Senior entitled to pay stepping up at par with junior in same cadre under FR 22 when no DoP&T exceptions apply, removing pay anomaly.

ORDER

Hon’ble Dr. Anand S. Khati, Member (A)

The present O.A. has been filed by the applicant, who retired as Section Officer from the respondent – Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), challenging the order dated 31.08.2021, whereby the respondent has not acceded to his request for stepping up of pay at par with his junior, viz., Mr. D.R. Paunikar, Section Officer.

2. At the outset, learned counsel for the applicant submitted that the applicant is not challenging the seniority list but only seeking stepping up of pay at par with his junior, Mr. D.R. Paunikar.

3. The brief facts of the case, as narrated by the learned counsel for the applicant, are that the applicant had initially joined as LDC on 14.08.1986 in the pay scale of Rs.3050-4590 (pre-revised) in the ICMR Headquarter, New Delhi and promoted as UDC w.e.f. 01.05.1995, whereas Shri D.R. Paunikar, who belongs to ST category, joined as LDC on 12.07.1996 and promoted as UDC w.e.f. 08.05.2001. As per the final seniority list of UDCs dated 15.11.2007, the applicant is placed at Sr.No.52 and Shri D.R. Paunikar at Sr.No.71. Subsequently, the applicant was promoted as Assistant on ad hoc basis w.e.f. 05.01.2009 and regularized as such w.e.f. 01.07.2010. He was also granted 2nd MACP and 3rd MACP w.e.f. 01.09.2008 and 14.08.2016, respectively, and his pay was fixed from 05.01.2009 in PB-2 in the pay scale of Rs.9300-34800 + GP 4600/- vide order dated 14.02.2019.

3.1 In supersession of the earlier order, the regular promotion of Assistants have been made from 2001 vide office order dated 02.09.2019, in implementation of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi’s Order dated 16.05.2016 passed in WP(C) No. 5089/2007 and in pursuance of Hon’ble Commission of SC letter No.G-3/HFW- 75/2010/SSW-III dated 07.03.2017, a Review DPC was held to review the earlier promotion of Assistants in the pay scale of Rs.1640-2900 (pre-revised), now Pay Level-7 Rs.44900-142400 of pay matrix, whereby the applicant was promoted as Assistant for the select list year 2010 (Sr.No.58). Whereas Shri D.R. Paunikar was promoted as Assistant on regular basis w.e.f. 01.08.2013 vide office order dated 06.01.2020 (Sr.No.5). Subsequently, the respondent-ICMR issued Final Common Seniority List of Section Officers in respect of ICMR Hqrs as well as its Institutes/Centre/Hqrs. Office on 25.01.2010, wherein the applicant’s name reflects at Sl.No.93 and Shri D.R. Paunikar’s name at Sr.No.97 (Annexure A-6).

3.2 The applicant preferred a representation dated 30.01.2020 pointing out that his junior, Shri D.R. Paunikar, is drawing more pay than him and there is an anomaly, with a request to upgrade his pay upto the level of pay being drawn by his junior.

3.3 The respondent issued common pay fixation order dated 12.05.2020 of regularly promoted Section Officers in terms of 7th CPC, whereby the pay of the applicant (Sr.No.22), who was promoted to the post of Section Officer on 01.12.2019, was fixed as Rs.64,100/- (Level 8 Rs.47600-151100/-), with a mention that he will continue to draw same pay of Rs.64,100/- as he was drawing 3rd MACP. On the other hand, the pay of his junior viz. Shri D.R. Paunikar, who was promoted as Section Officer w.e.f. 31.12.2019, was fixed as Rs.74,300/- (Level 8 Rs.47600-151100/-) and will continue to draw the same pay as he was also drawing 3rd MACP. The applicant retired from the post of Section Officer on 30.09.2021.

3.4 In response to representation dated 30.01.2020, vide order dated 31.08.2021, the applicant was informed that his request for stepping up of pay was not acceded to in terms of DoP&T O.M. dated 26.10.2018. According to him, the instructions of aforesaid O.M. are not applicable i