RAJ BIDICHANDANI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants in these appeals are Bilingual Stenographers employed in the Official Language Wing of the Ministry of Law and Justice of the government of India. With effect from 1/4/1976 they were given the grade of Rs. 425-800 and were treated on a par with Stenographers Grade 'c' in the central Secretariat Stenographers Service (for short "csss"). They were claiming higher pay scales on the ground that they were performing duties which are more arduous than those of Unilingual Stenographers. They were also demanding a separate service on the lines of the CSSS. The demands of the Bilingual Stenographers were considered by the Fourth Pay Commission in its report wherein the Commission recommended that Bilingualstenographers may be included in the CSSS with an allowances of Rs. 50. 00 per mensern for tested proficiency in each additional language. The recommendation of the Fourth Pay Commission as regards Bilingual stenographers was accepted by the government as regards the pay scale and they were placed in the revised pay scale of Rs. 1400-40-1600-50-2300-EB- 2600 which was the pay scale in which the Stenographers Grade 'c' in the csss were fixed. The recommendation of the Fourth Pay Commission that bilingual Stenographers be included in the CSSS was, however, not accepted by the government of India.

(2.) A petition (OA No. 1538 of 1987) was submitted by the central secretariat Service Direct Recruit Assistants' Association before the central administrative tribunal (hereinafter referred to as "the Administrative tribunal") wherein the Administrative tribunal passed an order dated 23/5/1989 directing that Stenographers Grade 'c' as well as Assistants in the csss should be placed in the scale of Rs. 1640-60-2000-EB-75-2900. In pursuance of the said direction given by the Administrative tribunal the central government passed an order dated 31/7/1990 whereby Assistants and Stenographers Grade 'c' in CSSS were placed in the scale of Rs. 1,640. 00- 2900 with effect from 1/1/1986. Bilingual Stenographers were not given the benefit of this revision in pay scale and they continued in the lower pay scale of Rs. 1400-2600.

(3.) A petition (OA No. 758 of 1989, which has given rise to Civil appeals Nos. 8349-50 of 1995, was filed by the Bilingual Stenographers in the central Administrative tribunal, Principal bench, (hereinafter referred to as "the tribunal") wherein they sought the relief that they may be included in the CSSS. In the said petition an application MA No. 3674 of 1994, was filed on 10/12/1993 whereby a prayer in the relief clause was added and a direction was sought that the respondents be directed to grant the pay scale of Rs. 1640-2900 from the date it was made applicable to the CSSS with all consequential benefits to the appellants. OA No. 758 of 1989 was decided by the tribunal by its judgment dated 16/3/1994. The tribunal has held that it is implicit in the recommendation of the Fourth Pay Commission and the acceptance of the same by the government, insofar as the same relates to bilingual Stenographers, that they would be paid the same emoluments which are being paid to Stenographers Grade 'c' of the CSSS in praesenti and in future and that the respondents were acting arbitrarily in withholding the pay scale of Rs. 1640-2900 from the applicant. As regards the date from which the benefit of the scale of Rs. 1640-2900 should be given to the applicants in the said OA, the tribunal held that since the relief with regard to direction about payment in the scale of Rs. 1640-2900 was sought by the miscellaneous application seeking amendment in the original application and the said miscellaneous application was filed on 10/12/1993, the said benefit should be made available to the applicants with effect from 10/12/1993. Miscellaneous Application No. 931 of 1994 was filed by the applicants seeking modification of the said judgment of the tribunal dated 16/3/1994 and for a direction that the applicants may be put in the scale of Rs. 1,640-2900 with effect from 1/1/1986 notionally for the purpose of fixation of pay and not for the purpose of payment of arrears. The said miscellaneous application was, however, dismissed by the tribunal by the order dated 9/5/1994 on the view that the tribunal did not fix 1/1/1986 even for notional fixation and that the acceptance of the application would, in subsistence, amount to reviewing the judgment and that the judgment does not suffer from any error apparent on the face of the record. Another application, OA no. 1420 of 1994, which had given rise to Civil No. 8348 of 1995, was filed before the tribunal by the appellants in the said appeal. The said oa No. 1420 of 1994 was disposed of by the tribunal by order dated 5/12/1994 in the same terms as the order dated 16/3/1994 passed in OA no; 758 of 1989.