(Reserved on 14.11.2025)

CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL NAINITAL CIRCUIT BENCH, NEW DELHI (This the 4thday ofDecember, 2025)

Original Application No.76/2025 Hon’ble Mr. M. Swaminathan, Member (Judicial)

Hon’ble Mr. Anjani Nandan Sharan, Member (Administrative)

1. Jagat Chand (Male), aged about 50 years, S/o Shri Rami Chand, R/o 101, Sera, District Pithoragarh.

2. Brajmohan Singh Airy (Male), aged about 49 years, S/o Shri Keshar Singh, R/o Church Road, Siltham, District Pithoragarh.

3. Ganesh Chandra Chamoli (Male), aged about 52 years, S/o Govind Ram Chamoli, R/o Badripur Road, Manjghosh Colony, Jogiwala, District Dehradun.

…..Applicants By Advocate: Shri Vinay Bhatt Shri Mohd Shafy V E R S U S

1. Union of India, through Secretary, Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication, Daak Bhawan, New Delhi.

2. Secretary, In the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India, New Delhi.

3. Chief Postmaster General, Uttarakhand Circle, Dehradun.

4. Assistant Postmaster General (Staff), Uttarakhand Circle, Dehradun.

5. Director, Postal Services, Uttarakhand Circle, Dehradun.

. . .Respondents By Advocate: Shri T. C. Aggarwal

O R D E R

By Hon’ble Mr. M. Swaminathan, Member (Judicial)

Heard Shri Vinay Bhatt, learned counsel for the applicants and Shri T. C. Aggarwal, learned counsel for the respondents.

2. This Original Application, u/s 19 of the Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985 has been filed seeking following reliefs:-

“i) To issue an order or direction, quashing the letter dated 27-05- 2024, issued by the respondent no. 5 (Annexure No. 2 to this application) and the consequential order dated 22-10-2024, passed by the respondents no. 3 & 4 (Annexure No. 1 to this application).

(ii) Any other relief which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper, may kindly be awarded in favour of the applicant and against the respondents.

(iii) Award the cost of the petition in favour of the applicant and against the respondents.”

3. Facts of the case as submitted by the applicants are:

3.1 The applicant 1 & 2 were initially posted as Assistant Superintendent of Post Offices at Haldwani and Almora in the pay matrix of Level 8 on 27.08.2018 and 21.10.2018 respectively. The applicant 3 was initially posted as Investigation Inspector (Technology), Circle Office, Dehradun in the pay matrix of Level 8 on 18.01.2019. A dispute was raised by some employees before the CAT, Hyderabad Bench by filing OA No. 506/2021 for denying the benefits of clause 1(X)(e) of the resolution dated 29.08.2008. The Central Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad Bench, vide its judgment dated 02.12.2021 passed in Original Application No. 506/2021, directed the respondents to grant the grade pay of Rs. 5400/- to the applicants from the date they were eligible with consequential benefits. The said judgment was rendered in rem so that other similarly placed employees were not compelled to knock the door of the Tribunal.

3.2 As per the provisions of clause 1(X)e of the resolution dated 29.08.2008, after completing four years of regular service in Level-8, the applicant 1, 2 & 3 were granted the benefit of NonFunctional Upgradation in the Grade Pay Rs 5400 in Pay Matrix Level-9 w.e.f. 27.08.2022, 21.10.2022 and 18.01.2023 respectively.

3.3 The applicants are the members of the All India Association of Inspector and Assistant Superintendent Posts, which has been admitted by the respondents. Therefore, the applicants were granted the benefits of NFU as per the judgement delivered by CAT, Hyderabad Bench.

3.4 Subsequently, a writ petition bearing no. 43155 of 2022 was filed before the Hon’ble High Court of Telangana challenging the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad Bench order dated 02.12.2021 and the Hon’ble High Court vide its judgment dated 03.01.2023, without interfering with the order passed by the Tribunal, held that the Tribunal ought not to have rendered the judgment in rem when the affected persons were not before the Tribunal. Therefore, the relief was granted to