CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL JODHPUR BENCH Original Application No.36/2015 Pronounced on : 01.01.2026 Reserved on : 25.11.2025 CORAM :

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAMESHWAR VYAS, MEMBER (J)

HON’BLE DR. AMIT SAHAI, MEMBER (A)

Sawai Ram S/o Sh. Basti Ramji aged about 60 years, resident of Qtr. No. 2253 D.S.Colony, Near Rotary Circle, Jodhpur, at present employed on the post of Chief Office Superintendent in Operating Branch, NWR, Jodhpur. …Applicant [By Advocate: Mr. M.S.Godara Vs.

1.Union of India through General Manger, HQ Office, North Western Railway, Malviya Nagar, Near Jawahar Circle, Jaipur – 17.

2.Divisional Railway Manager, North Western Railway, Jodhpur Division, Jodhpur.

3.Senior Divisional Personnel Officer, North Western Railways, Jodhpur Division, Jodhpur. ..Respondents [By Advocate: Mr. Rameshwar Dave

O R D E R

Per Mr. Rameshwar Vyas :

Being aggrieved by the communication dated 20^th January, 2015 (Annex.A/1) whereby, the grade pay of the applicant was revised from Rs. 4,800/- to Rs. 4,600/- based upon the order dated 24^th November, 2010 of the Railway Board, the applicant has preferred this O.A. to quash and set aside the above communication and pass a direction against the respondents to continue to pay the benefit of 3^rd MACP granted to him.

2. Facts of the case in brief are as under :

The applicant was initially appointed to the post of Office Clerk JITENDR on 19^th June, 1982 on compassionate grounds. It is the case of the applicant that the recruitment to the post of Senior Clerk through the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE) from amongst the serving graduates working as Clerks, cannot be counted as promotion for the purpose of granting upgradation under the MACP scheme. The respondents committed an error in treating his selection to the post of Senior Clerk as promotion depriving him upgradation under the MACP scheme.

3. During the arguments, learned counsel for the respondents submits that the controversy involved in this matter, is covered by the judgment passed by this Tribunal in the case of Jhunta Ram Vs. UOI & Ors. in OA No. 231/2018 on 19^th October, 2023 and other similar OAs. This Tribunal by following the judgment of Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court passed in Ramkaran Kumhar Vs. UOI & Ors., (D.B.Civil Writ Petition No. 3968/2008) on 31^st May, 2016, which specifically opined that, “where the rules specifically provides for promotion quota, may be to be filled in by way of Limited Departmental Competitive Examination, the promotions made by the method as aforesaid, has to be counted as promotion for the purpose of ACP Scheme”.

Learned counsel for applicant could not rebut the legal position in this regard. While deciding the Jhunta Ram’s case,this Bench has dealt with various judgments of Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court and other Hon’ble High Courts as well as some of this Tribunal’s orders and after referring various judgments, this Tribunal in Para 8 has observed as under:-

“^{8. After perusal of the above referred judgments, we feel that the issue} involved in this matter has already been decided by Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in Ramkaran Kumhar's case (supra) in which the Hon'ble Court delivered its judgment on 31.05.2016 after considering its earlier judgment passed in the matter of Har Govind Sharma's (connected with Bhanwarlal Regar's case) on 10.08.2015. Thereafter, in Dev Karan Mahala's case, also the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court observed that :

"12. In our opinion, the Tribunal has seriously committed an error in allowing original application relying upon the judgment of Har Govind (supra) which is now diluted by the subsequent decision of Division Bench judgment.........

Hence, the law enunciated by Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in Ramkaran Kumhar's case is binding precedent, which must be followed by us. The judicial propriety does not allow us to reexamine the issue involved in this matter after verdict given by Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in Ramkarn Kumhar's case (supra). The judgment rendered by Hon