Central Administrative Tribunal - Bangalore
Nagaraja K vs M/O Health And Family Welfare on 21 August, 2023
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OA.No.170/00513/2020/CAT/BANGALORE
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
BANGALORE BENCH, BENGALURU
ORIGINAL APPLICATION NO.170/00513/2020
DATED THIS THE 21ST DAY OF AUGUST, 2023
CORAM:
HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE S. SUJATHA, MEMBER (J)
HON'BLE MR. RAKESH KUMAR GUPTA, MEMBER (A)
K. Nagaraja,
S/o late M.N. Krishna Rao,
Aged about 52 years,
Working as Assistant Gr.III
(earlier as Manager-cum-Salesman in
AIISH Departmental Canteen,
Department of Clinical Services,
All India Institute of Speech & Hearing,
Mysore 570 006 .... Applicant
(By Shri B.S. Venkatesh Kumar, Advocate)
Vs.
1. Union of India
Represented by Secretary to Government,
Department of Health and Family Welfare,
Nirman Bhavan, III Floor,
'A' Wing, New Delhi 110 001
2. The Director,
All India Institute of Speech & Hearing (AIISH),
Manasa Gangotri,
Mysore 570 006
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OA.No.170/00513/2020/CAT/BANGALORE
3. The Administrative Officer,
All India Institute of Speech & Hearing (AIISH),
Manasa Gangotri,
Mysore 570 006
4. The Director of Canteens,
Department of Personnel & Training,
North Block,
New Delhi 110 001 ...Respondents
(By Shri Sayed S. Kazi, ACGSC)
O R D E R (ORAL)
PER: JUSTICE S. SUJATHA, MEMBER (J)
This application is filed by the applicant under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 seeking the following reliefs:
"(a) Call for records of the case from the respondents and on perusal
(b) Quash and set aside the impugned communications viz. letter No. SH/PL/OA No. 170/00064/2017/2019-20 dated 28.05.2019 (Annexure A1) and letter SH/PL/A.07/2020-21 dated 29.09.2020 (Annexure A4) both passed by 2nd respondent as arbitrary, unjust and unsustainable.
(c) Issue a consequential direction to the respondents to grant appropriate pay scale as he has been already declared as regular employee from the date of his appointment applicable to regular employees and subsequently grant the ACP/MACP to which he is due and 3 OA.No.170/00513/2020/CAT/BANGALORE further to draw and disburse the arrears of pay and allowances upon grant of such benefits.
(d) Grant such other relief/s as this Hon'ble Tribunal deems fit to grant to the applicant in the circumstances of the case including an order as to costs of this litigation since he has been made to knock the doors of this Hon'ble Tribunal repeatedly."
2. The applicant has been agitating for grant of appropriate pay scale to him. The respondents having after unsuccessfully contesting the order of this Tribunal passed in OA No. 305/2011 before the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka as well as the Hon'ble Supreme Court granted only partial relief to the applicant. The representation submitted by the applicant in this regard has been disposed of sans granting relief in full, hence, this OA.
3. Learned counsel Shri B.S. Venkatesh Kumar representing the applicant submitted that before coming into force the recommendations of 6th CPC, the applicant was holding the post of Manager-cum-Salesman. The post is equivalent to the post of Manager-cum-Accountant and it is a solitary post. As per DOPT OM dated 22.12.2004, the said post carried pay scale of Rs. 5000- 8000 and the said scale had been granted to one Shri A.N. Chatterjee as can be seen from the RTI information provided to the 4 OA.No.170/00513/2020/CAT/BANGALORE applicant. After coming into force the 6th Pay Commission recommendations, the scale of Rs. 5000-8000, Rs. 5500-9000 and Rs. 6500-10500 were merged and a common pay scale carrying Grade Pay of Rs. 4200 was granted to the employees. Therefore, the applicant is entitled to Grade Pay of Rs. 4200 with effect from 01.01.2006 and MACP with Grade Pay of Rs. 4600 with effect from 03.10.1991 since the original date of appointment of the applicant is 03.10.1991. Further, the applicant is entitled to all arrears of pay and allowances from the date he became eligible for the same.
4. Learned counsel Shri Sayed S. Kazi representing the respondents submitted that the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) canteen is not at present registered with the Director of Canteens. Further, the canteen is not functioning at present and have been outsourced. Even in terms of Model Recruitment Rules contained in DOPT OM dated 22.05.2013, the pay scale adopted before the implementation of SIU recommendations and the pay scale prescribed on the recommendations of the SIU with effect from 22.12.2004 for Rs. 3050-4590 remains the same as Rs. 3050-4590 which corresponds 5 OA.No.170/00513/2020/CAT/BANGALORE to Pay Band-1 i.e. Rs. 5200-20200 plus Grade Pay Rs. 1900 which has been extended to the applicant while re-designating him as LDC in the Grade Pay of Rs. 1900. The nomenclature of the post of LDC is changed as Assistant Grade III presently. This Tribunal in OA No. 305/2011 had directed the respondents to extend all the service benefits to the applicants therein by treating them as the regular employees of AIISH with effect from their date of appointment. They will be entitled for consequential benefits like fixation of pay on par with regular employees of AIISH of comparable status. The case of Shri. A.N. Chatterjee cannot be made applicable as the same relates to a different department - All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIHPH). Accordingly, seeks for dismissal of the application.
