A.V.KARUNAKARAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The review petitions are filed based on an order issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Railways (Railway Board), No.E(P&A)II/2008/RS-37 dated 27.01.2020, subsequent to our judgment.

(2.) The common judgment considered the stepping up of pay of admitted seniors who were promoted prior to 01.01.2006 as Senior Loco Inspectors, to make it at par with that of their admitted juniors promoted after 01.01.2006. The anomaly was occasioned since there was a fast track promotion to the post of Senior Loco Inspectors from Loco Pilot (Goods). The regular feeder category was Loco Pilot (Mail), which was a post in the hierarchy of promotions, the feeder category to which was Loco Pilot (Passenger). Loco Pilot (Goods) was the feeder category for promotion to the post of Loco Pilot (Passenger). Hence, seniors in the cadre of Loco Pilot (Goods) were promoted prior to 01.01.2006. Their juniors, through the regular promotional hierarchy, reached the post of Loco Pilot (Mail) and then got promoted to the post of Loco Pilot Supervisors.

(3.) We found that the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Union of India v. O.P.Saxena [(1997) 6 SCC 360] and Surendra Kumar v. Union of India and Ors .[(2005) 2 SCC 313] specifically held such stepping up of pay to be permissible only if the promotion to the higher post were from the same lower post. In the present case, admittedly those who were promoted from the post of Loco Pilot (Mail) had a higher pay in that post and in such circumstance was fixed with a higher pay in the promotion post of Senior Loco Inspectors. We, hence, rejected the claim made by the seniors who were the applicants before the Tribunal.