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2002 Supreme(SC) 813
Supreme Court Of India
Union of India
Versus
G. Veerasamy
Decided on : August 14, 2002
The disciplinary authority has the power to fix the pay after imposing a punishment of reduction to a lower time-scale, as per rule 1322 of the Indian Railway Establishment Code.
Headnote:
Reduction to Lower Time-Scale - Railway Servant - The court held that the disciplinary authority has the power to fix the pay after imposing a punishment of reduction to a lower time-scale, as per rule 1322 of the Indian Railway Establishment Code. The tribunal's reasoning of considering fixing pay after reduction as double punishment was not accepted, and the order was set aside.
Fact of the Case:
An employee of the railways was put under suspension and the disciplinary authority imposed a penalty of compulsory retirement, which was modified by the appellate authority to a reduction to a next lower scale for a period of eighteen months. The respondent approached the central administrative tribunal, which struck down the pay fixation but upheld the rest of the appellate authority's order.
Finding of the Court:
The court set aside the tribunal's decision and directed that the judgment will not debar the respondent from getting the benefit of the tribunal's orders, with no refund if any payment has been made.
Issues: The main issue was the interpretation of rule 6 of the Railway Servants (Discipline and appeal) Rules, 1968, and rule 1322 of the Indian Railway Establishment Code, regarding the power of the disciplinary authority to fix the pay after imposing a punishment of reduction to a lower time-scale.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the disciplinary authority has the power to fix the pay after reduction to a lower time-scale, as per rule 1322 of the Indian Railway Establishment Code, and rejected the tribunal's reasoning of considering fixing pay after reduction as double punishment.
Final Decision: The appeal was disposed of with no costs, and the court directed that the judgment will not debar the respondent from getting the benefit of the tribunal's orders, with no refund if any payment has been made.
( 1 ) THIS appeal by special leave arises from the judgment of the central administrative tribunal, Madras bench in original application no. 750 of 1991. Respondent an employee of the railways was put under suspension and proceedings were drawn up. The disciplinary authority accepted the findings of the inquiry officer and imposed a penalty of compulsory retirement. An appeal being filed, the appellate authority modified the punishment and the order is quoted below:". . . Keeping in view his past service and purely on humanitarian ground, the penalty is modified as one of reduction to a next lower scale viz. Rs. 1200-2040 for a period of eighteen months. His pay is fixed at Rs. 1500/- in scale of Rs. 1200-2040. "
( 2 ) AGGRIEVED by the said order, the respondent approached the central administrative tribunal and the tribunal passed the following order:" (1) The sentence "his pay is fixed at Rs. 1500 in the scale of Rs 1200-2040" in the order dated 16. 8. 1990 of the appellate authority is struck down. The order of the appellate authority is otherwise upheld. "
( 3 ) TO appreciate the contentions of the parties we quote the following relevant rule 6 of the Railway Servants (Discipline and appeal) Rules, 1968 which reads as under: 6 Penalties.- (1) The following penalties may, for good and sufficient reasons and as hereinafter provided, be imposed on a railway servant, namely. (i) censure; (ii) withholding of his promotion for a specified period; (iii) recovery from his pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused by him to the government or railway administration by negligence or breach of orders; (iv) withholding of increments of pay for a specified period with further directions as to whether on the expiry of such period this will or will not have the effect of postponing the future increments of his pay; major penalty; (v) reduction to a lower stage in the. time-scale of pay for a specified period, with further direction as to whether on the expiry of such period, the reduction will or will not have the effect of postponing the further increments of his pay; (vi) reduction to a lower time-scale of pay, grade, post or service, with or without further directions regarding conditions of restoration to the grade or post or service from which the railway servant was reduced and his seniority and pay on such restoration to that grade, post or service;
( 4 ) WE also extract rule 1322 of the Indian railway Establishment Code. It reads as follows:"1322. (F. R.) 28 pay on reduction to lower post.- The authority which orders the reduction of railway servant as a penalty from a higher to a lower post or time-scale, may allow him to draw any pay, not exceeding the maximum of the lower post, or time-scale which it may think proper. Provided that the pay allowed to be drawn by a railway servant under this rule shall not exceed the pay which he would have drawn by the operation of rule 1313 (F. R. 22) read with clause (b) or clause (c) as the case may be, of rule 1320 (F. R. 26 ).
( 5 ) LEARNED counsel for the appellant union of India has submitted that reading clause 6 of sub-rule 1 of rule 6 with rule 1322 of the Indian Railway Establishment code together, the disciplinary authority has power after imposing a punishment of reduction to lower time-scale to fix the pay. Learned counsel for the respondent in reply has submitted that the tribunal has rightly held that so doing amounts to double punishment.
( 6 ) THE language of clause 6 of sub-rule 1 of rule 6 of the rules, in our opinion, is clear. After reduction to the lower time scale the disciplinary authority has to fix the pay in terms of rule 1322 of the Establishment code. The establishment code clearly empowers the disciplinary authority to allow to draw any pay not exceeding the maximum of the lower post or time scale. We are unable to accept the reasoning of the tribunal which amounts to double punishment inasmuch as unless pay is fixed after reduction he may be entitled onl