5. We have carefully considered the submissions of the learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the material on record.
6. OA No. 407/2008 filed by the applicant along with others was disposed of directing the 1st respondent to interact with the finance ministry and pass appropriate orders for implementing the judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court in letter and spirit (Writ 6 OA.No.170/00513/2020/CAT/BANGALORE Petition No. 6189-7044 and 8246-55 C.K. Jha and Others and P.N. Sharma and Others) and grant the appropriate benefits to the employees of the departmental canteen. Finally, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued orders dated 01.03.2011 stating that the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure had intimated the Ministry that the DOPT orders dated 23.01.1992 are not applicable to the employees of the departmental canteen attached to the central autonomous bodies. Being aggrieved, the applicant filed OA No. 305/2011 along with others before this Tribunal challenging the order dated 01.03.2011 passed by the Respondent No. 1 inter alia seeking a direction to the respondents to extend all the service benefits to the applicants by treating them as regular employees by regularizing their services and grant all the arrears of pay, ACP and other service benefits. This Tribunal in OA No. 305/2011 quashed the said order dated 01.03.2011, directing the respondents to extend all the service benefits to the applicants by treating them as regular employees of AIISH with effect from the date of their appointment. They will also be entitled for consequential benefits like fixation of pay on par with regular employees of AIISH of comparable status.
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7. The said order was confirmed by the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka in Writ Petition No. 39335/2012 (DD: 14.12.2012). Contempt Petition No. 71/2012 filed by the applicant and others came to be dismissed granting four weeks' time to comply with the orders passed in OA No. 305/2011 recording the submissions made on both sides that SLP filed against the order of the Hon'ble High Court has been dismissed.
8. The question of implementation of the scheme as per the OM issued by DOPT dated 22.12.2004 regarding implementation of SIU recommendations for the employees of the departmental canteen needs to be dealt with in the context of the departmental canteen not functioning at present. As per Schedule II of Rules and Regulations and Bye Laws of AIISH in the category of Group C for the post of Lower Division Clerk, pay structure (Pay Band plus Grade Pay) is Pay Band-1 Rs. 5200-20200 plus Grade Pay Rs. 1900). For departmental canteen staff - Manager-cum-Salesman, the pay structure (Pay Band plus Grade Pay) is the same i.e. Pay Band - 1 Rs. 5200-20200 plus Grade Pay Rs. 1900. This Tribunal has made it clear inasmuch as comparable status of the applicant is concerned in OA No. 305/2011 observing that the applicants are 8 OA.No.170/00513/2020/CAT/BANGALORE entitled for all consequential benefits like fixation of pay on par with regular employees of AIISH of comparable status. The prayer of the applicant to extend higher pay scale with reference to one Shri A.N. Chatterjee of AIIHPH is, therefore, not comparable. The pay scale adopted before implementation of SIU recommendations and the pay scale prescribed on the recommendations of the SIU with effect from 22.12.2004 corresponds to Pay Band-1 Rs. 5200 - 20200 plus Grade Pay Rs. 1900 which has been extended to the applicant while re-designating him as LDC in the Grade Pay of Rs. 1900. The nomenclature of the post of LDC has been changed as Assistant Grade III presently. Further, it is not in dispute that the applicant has been awarded 1st MACP in pay scale of Rs. 4000- 100-6000 with effect from 3.10.2003 and 2nd MACP in Pay Band-1 Rs. 5200-20200 plus Grade Pay Rs. 2800 with effect from 03.10.2011 and 3rd MACP in Pay Band-2 Rs. 9300-34800 plus Grade Pay 4200 in October, 2021.
9. In OA No. 64/2017 filed by the applicant, the Official Memorandum dated 04.01.2016 issued by the 2nd respondent - AIISH - was challenged inter alia seeking a direction to the respondents to consider the case of the applicant as per the 9 OA.No.170/00513/2020/CAT/BANGALORE representation regarding ACP in the revised pay scale of Rs. 5000- 8000 as has been extended to Shri Chatterjee at Calcutta and to extend all monetary benefits and other reliefs. The said OA was disposed of by this Tribunal vide order dated 01.08.2018 directing the respondents to dispose of the representation dated 26.11.2015 submitted by the applicant, within two months time with a speaking order. In compliance with the order passed by this Tribunal in OA No. 64/2017, the impugned order dated 28.05.2019 has been issued during the pendency of the contempt proceedings in CP No. 26/2019 before this Tribunal. The Minutes of the Meeting of the Internal Administrative and Finance Committee (IAFC) was sent to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India which has conveyed its concurrence to the recommendations of the IAFC. Since the departmental canteen is not functioning at present, the applicant has been treated at par with other employees of AIISH
- LDC (appropriate to the pay scale at the time of regularization in terms of AIISH OM dated 01.10.2013). The same has been reiterated in the Annexure-A4, OM dated 29.09.2020. Considering the reasons assigned, we find no fault with the same. 10
OA.No.170/00513/2020/CAT/BANGALORE
10. For the reasons aforesaid, OA being bereft of merit, stands dismissed. No order as to costs.
(RAKESH KUMAR GUPTA) (JUSTICE S. SUJATHA)
MEMBER (A) MEMBER (J)
/ksk/