N. J. JAMADAR, J.

1. Rule. With the consent of the parties, rule made returnable forthwith and heard finally.

2. This petition assails the legality, propriety and correctness of a judgment and order passed by the learned Vice-Chairman of the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, Mumbai Bench, in Original Application No.837 of 2016 ('OA'), dated 2nd February, 2017, whereby the OA filed by the Petitioners herein was dismissed.

3. The Petitioners had filed OA No.837 of 2016 before the Tribunal seeking declaration that 'Clause 2(b)(3) of the Government Resolution (GR) dated 1st April, 2010, (whereunder Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (“MACP Scheme”) was implemented), which provided that the grant of nonfunctional or analogous higher pay-scale given after putting in specified years of service, without there being any increase in the duties and responsibilities of the incumbents, would be treated as the 'first benefit' under MACPS', was not applicable to them. Consequently, the Petitioners had prayed that the Government Circular dated 13th June, 2016, whereby the second benefit under the MACP Scheme, already granted to the Petitioners, was withdrawn, be quashed and set aside.

4. For the sake of convenience and clarity the parties are hereinafter referred to in the capacity in which they were arrayed before the Tribunal.

5. Shorn of unnecessary details, the background facts can be summarised as under:

(a) Applicant no.1 is the Association of Sub-ordinate Service of Engineers. Applicant no.2 to 31 are the members of Applicant no.1 Association. The applicants were initially appointed as 'Junior Engineers'. Some of the applicants were recruited as 'Diploma-holder Junior Engineers'. The others fall in the category of 'unqualified Junior Engineers'.

(b) On 16th April, 1984, the Government resolved to confer the status of 'gazetted officers' upon the 'degree-holders' and other junior engineers. The degree-holder junior engineers were given the status of gazetted officers immediately. Whereas the diploma-holder and unqualified junior engineers were conferred the said status after putting in the specified years of service i.e. five years service for the junior engineers who had completed three years diploma, seven years for two years diploma-holders, and ten years for the unqualified junior engineers. Under the said GR, two different cadres were created. The degree-holder junior engineers were designated “Assistant Engineer Grade-II”. Whereas the diploma-holder and unqualified junior engineers were designated as 'Sectional Engineers'. Both the cadres i.e. Assistant Engineers Grade-II and Sectional Engineers were given the same pay-scale i.e. Rs. 600-30-750-40-950/-.

(c) The Government introduced Assured Career Progression Scheme (“ACP Scheme”) vide GR dated 20th July, 2001, to address, inter alia, the issue of stagnation. By the said GR, the erstwhile Time-Bound Promotion Scheme (“TBP Scheme”) was repealed. Vide GR dated 11th February, 2002, benefit of the said ACP Scheme came to be extended to the Section Engineers (applicants) after putting in 12 years service.

(d) With the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission Recommendation, the Government implemented MACP Scheme in terms of GR dated 1st April, 2010. It was brought into force with effect from 1st October, 2006. Under the said scheme the eligible employees/officers were entitled to 'second benefit' of the promotional pay-scale. However, the employees who had already been promoted twice were entitled to one benefit only. The first benefit was to be given after putting in 12 years service. The second was made admissible after 12 years of the grant of first benefit. Clause 2 (b)(3) provided that while considering the admissibility of the first benefit i.e. 'non-functional pay structure', extended to the employees, after putting in a specified years of service, without there being any increase in the duties and responsibilities, shall be reckoned as the 'first benefit' under t