Eligibility for financial upgradation is contingent on fulfilling established educational qualifications; lacking such qualifications disallows claims for parity in benefits.

ORDER :

P. Velmurugan J.

1.1. WMP No.26994 of 2023 seeking to permit the petitioners to file a single writ petition, stands ordered on payment of separate Court fee.

1.2. WMP No.33763 of 2025 seeking to dispense with the production of certified copy of the order in O.A.No.310/01736 of 2016 dated 03.01.2023 issued by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Madras Bench, stands ordered.

2. The petitioners in both these writ petitions have sought for issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to call for the records on the file of the 1^st respondent and quash the order passed in O.A.No.1726 of 2016 dated 03.01.2023 as illegal, incompetent and contrary to law with a consequential direction to the respondents to grant the petitioners with the 2^nd Financial Upgradation applying the Assured Career Progression Scheme in the scale of Rs.15,600-39,100 with a Grade Pay of Rs.5,400/- from the due date. Since the relief sought for in both the writ petitions is one and the same, they are taken up together and disposed of by this common order.

3. The petitioners herein approached the Central Administrative Tribunal, Chennai Bench with O.A.No.1736 of 2016 seeking to quash the order passed by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner dated 19.09.2016 and to consequently direct the respondents to grant 2^nd Financial Upgradation applying the ACP Scheme in the scale of pay of Rs.15600-39100 with a Grade Pay of Rs.5400/- from the respective due dates with arrears. It is the case of the petitioners that they were initially appointed by direct recruitment as Data Entry Operators (Grade-B) between the years 1982-1983 in the services of the respondents and as on 01.01.1996, they were drawing pay in the pay scale of Rs.4500-7000 with a Grade Pay of Rs.2800/- as per the 5^th Pay Commission. As per the Assured Career Progression Scheme (for short, the ACP Scheme), the petitioners were granted with 1^st financial upgradation in the scale of pay of Rs.5000-150-8000 with a Grade pay of Rs.4200/- in PB-2. The pay scale of Rs.5000-8000 belongs to the post of Junior Supervisor, which is the next promotional post for Data Entry Operator Grade 'B'. Further, as per the 6th Pay Commission, the pay scales of Junior Supervisor and Senior Supervisor were merged and the pay was rationalised in the scale of Rs.9300-34800 PB-2 with a Grade pay of Rs.4200/-. The next avenue of upgradation to the petitioners is to the post of Assistant Director in PB-3 i.e., 15600-39100 with a Grade Pay of Rs.5400/-. The respondents, rather than applying the ACP scheme for 2^nd financial upgradation in the pay scale of Rs.15600-39100 with Grade Pay of Rs.5400/-, granted the petitioners with the next grade pay of Rs.4600/-in the same scale of pay, as per the Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (for short, the MACP Scheme), though they have completed more than 24 years prior to the introduction of the MACP Scheme. Therefore, the petitioners made several representations and also filed O.A.No.1203 of 2014, in which the Department had accepted to grant the Grade Pay of Rs.5400/- to all the petitioners. However, only 9 persons in the above mentioned O.A had been granted with the GP of Rs.5400/-. Aggrieved by the same, the remaining 28 persons filed another O.A.No.1000 of 2016 praying the Tribunal to direct the respondents to grant them similar benefits as was extended to their colleagues vide Order No.A.33011/3/2015-AD-III dated 18.01.2016, which came to be disposed of vide order dated 08.06.2016 with a direction to the respondents to consider the representations made by the 28 persons