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(d) Employees of the Union Territories and
(e) Police personnel.

2.1 In the year 1975, ISRO which was established in the year 1969 was converted into a Government Department. Thereafter, in the year 1977, respondent no.1-Union of India introduced a scheme for Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) and Compulsory Arbitration in the Department of Space (DOS). The JCM of the Department of Space (DOS) has been covering all the Group D & C employees. Assistants and Personal Assistants serving in headquarters of DOS Bengaluru and employees serving in the administrative and para-medical categories were not brought within the JCM scheme. In the year 1993, the DOS decided to bring within JCM scheme all those personnel C/SCA/6397/2014 JUDGMENT holding scale of pay of Rs.1640-2900 classified as Group-B non-gazetted posts and passed the order to that effect on 29.7.1993. In November, 1993, the Government of India framed "Central Civil Services Rules, 1992 for granting recognition to various service associations. In the year 1994, respondent no.1 initiated process of verifications of membership for the purpose of recognition of service association and invited applications from eligible associations. In the year 2000, for the first time verification process was taken up and all those employees in Group-B (non-gazetted) were permitted to become member of any one of the service associations and to take part in JCM. In the year 2007, petitioner no.1-original applicant no.1 association came to be formed and respondent no.1 declared that all group B non-gazetted employees holding unrevised scale of Rs.1690-2900 are eligible to participate in JCM. The said association was accorded recognition in the year 2008. In May, 2008, one seat for the purpose of JCM allotted to petitioner no.1-original applicant no.1 and petitioner no.2-original applicant no.2 came to be nominated as a member of petitioner no.1- original applicant no.1-association. In September, 2008, respondent no.1 upgraded the pay scale of Assistants and Personal Assistants, 11 employees serving in DOS, serving in DOS C/SCA/6397/2014 JUDGMENT secretariat from existing 5500-9000/- to 6500- 10500/- w.e.f.15.9.2006. All those Group-B (non- Gazetted) employees serving in the various units/centres of ISRO and drawing the pay scale of Rs.6500-10500/- were not even allowed to become either a prime member or even an office bearer of the service association, thereby depriving them of their right to espouse their common interests in regard to their service conditions. In September, 2008 respondent no.1 decided to revise scale of pay of all posts in Grade A, B, C and D and granted to them the grade pay of Rs.4800/-. Accordingly status and the designation did not undergo any change and all those employees falling within aforesaid equated posts still continued to be group-B (non- gazetted) employees in ISRO. In the year 2009, some centres of DOS/ISRO raised doubts regarding eligibility of employees for participation in JCM under CCS (RSA) Rules, 1993. Thereafter, in the year 2010, respondent no.1 issued clarification that all those categories of employees by designation who were covered under JCM prior to implementation of CCS (RP) Rules, 2008, would continue to be eligible for participation in JCM until next verification of membership under CCS (RSA) Rules, 1993. On 1.5.2012, leader staff side of the Department Council of JCM requested for allowing participation of existing staff side C/SCA/6397/2014 JUDGMENT members with Grade Pay of Rs.4800/- (non- Gazetted) in the departmental council. On 7.5.2012, respondent no.1 clarified that grade pay of Rs.4800/- are allowed to participate in the JCM, the organization would not be able to exclude them in future. On 11.5.2012, respondent no.1 issued common letter conveying its inability to agree to the request made by Leader, staff side to all recognized associations including petitioner no.1-original applicant no.1 association. In September, 2012, the petitioners- original applicants came to know that VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram has made a request for allowing employees in grade pay of Rs.4800/- to participate in JCM and the respondent no.1 came out with a communication that employees in grade pay upto 4600/- only will be eligible for participation in JCM irrespective of the designations held by them and its request for allowing the employees in grade pay of Rs.4800/- for participation in JCM cannot be acceded to. The said decision is applicable to members of petitioner no.1-original applicant no.1 association who are group-B (non-gazetted) employees and currently drawing grade pay of Rs.4800/-. On 1.11.2012, petitioner no.1 association was unanimously resolved to initiate appropriate legal proceedings and accordingly filed O.A.No.492 of 2012. On 28.1.2014, the C/SCA/6397/2014 JUDGMENT Tribunal dismissed the said application.

"20. We have carefully considered the entire facts and the submissions made by both the sides. The Joint Consultant Machinery was introduced by the Government of India to provide a forum for redressal of the grievances of employees and is a voluntary scheme.
After the ISRO became a regular department, it had also introduced scheme of JCM. As it is an admitted fact that in DOS right from the beginning the eligibity of the employees for participation in JCM process specifies employees of a scale of pay. Initially, it was stipulated as Rs.1640-2900 which was subsequently revised to Rs.5500- 9000/- and as per the Vth CPC with Grade C/SCA/6397/2014 JUDGMENT Pay of Rs.4200 in PB-2 after VIth CPC. The Respondents however, have allowed employees with the Grade Pay of Rs.4600/- to participate in the JCM process. Even though the applicants have contended that ISRO is not an Industrial Establishment and they are equivalent to CSS Cadre as per rules, hence, there should be no applicability or pay scale in their case, the fact remains that right from the beginning when Group `B' non-gazetted employees were covered under JCM on the request of the staff side the scale of pay has been specified in the case of Group `B' (Non Gazetted) employees and it has not been introduced all of a sudden. The stipulation of pay scale towards eligibility of the Group `B' non gazetted employee had never been questioned so far by the employees' unions and has been accepted by the staff side all along. In fact, there was a request from the staff side for further relaxation in the pay scale to the respondent organization. This only go to prove that the fact that the Group `B' employees of the particular scale are entitled to participate in the JCM process have been accepted all along including the Applicant No.1 association. As such, the applicant's contention that pay scale in case of Group `B' non gazetted employees should not be applied does not appear justified.