MES Procedure Exam not mandatory for ACP; uncommunicated below-benchmark ACRs cannot deny financial upgradation; 3rd MACP admissible on 30 years service completion post 2nd ACP.

ORDER (ORAL)

Per: Justice S.Sujatha ...........Member(J)

The applicant has filed this application under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 seeking the following reliefs:

“(a) direct the Respondents to grant I ACP, & II ACP & III MACP to the applicant by counting the services rendered by the applicant in Beas Project with eligible pay with all consequential benefits in interest of justice and equity. and

b) pass any other order or direction as deemed fit by this Hon’ble Tribunal including an order for award of cost in the interest of justice and fair play.”

2. The applicant claims that initially he was appointed as Section Officer (Mechanical) in Beas Construction Board (BCB), Sunder Nagar (H.P.) on 13.12.1972. Subsequent to the judgment of the Hon’ble Apex Court in Jaswant Singh vs. Union of India and others – AIR 1980 SC 115, BCB was declared a wing of the Central Government and employees like applicants were treated as Central Government employees and declared as quasi permanent after expiry of three years period from initial date of appointment. The applicant was declared as quasi permanent with effect from 14.03.1976. In terms of Punjab Reorganisation Act, the applicant was surrendered along with the other employees to surplus cell in December, 1984 and was redeployed and transferred with other employees in the respondent department to the post of Superintendent E/M Grade II in the scale of Rs.425-700 (RPR 1973) as per the letter dated 09.05.1985 of the Deputy Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Personnel and Training Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and Pension, Department of Personnel and Training, New Delhi and accepted in MES as per the letter dated 27.05.1985 of the Engineer-in-Chief, AHQ, New Delhi. The applicant along with other employees was relieved from BCB to report to Chief Engineer, Southern Command, Pune. Vide the order of Superintending Engineer, BSL Admn & Accts. Circle Sundernagar HP. On redeployment , the applicant was given option either to switch over to Central Pay Scale or to continue drawing BCB pay scale. The applicant opted for Central Pay scale. The applicant had filed OA No.339/2008 before this Tribunal seeking a direction to the respondents to fix his pay in the pay scale of Rs.2000-60-75-2600-75-3200-100-3500/- with effect from 01.01.1986, which is the corresponding pay scale Rs.700-25-850-30-1000-40-1200/- in RPR as revised from time to time and to draw all the consequential benefits of arrears from 01.01.1986. The said OA was allowed by this Tribunal in terms of the order dated 07.04.2011 whereby the direction was issued to the respondents to extend to the applicant all the benefits that were granted to the applicants in OA No.431-CH/2006, specifically with reference to Shri Karnail Singh Jinda, who happens to be junior to the applicant in BCB. The said order passed by this Tribunal was challenged by the respondents before the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka in Writ Petition No.11237/2013 (S-CAT), which came to be dismissed vide order dated 13.03.2020. Consequent to which the applicant filed Contempt Petition No.57/2020 in OA No.339/2008 alleging non-implementation of the order of this Tribunal, which came to be disposed of vide order dated 04.01.2022, noticing the compliance of the directions issued in OA No.339/2008 however, reserving liberty to the petitioner to claim the benefits of 1^st ACP, 2^nd ACP and 3^rd MACP by filing a fresh original application. Hence this OA.

3. Learned Counsel Smt.Kumari M., representing the applicant submitted that the 1^st