SATYAWIR SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE instant writ petition has been filed by the 44 Sub- Inspectors/Radio Operators and two Head Constables of the Indo Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP). Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that in the year 1999, on the recommendation of the 5th Central Pay Commission, the Government of India had formulated the Assured Career Progression Scheme granting employees a next higher scale of pay on completion of 12 and 24 years of regular satisfactory service in one force. In terms of this scheme, the petitioners were conferred the first financial upgradation consequent upon their completing 12 years of regular satisfactory service in the period. They continued to enjoy the benefits of this financial upgradation between the period 2002 to 2008.

(2.) THE grievance of the petitioners is that the respondents were considering introduction of the rank of the Additional Sub- Inspector in the combatised cadre in the Central Para Military Force. In this background, an order was passed on 10 th May, 2005 to allow the financial upgradation only to Head Constables in the rank of ASI (Rs.4,000 � Rs.6,000) in place of Sub Inspectors (Rs.5,500 � Rs.9,000). The respondents were under the impression that the force personnel had been given the financial upgradation from the scale of Head Constable to Sub-Inspector mistakenly. As a result of the order dated 10th of May, 2005, the ACP benefits given to Head Constables conferred earlier in the scale of Rs.5,500 � Rs.9,000 had been withdrawn/readjusted and they had been given ACP benefits in the pay scale of Rs.4,000 � Rs.6,000 and their emoluments were readjusted.

(3.) THE order of the court dated 29th September, 2011 in Parmal Singh (supra), which was filed in similar circumstances as the petitioners deserves to be considered in extenso and reads as follows:-