Senior IPS officer entitled to apex pay scale under next below rule from date junior in selection panel appointed to DGP post, preventing salary anomaly despite post-specific nature.

ORAL ORDER

(Per Hon’ble Dr. Lata Baswaraj Patne, Member (Judl.)

1.The applicant has filed this OA, seeking the following relief:-

“1) To Set aside the Government of India, Ministry of Home, vide No.16011/15/2016 IPSII dated 3-11-2016 as being illegal, violative of Articles 14 and 16 of Constitution of India and also the Orders of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India;

2) Direct the Respondent No.3 to re-fix the salary of the applicant in fixed grade of Rs.80,000/- from 13-11-15 when the salary of his junior R-4 was fixed in fixed grade of Rs.80,000/-;”

2. The case of the applicant, who, belongs to 1981 batch of Indian Police Service (for short “IPS”) of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Cadre, is that he was one of the senior-most candidates for consideration for appointment as regular DGP (HoPF), for the newly formed State of Telangana, but the Government of Telangana chose his Junior, i.e., Respondent No.4, who belonged to 1982 batch, and posted him as DGP (HoPF) on 13/11/2015. As on that date, the applicant and R-4, who was junior to him, were drawing salary in the pay scale of Rs.75000- 80000/-. The Government of Telangana, by its order, dated 13-11-2015, fixed the salary of R-4 in the fixed scale of Rs.80000/-, but did not re-fix the salary of the applicant in the said pay scale on par with his junior.

3. The applicant submits that Respondent No.3 forwarded his representation to the Government of India, who, while admitting that the Hon'ble Supreme Court has upheld the similar contention, refused his request. Refusal of the Government of India, Ministry of Home, vide No.16011/15/2016 IPSII, dt. 03.11.2016, is not only arbitrary, but also amounts to disobedience and contempt of the orders of the Hon'ble Apex Court. The applicant contends that it is an accepted principle that a senior cannot draw lesser salary than his junior, and, whenever a junior's salary is fixed in a higher grade, salary of his senior has also to be fixed in the higher grade, on par with his junior, as per the Next Below Rule.

4. The applicant cited the order of the Allahabad Bench of this Tribunal, in OA No.681of 2011 (Aloke Bihari Lal v.s State of Uttarakhand & Others), wherein similar relief has been granted by the Tribunal. The applicant has also relied upon the order of the Principal Bench of this Tribunal, in O.A. No.823 of 2012 (R.N.Ravi vs. Union of India & Anr.), wherein, it was held that, following the principle of next below rule, the applicant therein was entitled to the apex scale of Rs.80.000/- with retrospective effect from the date his juniors were granted the said pay scale. A challenge against the said order was negatived by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court, vide order, dated 25-02-2013.

5. The applicant has further submitted that the Chandigarh Bench of this Tribunal, allowed similar case vide OA NO 705/CH/2012, on the basis of the decision of the Principal Bench of this Tribunal, in O.A. No.823/2012, which was also upheld by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court. The applicant has further contended that, yet, in another case vide OA No. 1807/2009, when Shri JK Khanna (1974 batch of Bihar), who was working as DGP Cum Officer on Special Duty, Bihar, approached the Principal Bench of this Tribunal, for fixing his pay in the fixed grade, on par with his junior, Dr. D.N. Gautam, IPS, on his appointment as DGP (HoPF) Bihar, the Principal Bench, by an order, dated 7.12.2009, directed to grant profor