Union Of India (Uoi) vs Arun Jyoti Kundu And Ors.

2. Claim before the Tribunal was made on the basis that the scales of pay of the respondents herein, working as typists in the Eastern Railways is at par with that of Lower Division Clerks. The Fifth Pay Commission had recommended that typists should be treated at par with clerks and hence the typists have a legitimate right to claim pay at scales enjoyed by Senior Clerks, Head Clerks and Overseers Grade II in respect of the posts of Senior Typists, Head Typists and daily typists respectively. Instead of implementing the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission, the appellants have fixed the pay of the respondents at lower scale. When typists were at par with the ministerial staff in the matter of promotion, there was no justification for not treating Senior Typist, Head Typist and the Chief Typist at par with Senior Clerk, Head Clerk and Overseer Grade II. The claim was opposed by the Union of India by pointing out that the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission regarding pay had been duly implemented to the extent accepted but that the cadre of typists had not been merged in the cadre of clerks. When a grievance was put forward, the question was examined by the Anomaly Committee and in respect of English Typists and Hindi Language Typists, relief was granted with effect from 31.1.2000 that it was not within the purview of the Central Administrative Tribunal to re-fix the pay scales or to issue directions to merge the cadre as sought for by the respondents and that the applications were liable to be dismissed.

4. The Fifth Central Pay Commission had gone into the pay scales of various categories of employees in the Railways also. The Pay Commission had generally recommended equivalent revised scales of pay for the existing scales of pay except where it had thought it necessary to effect improvement on the basis of recruitment qualifications, nature of work and so on. On the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission the Government of India had revised the scales of pay of its employees with effect from 1.1.1996. When certain organizations of employees made complaints of alleged anomalies in the revised pay scales, the Government of India had constituted Anomalies Committees at the national and departmental levels. The typists in the Railways had also complained of certain anomalies and those grievances were considered by the Departmental Anomalies Committee. On the basis of the report of the Anomalies Committee, typists in English and Hindi language were given relief but with effect from 31.1.2000. It is being dissatisfied with this that the typists approached the Central Administrative Tribunal, Calcutta.

15. We are, therefore, of the view that the Central Administrative Tribunal has exceeded its jurisdiction in issuing the directions it has issued and the High Court was in error in not setting them aside. We, therefore, allow these appeals and setting aside the decision of the High Court and that of the Central Administrative Tribunal dismiss the original applications filed before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Calcutta. We direct the parties to suffer their respective costs.