UNION OF INDIA Vs. NARENDRA GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) This appeal is directed against the Judgment and Order of the Division Bench, High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Writ Petition No. 7301/02 dated 3.2.2006 whereby the writ petition filed by the Union of India, appellant herein impugning the order dated 20.12.2001 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as the 'Tribunal') in Original Application No. 669/1997. By that order the respondents have been held entitled to the allowance as envisaged in D.O.P.T. letter dated 31.3.1987. Direction had also been issued to grant the allowance to the respondents @ 30 per cent of the emoluments w.e.f. 1.1.1986 and @ 15 per cent w.e.f. 9.7.1992.

(3.) Before the Tribunal it was the case of the appellants that O.M. dated 31.3.1987 and consequentially O.M. dated 9.7.1992 were not applicable to Respondents as they were members of the permanent faculty of the Institute of Armament Technology. This plea of the Appellants was rejected by the Tribunal. The Tribunal accepted the claim of the respondents that they worked in the Naval College of Engineering, as civilian employees belonging to the Defence Research and Development Services (hereinafter referred to as 'DRDS'). They were aggrieved by the fact that they were not being paid training allowance @ 30 per cent of the emoluments w.e.f. 1.1.1986 and @ 50 per cent of the emoluments w.e.f. 9.7.1992 in as much as they were employees in the I.A.T. as Scientists but are detailed as faculty members for training other government officials. It was claimed that the training allowance was admissible to them as part of an incentive scheme of the Government of India set out in Department of Personnel, O.M. dated 31.3.1987. The Tribunal relied on Part 2(i) of the aforesaid O.M. which is as follows: