UNION OF INDIA Vs. MAHESH WASDEV

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In the present petition, the challenge is to order dtd. 17/7/2023 (Annexure P-2) passed by the Armed Forces Tribunal granting the benefit of one notional increment w.e.f. 1/7/2020 which was due to the officer concerned on the date when he retired i.e. 30/6/2020 after completion of one year of service on said date.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner argues that the grant of the said benefit to respondent by assuming that the officer has completed 12 months in service upto June, 2020 is factually incorrect as, the cycle when increment became admissible to of the respondent got changed in the year 2017 from Ist July, 2017 to 1/1/2017 by preponing the same and therefore, keeping in view the said preponement of the cycle of increment to January instead of July, as the officer concerned had not completed 12 months of service starting from January, 2020 till June, 2020 when he retired from service and therefore, the benefit of one notional increment which has been extended to the respondent by the Tribunal is based on wrong premises.

(3.) We have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and we were also provided with the assistance of Wing Commander Devi Menon, Directorate of Air Veteran through video conferencing.