UNION OF INDIA Vs. C. CHANDRA KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Writ Appeal is preferred by the appellants-BRO against the Judgment and Order dated 18.02.2020 passed in WP(C) No. 1537/2015 by the learned Single Judge.

(2.) The case in brief is that the respondent as the petitioner before the learned Single Judge is a Diploma holder in Engineering and had joined the appellant's organization on 19.06.1990 as an 'Overseer'. Subsequently, he was re-appointed as Superintendent B/R-II after due selection on 20.08.1994. The 5th CPC revised pay scales had recommended the pay scale by Rs. 5,000/- to Rs. 8,000/- for all posts carrying minimum direct recruitment qualification of Diploma in Engineering. The said recommendation of the 5th CPC for revision of pay came into effect from 01.01.1996 and the same was accepted by the Government. Although, the post of Overseer (Civil) was the feeder post for promotion to the higher post of Superintendent Grade-II, the next pay commission i.e. the 6th CPC recommended the posts of Overseer be upgraded and merged with the promotional post of Superintendent B/R-II. However, the recommendations of 5th CPC, although accepted by the Government was never extended to either the posts of Overseer (Civil) or the post of Superintendent Grade-II. In the 6th CPC, the issues relating to the post of Overseer (Civil) as well as the Superintendent Grade-II were specifically dealt with by recommending the pay scale of Rs. 5,000/- to Rs. 8,000/- and that the same be paid to both the posts. It was also recommended that the post of Overseer be upgraded and merged with the higher post of Superintendent B/R-II and that the combined cadre be extended the scale of pay to Rs. 5,000/- to Rs. 8,000/- at the entry level. When the recommendations were made, the petitioner was already holding the post of Superintendent Grade-II.

(3.) Under the circumstances, the respondent as the petitioner before the learned Single Judge claimed that he ought to have been given the benefit of the revised pay scale of Rs. 5,000/- to Rs. 8,000/- as recommended by the 5th CPC and the 6th CPC. Being denied, the recommended pay scale, the petitioner initially filed the writ petition before the Madras High Court vide WP(C) No. 10758/2008. A Single Bench of the Madras High Court vide order dated 03.01.2011 allowed the writ petition by directing the respondents to revise the pay of the petitioner in the light of the 5th and 6th CPC report from 01.01.1996 and 01.01.2006 respectively and also to grant the consequential arrears as may be admissible. However, the said order passed by the learned Single Judge of the Madras High Court came to be reversed by a Division Bench of Madras High Court vide Order dated 21.08.2013 on the count that the Madras High Court did not have the territorial jurisdiction to entertain the writ petition. The respondent as the petitioner thereafter filed the writ petition before this Court. The appellant as the respondents resisted the claims of the petitioner by filing their counter affidavit wherein it was contended that the retrospective effect given by the 6th CPC in its recommendation, w.e.f. 01.01.1996 was only for the purposes of pay fixation. However, the actual benefits were to accrue only w.e.f. 01.01.2006. The appellant-BRO as the respondent before the learned Single Judge, contended that the 6th CPC did not specifically recommend the payment of arrears and therefore the actual benefit was given to the respondent-petitioner w.e.f. 01.01.2006. The appellants also contended that the claim made by the petitioner is sufficiently belated to enable him to claim any relief and on the principle enunciated by the Apex Court in the case of Tarsem Singh (supra), the appellant contended that any claim for arrears ordinarily would be for a period of 3(three) years prior to the date of filing the writ petition. The learned Single Judge vide the judgment impugned allowed the writ petition preferred by the respondent as the petitioner and the appellants herein were directed to grant revised pay scale of Rs. 5,000/- to Rs. 8,000/- with arrears w.e.f. 01.01.1996 in terms of recommendation of the 5th CPC and corresponding arrears of benefit w.e.f. 01.01.2006 in terms of recommendation made by the 6th CPC to the post of Superintendent B/R Grade-II, which was accepted by the Department on 25.02.2009.