Tribunal upheld employees' entitlement to retrospective pay fixation from 1996, emphasizing equality under law for similarly situated individuals.

ORDER

Urmita Datta Sen, Judicial Member

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

i) “Declare the action of the respondents in giving the benefit of the replacement scales for Commissioners/ Superintendents Central Exercise/Superintendents of Customs/Appraisers, with effect from 21.04.2004, and not with effect from 01.01.1996, vide Office Memorandum No.F.No.6/37/98-IC dated 21.04.2004 (Annexure A-01) as arbitrary, discriminatory and thus illegal;

ii) Direct the Respondents to pay to the applicant Inspectors, Superintendents/Appraisers/Assistant Commissioners of Customs/Central Exercise (all retired) under Department of Revenue of Ministry of Finance replacement scale(s) viz. Rs. 6500 x 10,500 & Rs.7,500-Rs.12,000/- on notional basis from 01.01.1996 and actual basis w.e.f. 21.04.2004 with all consequential benefits as made vide F.No.C-18011/ASHIS CHAKRABORTY/2009 VNL/4743, dated 22.09.2023 including arrears of pay within a specified time limit;

iii) Direct the respondents to pay interest @ 12% per annum on the arrears on account of revision of pay;

iv) Quash and/or set aside the impugned office letters dated 25.11.2024, 15.05.2024, 06.06.2024, 10.06.2024, 20.02.2024, 19.02.2024, 20.03.2024, 10.07.2024, 16.07.2024, 19.02.2024, 01.03.2024, 27.12.2023, 01.08.2024, 02.07.2024, 12.01.2024, 01.08.2024, 02.07.2024, 02.01.2024, 10.05.2024, 11.01.2024, 04.04.2024;

v) Pass such other direction or directions order or orders as 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 were appointed mostly as Inspectors of Customs on different dates prior to 01.01.1996 in the then existing scale of pay of Rs.1640-Rs.2900 which was subsequently revised to Rs.2000-3200 and thereafter to Rs.5500-9000 (as per recommendation of Vth CPC). Subsequently they were promoted to the posts of Superintendent and some of them were further elevated to the posts of Assistant Commissioners/Deputy Commissioner.

(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 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 T