors (appointed subject to fulfilment of eligibility criteria - Section Officers and Supervisors were promoted to this category on their fulfilling the required criteria of passing the examination and putting in the required service). Supervisors were appointed only in cases of non-availability of qualified Section Officers to man the supervisory posts and they were subject to reversion if adequate number of Section Officers were available. Further, the Section Officers were considered senior to Supervisors and the promotion channel to the higher post of Accounts Officers was open to Section Officers only and not to Supervisors. After restructuring of the Department w.e.f. 1-3-1984, so far as the A.G. (A. & E.) Offices are concerned, these class of officers were categorized into : (i) Section Officers (S.O.G.E.-qualified hands - pre-revised scale Rs. 500-900); (ii) Supervisors (unqualified hands - pre-revised scale Rs. 500-900); and (iii) Selection Grade Officers -Selection Grade Supervisors whose pre-revised scale was Rs. 775-1000. So far as A.G. (Audit) Officers are concerned, as per the restructured pattern it had Section Officers - 20% (S.O.G.E.-qualified hands with pre-revised scale of Rs. 500-900) and Assistant Audit Officers - 80% (higher post, S.O.G.E.-qualified hands with pre-revised scale Rs. 775-1000). Since in the newly constituted Audit Officers w.e.f. 1-3-1984, there was no cadre of Supervisors in the Audit Wing, the existing staff of Supervisors were not allowed to switch over to the Audit office. In view of the above, option was given to such of those who desired to get reverted to Audit Officers, in which case they would be required to be reverted as Special Grade Auditors and then switched over to the Audit Officers from that cadre. Though free option was given to such of those who desired to get reverted to Audit offices, in which case they would be required to be reverted as Special Grade Auditors and then switched over to the Audit Officers from that cadre. Though, free option was given to all the members of combined officers to remain either in the A.&.E. offices or to go over to the Audit Office, the appellants in the chosen to remain with the A.&.E. office.

(3.) While the matter stood thus, when the Fourth Central Pay Commissions recommendations were made and accepted by the Government of India w.e.f. 1-1-1986, the selection grade was abolished from all non-gazetted cadres in all the departments of the Government of India all over India, including the Department of I.A. & A.D. The orders in this regards were issued by the Government of India on 13-9-1986 and from that date the selection grade was abolished. As a result of which, the supervisory set-up in A.&.E. Office and Audit Office remained from 13-9-1986 as follows :