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2024 Supreme(Online)(CAT) 17781
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
SUNIL THOMAS, J, V.RAMA MATHEW, ACJ
P.P.Nandakumar – Appellant
Versus
Union of India – Respondent
Original Application No.180/00597/2023
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr.S.Radhakrishnan
For the Respondents: Mrs.O.M.Shalina, SCGSC [R1-5]
The applicant's financial upgrades under the ACP and MACP schemes were improperly allotted, justifying refunds due to previous pay miscalculations.
Headnote:This judgment addresses financial upgradation under the ACP and MACP schemes for a government employee, analyzing the applicable rules and prior decisions regarding pay fixation. The Tribunal finds the initial benefits were erroneously duplicated, thus concluding the applicant's grievances are justified and directing refunds of incorrect recoveries. The Tribunal outlines vital questions including eligibility for financial upgradations and recoveries post-service completion. The applicant's victories ensure equitable treatment regarding pay fixes.
| Table of Content |
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| 1. the applicant's pay advancements must align with prescribed acp and macp norms. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. key questions regarding acp eligibility highlight nuances in employment status and prior benefits. (Para 4 , 5) |
| 3. legal precedents guide recovery processes and confirm applicant's rights. (Para 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 4. misinterpretations led to unfounded claims for financial upgrades, necessitating rectification. (Para 9 , 10 , 11) |
| 5. tribunal's ruling ensures equitable financial treatment and mandates procedure corrections. (Para 12) |
ORDER
HON'BLE Ms.V.RAMA MATHEW, ADMINISTRATIVE MEMBER
The factual matrix is as follows :
The applicant was appointed as a Head Constable Trainee on 02.05.1990 and was posted on regular basis as a Constable in the scale of pay of Rs.825-1200 with effect from 02.01.1991. The pay of the RPF Personnel were equated with the pay of the Delhi Police personnel with effect from 04.12.1997 by order dated 01.12.1997 of the Ministry of Railways. Thus, the pay of a RPF Constable was revised to Rs.3050- 4590 with effect from 04.12.1997. On completion of 12 years of regular service the applicant was granted 1st financial upgradation under the ACP Scheme to scale of pay of Rs.3200-4900 ie., the scale of pay of Head Constable with effect from 02.05.2002. On 07.05.2004 the applicant was medically decategorized and declared fit in C1 and below and placed in supernumerary post. On 13.07.2005 he was posted as Office Clerk in the scale of pay of Rs.3050-4590 in the Personnel Branch and he joined duty on the same day itself. In the RPF since the applicant was drawing the basic pay of Rs.3880/- in the scale of pay of Rs.3200-4900 by virtue of the financial upgradation under the ACP Scheme, on joining at Personnel Branch his pay was fixed at Rs.3875/- + Rs.5/- (PP) with effect from 13.07.2005 in the original scale of pay of Rs.3050-4590 without reckoning the benefits of financial upgradation already received. He was granted financial upgradation under the ACP Scheme in the existing hierarchy in the scale of Rs.4500-7000 with effect from 15.07.2007 duly revising the pay already fixed.
2. The applicant had been found entitled for the 2nd financial upgradation under the MACP Scheme to the Grade Pay of Rs.4200/- based on the hierarchy of Grade Pays in PB Rs.9300-34800 from 02.01.2011 ie., on completion of 20 years of service. Subsequently he had earned normal promotion as a Senior Clerk in the Grade Pay of Rs.2800/- on 21.07.2016 and thereafter as Office Superintendent in the Grade Pay of Rs.4200/- from 20.07.2018, the Grade Pay which had already been allowed to him earlier under the ACP and MACP Schemes. Since the applicant had already been granted the pay fixation benefits, he was not given further pay fixation on his regular promotion to the post of Senior Clerk and Office Superintendent. On completion of 30 years of regular service the applicant was granted 3rd financial upgradation under the MACP Scheme to the Grade Pay of Rs.4600/- with effect from 02.01.2021.
3. Another employee Shri.Vinod.A.P., who was a Constable in the RPF and who was absorbed in an alternative post on medical decategorization submitted a representation on 13.08.2019 claiming stepping up of pay on par with the applicant herein who was his junior in the RPF. At the time of medical decategorization Shri.Vinod.A.P was posted as a Record Sorter in the pay scale of Rs.825-1200 on an alternative employment on 28.02.1996 as the pay scale of Constable post then was Rs.825-1200 due to which it was not permissible to post him as junior on an alternative employment as the scale of pay of Junior Clerk then was Rs.950-1500, which is higher than that of a Constable. It is to be noted that Shri.Vinod.A.P., was decategorized and granted alternative employment on 28.02.1996 before the rationalization of the rank structure and pay scales of Central Police Organizations and granting them parity with Delhi Police Service which came into effect only from 04.12.1997. It is
