Central Administrative Tribunal - Gauhati
Shri Prahlad Kumar And Ors vs Admin on 7 October, 2021
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CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
GUWAHATI BENCH
Original Application No. 046/00270/2021
Date of Order: This, the 7th day of October 2021
THE HON'BLE MR. NEKKHOMANG NEIHSIAL, MEMBER (A)
1. Shri Prahlad Kumar,
S/o Late Ajay Kumar,
Stenographer, PIS No. 160319,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
2. Shri Nickshi Aier,
S/o Late Imma Lepzuk,
AD/NP, PIS No. 123532,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
3. Shri Suresh Pal Singh,
S/o Shri G.P. Singh,
AD/Tech, PIS No. 107094,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
4. Shri Ajit Singh,
S/o Late Kitab Singh,
AD/SO, PIS No. 105004, SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
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5. Shri Anshul Gaurav Gupta,
S/o Late Harish Chandra,
DCIO, PIS No. 126450,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
6. Shri Temjensoa AO,
S/o Shri Mapumeren AO,
DCIO, PIS No. 126667,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
7. Shri P.K. Jha,
S/o Late S.K. Jha,
DCIO, PIS No. 108313,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
8. Shri Praveen Singh Tomar,
S/o Shri R.R. Singh Tomar,
DCIO, PIS No. 126430,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
9. Shri Amitabha Gupta,
S/o Late Ashis Bhusan Gupta,
DCIO, PIS No. 126077,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
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10. Shri Subhash Chand Saini,
S/o Late Surender Singh Saini,
SO, PIS No. 103237,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
11. Shri Ashish Kumar,
S/o Shri Arun Kumar Sinha,
PS, PIS No. 126955,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
12. Shri Rohit Dubey,
S/o Shri M.K. Dubey,
ACIO-I/Tech, PIS No. 130839,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
13. Shri Panmei Silas,
S/o Shri Ningao Panmei,
ACIO-I/G, PIS No. 140419,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
14. Shri Gaurav Bagrecha,
S/o Chandra Kumar Bagrecha,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 181407,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
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15. Shri Ankit Goswami,
S/o Shri Girish Kumar Goswami,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 181029,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
16. Shri Shivam Arora,
S/o Dr. Prem Prakash,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 181172,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
17. Shri Sunil Pandey,
S/o Shri Lal Babu Pandey,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 190808,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
18. Shri Pranav Ratna Awasthi,
S/o Shri Rakesh Ratna Awasthi,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 190828,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
19. Shri Ankit Kumar Shukla,
S/o Shri Arvind Shukla,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 190984,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
O.A. No. 046/270/2021
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20. Shri Kushal Pratap Singh,
S/o Shri Bhoj Pal Singh,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 200026,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
21. Shri Shivendra Pratap Singh,
S/o Shri Narendra Bahadur Singh,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 190844,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
22. Shri Deepak Kumar,
S/o Shri Indradeo Prasad,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 190694,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
23. Shri Devershi Shukla,
S/o Shri Ajay Shukla,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 181140,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
24. Shri Anuj,
S/o Shri Satyendra Shukla,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 181040,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
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25. Shri Jyoti Prakash Gupta,
S/o Rajendra Prasad Gupta,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 190579,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
26. Shri Chandan Kumar,
S/o Shri Akhilesh Yadav,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 181011,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
27. Shri Amit Kumar Nehra,
S/o Shri Anand Prakash,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 181337,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
28. Shri Apil Kumar Choudhary,
S/o Rajendra Prasad Choudhary,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 190458,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
29. Shri Rohit Thapa,
S/o Shri Thakur Singh,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 180978,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
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30. Shri Deepak Kumar,
S/o Smt. Gauri Shankar,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 106824,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
31. Shri Ashu Tomar,
S/o Shri Rishi Pal Singh,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 190460,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
