Central Administrative Tribunal - Jabalpur
Jabalpur Distt. Jabalpur M.P vs The Union Of India on 26 November, 2013
Reserved
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL, JABALPUR BENCH,
JABALPUR
Original Application No.475 of 2011
Jabalpur, this Tuesday, the 26th day of November, 2013
Honble Mr. Justice Dhirendra Mishra, Judicial Member
Honble Mr. G.P.Singhal, Administrative Member
Abhay Ramesh Mendule, S/o Shri Ramesh Shamrao Mendule
Aged 45 years, working as Junior Technical Officer
SQAE (Electronics) Gun Carriage Factory, Jabalpur (M.P.)
P.O.-482011, R/o c/o Awadhesh Mishra, H.No. 1872
New Shobhapur Colony, PO-V.F.J. PIN 482009,
Jabalpur Distt. Jabalpur M.P. - Applicant
(By Advocate Shri Ram Shankar Yadav)
V e r s u s
1. The Union of India, Through the Secretary of Defence
Ministry (DGQA), South Block, Central Sectt.
DHQ PO New Delhi- 110011
2. The Director General of Quality Assurance,
Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) H Block,
New Delhi-110011
3. The Senior Quality Assurance Officer, (SQAE) (Electronics),
DGQA, G.C.F. Jabalpur 482011
4. The General Manager, G.C.F. Jabalpur (M.P.) 482011
5. The Joint Controller of Account (Fys), I/C Account Officer,
G.C.F. Jabalpur 482011 -Respondents
(By Advocate Shri Mohd. Amjad Ali, proxy counsel for Shri A.T.Faridee)
(Date of reserving the order: - 12.11.2013)
ORDER
By Dhirendra Mishra, JM.-
The grievance of the applicant in nut shell is that after his promotion on the post of Junior Technical Officer, SQAE (Electronics), he came from Chennai and resumed his duties in Gun Carriage Factory Jabalpur on 16.4.2007. The competent authority vide his order dated 28.5.2007 (Annexure A-1) has permitted him to retain the quarter at the previous place of his posting at Avadi Chennai, for a period of two months from 10.04.2007 to 09.06.2007 on normal license fee. As ordered vide letter dated 02.06.2007 (Annexure A-3), he vacated the accommodation in previous station and applied for allotment of suitable accommodation at Jabalpur vide Annexure A-4 dated 26.06.2007. However, no quarter was allotted to him and he was granted HRA with effect from April 2007. However, payment of HRA was discontinued from November, 2008. Later on, the respondents vide order dated 11.05.2010 (Annexure A-11) allowed the applicant to claim HRA with effect from 8th May,2010 after production of certificate of non-availability of Type-III quarter.
2. Applicant vide his application dated 07.06.2010 (Annexure A-12) requested for payment of HRA for the period from November, 2008 to April, 2010 and also filed Original Application No.13/2011 for the same, which was disposed of vide order dated 19.01.2011 (Annexure A-13) with a direction to the respondents to decide his claim for HRA for the aforesaid period within a time frame.
3. In compliance of the aforesaid order the respondents vide impugned order dated 18.03.2011 (Annexure A-14) have rejected the applicants claim for HRA for the aforesaid period by reference to circular of Ministry of Defence dated 06.10.2008, which provides that HRA would be admissible only on production of No Accommodation Certificate (for brevity NAC), as obtaining of NAC from the General Manager, Gun Carriage Factory is mandatory for drawl of HRA.
4. It is not in dispute that after the applicant joined his service on promotion at Jabalpur he was sanctioned HRA from April, 2007 and the same was abruptly discontinued in November 2008. HRA to the applicant was again allowed after production of NAC vide order dated 11.05.2010 (Annexure A-11) with effect from 8th May, 2010. There is nothing on record to show that the respondents asked the applicant to produce NAC of Type III quarter before discontinuing payment of HRA with effect from November, 2008. On the contrary from the documents filed by the applicant we find that the applicant vide his application dated 26.6.2007 (Annexure A-4) had applied for allotment of suitable Type-III accommodation. The respondents have also not disputed the pleadings in para 4(b) of the Original Application that HRA was paid to the applicant from April 2007, which was stopped from November,2008. It is now the case of respondents that suitable Type-III accommodation was not available for allotment to the applicant in November, 2008. From the record we also find that NAC was issued to the applicant vide letter dated 16.3.2009 (Annexure A-7). Therefore, in our considered opinion the respondents were not justified in discontinuing payment of HRA to the applicant w.e.f Nov.2008 simply on the ground that he did not produce NAC of Type-III quarter, particularly when the respondents did not issue any notice to the applicant for production of the NAC before discontinuing the payment of HRA.
5. In the impugned order the respondents have only contended that the Joint Controller of Accounts (Fys), GCF Jabalpur has not admitted the bill for want of NAC by reference to DGQAs letter dated 06.10.2008, which provides that HRA would be admissible only on production of NAC.
6. Since the respondents have already issued NAC to the applicant subsequently and on the basis of such certificate the respondents themselves are paying HRA to the applicant from May, 2010, denial of HRA for the period commencing from November 2008 to April,2010 is not justified.
7. Accordingly, we allow this Original Application and direct the respondents to pay the HRA to the applicant for the period commencing from November 2008 to April, 2010 at the admissible rate within a period of two months from the date of communication of this order. However, the applicant is not entitled for any interest. No costs.
(G.P.Singhal) (Dhirendra Mishra) Administrative Member Judicial Member rkv 3 Sub : HRA OA No.475/2011 Page 3 of 3