IMPORTANT POINTS
Special duty allowance granted to persons posted and serving in NE in 1983. Extended to CRPF in 1987 with a rider that HQ of the person should also be in NE. HQ has no nexus with purpose and object of encouraging and retaining persons in NE. Order of 1987 held unconstitutional.

JUDGMENT

ASHOK BHUSHAN, J.

1. Director-General, CRPF, the Union of India and Additional-Director-General, group centre, CRPF, has come up in this appeal questioning the judgment of Allahabad High Court dated 14.02.2008 by which judgment the High Court dismissed Writ Petition filed by the appellant upholding the order of Central Administrative Tribunal dated 05.11.2007 by which claim of Special (Duty) Allowance of the respondent was accepted.

2. Brief facts of the case are:

The Government of India, Ministry of Finance vide its Office Memorandum dated 14.12.1983 decided to extend certain benefits to the officers in service in North Eastern Region of the country. One of the benefits which was decided to be extended to those employees/officers was to grant Special (Duty) Allowance on posting to any station in the North Eastern Region. The said benefits were subsequently extended to the employees of CRPF. The respondents 2, 3 and 4 were appointed as pharmacists in CRPF on 08.09.1989, 28.06.1988 and 11.06.1981 respectively and they were posted in different places in India including North Eastern Region. A letter dated 31.03.1987 was issued by Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, according to which the benefit of O.M. dated 28.12.1983 read with O.M. dated 29.10.1986 is to be extended to BSF, CRPF & CISF personnel posted and serving in North Eastern Region having their Headquarters in that region. The respondents submitted an application regarding sanction of Special (Duty) Allowance. The respondent case was that he is posted in North Eastern Region and is entitled to Special (Duty) Allowance he being posted in unit Johrat in Assam. The representation was replied by letter dated 15.04.2005 of office of the commandant stating that since Headquarter of Personnel is in Shivpuri/Gwalior, hence, person is not entitled for Special (Duty) Allowance. Letter from Deputy-Inspector-General of Police dated 11.07.2005 was sent to the Commandant, CRPF, informing that although Director-General by his letter dated 12.03.1992 has sent proposal to Ministry of Home Affairs that Special (Duty) Allowance should be given to all the battalions whose Headquarters are not in the North East but the battalions are deployed in the North East. It was further stated that the consent of Ministry of Home Affairs has not yet been received. On 3rd August 2005, Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order on the subject:

"No. AI3/InstAccts3/PFIII

Government of India

Ministry of Home Affairs

North Block, New Delhi

Dated, the 3rd August, 2005

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

SUB: ALLOWANCE AND FACILITIES FOR CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SERVING IN THE STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES OF NORTH EASTERN REGION, ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS AND LAKSHADWEEP.”

3. The Order clarified that allowance to be admissible to the personnel who were actually working in the North East Region. The respondents filed Original Application No.778 of 2006 before Central Administrative Tribunal claiming grant of Special (Duty) Allowance as per the Order dated 14.12.1983. The Central Administrative Tribunal by its judgment and Order dated 05.11.2007 directed for sanction of Special (Duty) Allowance to the applicants for the period they have actually worked in the North Eastern Region. Against the Order of Tribunal, appellant filed a Writ Petition in Allahabad High Court which was dismissed on 14.02.2008 aggrieved against which Order the present appeal has been filed.

4. The issue in this appeal is a very limited issue i.e. whether the respondents were entitled for Special (Duty) Allowances for the period during which they were posted in North Eastern Region from the date of their posting in the North Eastern Region or only with effect from 03.08.2005 when the Office Memorandum was issued by the Government of India which allowed the claim of CPF personnels.

5. Learned Counsel for the appellant submits that the claim of respondents for Special (Duty) Allowance was earlier rejected since,