32. Shri T.N. Sainath,
S/o T. Srinivasalu,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 170577,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
33. Shri Gaikhamdin Marangamei,
S/o Shri Kamudun Marangamei,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 143429,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
34. Shri K. Pankathung Kikon,
S/o Shri K. Hopen Kikon,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 142559,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
O.A. No. 046/270/2021
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35. Shri Siya Vijayesh Prabhakar,
S/o Vijay Kumar Rajak,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 180992,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
36. Shri Anmol Sharma,
S/o Shri Mahendra Kumar Sharma,
ACIO-II/G, PIS No. 181059,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
37. Shri Partha Sarathi Bandyopadhyay,
S/o Smt. Gauri Shankar Bandyopadhyaya,
ACIO-II/Tech, PIS No. 107412,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
38. Shri Narayan Chandra Majhi,
S/o Late B.N. Majhi,
ASO, PIS No. 123431,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
39. Shri Rishikesh Ranjan,
S/o Shri Narendra Kumar Singh,
ASO, PIS No. 135387,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
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40. Shri Piyush Verma,
S/o Shri Vijay Bahadur Verma,
PA, PIS No. 130229,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
41. Shri Jaykant Paswan,
S/o Shri Devendra Paswan,
PA, PIS No. 170161,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
42. Shri Ram Khilari Meena,
S/o Smt. Radha Kishan Meena,
JIO-I/MT, PIS No. 109928,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
43. Shri Subrata Biswas,
S/o Shri Chittaranjan Biswas,
JIO-I/Tech, PIS No. 124411,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
44. Shri Rajesh Kumar,
S/o Shri Phuladhari Mahto,
JIO-I/Tech, PIS No. 109460,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
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45. Shri Satish Kumar,
S/o Shri Bhola Choudhury,
JIO-I/Tech, PIS No. 160089,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
46. Shri Amit Kumar Chettri,
S/o Shri Sundar Chettri,
JIO-II/MT, PIS No. 132730,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
47. Shri Durvesh Kumar,
S/o Shri Prahlad,
JIO-II/Tech, PIS No. 190662,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
48. Shri Deepak Dagar,
S/o Shri D.N. Dagar,
JIO-II/Tech, PIS No. 180679,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
49. Shri Danish Fahim,
S/o Shri Fahimuddin,
JIO-II/Tech, PIS No. 190285,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
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50. Shri Tarun Kumar Jha,
S/o Late Nirendra Nath Jha,
SSA, PIS No. 124946,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
51. Shri S.K. Das,
S/o Shri S.C. Das,
SSA, PIS No. 125145,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
52. Shri Balwant Kumar,
S/o Shri Nagendra Prasad,
Stenographer, PIS No. 200016,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
53. Shri T. Wanyong,
S/o Shri H. Tongnyie,
SA/G, PIS No. 133213,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
54. Smt. H. Kalika Achumi,
W/o Shri Kughavi Chishi,
SA/G, PIS No. 143377,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
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55. Shri Vikehieto Mekro,
S/o Shri R. Ketsore Mekro,
SA/G, PIS No. 143371,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
56. Smt. H. Lily Yimchunger,
W/o Shri T. Wangtong Yimghu,
SA/G, PIS No. 143736,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
57. Smt. Mary Lotha,
D/o Nayama Lotha,
SA/G, PIS No. 133929
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
58. Shri Gopal Tamang,
S/o Shri Harka Bahadur Tamang,
SA/MT, PIS No. 170162,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
59. Shri Ashish Lohchab,
S/o Shri Devender Lohchab,
JSA, PIS No. 200464,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
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60. Shri Manoj Kumar,
S/o Shri Kanhi Ram Yadav,
JSA, PIS No. 200463,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
61. Shri Rohitash Kumar,
S/o Shri Ganga Ram,
JSA, PIS No. 201086,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
62. Shri Pankaj,
S/o Shri Ramesh Kumar,
JSA, PIS No. 210135,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
63. Shri P. Ngon,
S/o Shri Puchon,
MTS, PIS No. 143652,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
64. Smt. Lalam Changsan,
W/o Late Sesem Changsan,
MTS, PIS No. 200483,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
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65. Smt. Neisalhou- U,
W/o Late Vitseilie Angami,
MTS, PIS No. 14341,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
66. Shri Jamyang Gyalttsen,
S/o Late P. Thupten,
SO, PIS No. 123480,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
67. Shri Sanjeev Banduni,
S/o Shri Kashi Ram,
SO, PIS No. 135010,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
68. Shri R.R. Bharti,
S/o Shri Sita Ram Prasad,
PA, PIS No. 127552,
SIB Office, Post Box No. 04,
Kohima, Nagaland- 797001.
