The court affirmed the principle of equal treatment under Article 14, ordering the extension of retroactive pay benefits to applicants similar to counterparts in other departments.

ORDER

Urmita Datta (Sen), Judicial Member:

The applicants have preferred this O.A. under Section 19 of Administrative Tribunals Act , 1985 seeking the following reliefs:-

a) An order quashing and/or setting aside the general rejection vide Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board of Indirect Taxes communications dated 25.07.2023 at Annexure A-3 to the Original Application;

b) An order quashing and/or setting aside the communications individually made to the applicants being dated 14.12.2023, 07.12.2023, 21.02.2024, 15.11.2023, 16.02.2024, 19.02.2024, 16.01.2024, 12.12.2023, 12.12.2023 and 28.12.2023 at Annexure A-4 collectively;

c) An order directing the respondents to grant the benefits of upgraded Pay Scales granted by the Office Memorandum dated 21.04.2004 to the applicants w.e.f.01.01.1996 notionally with all consequential monetary benefits instead of w.e.f. 21.04.2004 as have been granted to the holders of the equivalent/analogous/comparable posts of Income Tax Department who were also granted the upgraded Pay Scales on the basis of the same Office Memorandum dated 21.04.2004;

d) An order directing the respondents to produce/cause production of all relevant records;

e) Any other order or further order/orders as to this Hon’ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper to meet the ends of justice.”

2. Brief facts of this case are as under:-

(a) The applicants are all retired Superintendents/Assistant Commissioners of Central Excise and Customs (now known as Central GST & Central Excise). According to the applicants, they were denied the benefits of enhanced pay scales notionally w.e.f. 2 01.01.1996 and actually w.e.f. 21.04.2004, which were granted to the Income Tax Officers of Income Tax Department as well as the holders of the equivalent posts in Central Excise and Customs namely, Superintendent (Central Excise), Superintendent (Customs Preventive), Inspector (Central Excise), Examiner (Customs) and Preventive Officers (Customs)etc.

(b) After implementation of the Vth CPC w.e.f. 01.01.1996, parity between the Inspectors of CBI/IB and the Inspectors of Central Excise & Customs and equivalent posts, which had existed till the time of IVth CPC was disrupted and it significantly affected all the promotional posts in the hierarchy viz. Superintendents and Assistant Commissioners in the matter of scale of pay.

(c) The pay scale of the Inspectors in the Department prior to 1996 was on par with similar posts in the organized Accounts Department i.e, Senior Accounts Officer, Comptroller & Auditor General Department, Divisional Accountant, Labour Department, Section Officer, Central Secretariat Staff (CSS) Department, Assistant Grade, Railway Department, Accounts Staff, Income Tax Department, which were classified as Grade-C Non-Gazetted prior to 1996.

(d) Pursuant to the Vth Central Pay Commission in the year 1996, all the posts similar to the posts of Inspector of Central Excise & Customs Department were placed in the pay scale of Rs.5500-175- 9000/- as a result of which the parity between the Inspectors of CBI/IB and the Inspectors of Central Excise and Customs which had existed prior to 01.01.1996 was disrupted and it significantly affected all the promotional posts in the hierarchy viz. Superintendents and Assistant Commissioners in the matter of scale of pay.

(e) All India Federation of Central Excise Officers Association had filed O.A.No.45 of 1992 and O.A.No. 63 of 1997 before the Guwahati Bench of this Tribunal seeking payment of revised pay scales. The Central Administrative Tribunal, Guwahati Bench vide orders dated 19.01.2001 in O.A.No.45 of 1992 and O.A.No. 63 of 1997 held that there was hostile discr