........Applicants.
-AND-
1. The Union of India,
Represented by the Secretary
Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi- 110001.
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2. The Secretary,
Ministry of Finance,
Department of Expenditure,
North Block, Lok Nayak Bhawan,
New Delhi- 110001.
3. The Director,
Intelligence Bureau,
Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi-1.
4. The Joint Director,
Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau,
Ministry of Home Affairs,
Government of India,
Kohima, Nagaland, Pin- 797001.
5. The Assistant Director/E,
Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau,
Ministry of Home Affairs,
Government of India,
Kohima, Nagaland, Pin- 797001.
.....Respondents
By Advocate: Sri R. Hazarika, Addl. CGSC
O.A. No. 046/270/2021
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O R D E R (ORAL)
NEKKHOMANG NEIHSIAL, MEMBER (A):-
This O.A. has been taken up through video conferencing.
2. In this O.A., applicants are asking for the following reliefs:-
"8.1] The Hon'ble Tribunal be pleased to set aside and quashed the impugned letter no. 20/Adm©/2018(2)-II-560 dated 09.06.2021.
8.2] That the Hon'ble Tribunal be pleased to direct the respondents to grant the benefit of HRA at the rate of 'B'/'Y' class city rate to the applicants who are/were working under the administrative control of Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India, Kohima, Nagaland from the date of their actual posting at Kohima, Nagaland from the date of their actual posting at Kohima, Nagaland with arrear monetary benefit.
8.3] Costs of the application.
8.4] Any other relief (s) to which the applicant is entitled as the Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper."
3. This is regarding payment of HRA at the rate of B/Y class city rates. An impugned letter No. O.A. No. 046/270/2021 17 20/Adm(c)/2018(2)-II-560 dated 09.06.2021 was issued wherein the respondent authorities took stand that the HRA at the stipulated rates was only applicable to those who are parties in different litigations and cannot be extended to non-petitioners/all similarly placed employees in general. Sri M. Chanda, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the applicants drew the attention of the court on the order of this Tribunal dated 13.03.2020 passed in O.A. No. 046/00091/2020 wherein a direction has been issued upon the respondents that the case of the applicants in that O.A. should be verified by the respondent authorities and if they are found to be similarly situated, they should be granted the benefits as claimed in that O.A. with all consequential benefits within a period of two months from the date of receipt a copy of this order.
4. Sri R. Hazarika, Addl. CGSC was available online on behalf of the respondent authorities. He suggested that similar direction can be given to the respondents to verify whether the present applicants are similarly O.A. No. 046/270/2021 18 situated and if found to be so, they can consider to give same benefits to the applicants in this OA.
5. After considering submissions of both sides, respondents are hereby directed to verify the claim of the applicants in this O.A. to verify as to whether they are similarly situated in the O.A. No. 046/00091/2020 and if found so, same benefits may be extended to them within a period of two months from the date of receipt a copy of this order.
6. O.A. stands disposed of to the extent as indicated above. No order as to costs.
7. It is made clear that the Tribunal does not express any specific views on the merit of the case.
(NEKKHOMANG NEIHSIAL) MEMBER (A) PB O.A. No. 046/270/2021