GRANTING OF MACP ON PROMOTIONAL HIERARCHY:A STEP FORWARD:

Delhi High Court dismisses the NCERT appeal:

NCERT had appealed in the Hon'ble High Court Delhi against judgment for granting MACP on promotional hierarchy(OA 864-2014) by Principal CAT. Now, Delhi High Court had dismissed the NCERT appeal on 14.07.2014. Order dated 14.07.2014 is given below:

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

  W.P.(C) 3608/2014
  
  NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH and TRAINING
  ..... Petitioner

  Through: Mr. Anand Nandan, Adv.

  versus

    OM PRAKASH and ORS ..... Respondents

  Through: None.



  CORAM:

   HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S. RAVINDRA BHAT

   HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIPIN SANGHI

  
   O R D E R

   14.07.2014
  

The petitioner/NCERT is aggrieved by an order of the Central  Administrative Tribunal (hereinafter called ?CAT?) dated 12 March, 2014  whereby the respondents? claim to be placed in the pay scale `9300-34800/- with grade pay of `5400/- was directed to be considered.

  
 The NCERT submits - his counsel argues- that the CAT fell into  error in making the impugned directions at the first hearing. It was  submitted that the CAT should not have directed the grant of relief once  it was brought to its notice that the NCERT, on 26 November, 2013, had  consciously considered and rejected the claim of higher pay scale.

The impugned order of the CAT is premised upon the respondents? entitlement to the pay scale claimed by them which, in turn, was based on  a judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in CWP 19387/2011.That  judgment was not interfered with by the Supreme Court even though SLP  (CC) 7467/2013 was preferred. The NCERT?s rejection of the respondents?

  claim for the higher pay scale appears to be solely based on the absence of any DOPT instructions pursuant to the Punjab High Court?s orders.  Having regard to these circumstances, this Court is of the opinion that  since there is no direction to grant pay scale, the NCERT should pass a  reasoned order indicating its reasons for denying the pay scale claimed  by the respondents. In other words, its reasons cannot merely be absence  of DOPT instructions, but have to be more substantial, upon application  of mind to the judgments and directions of the Punjab and Haryana High  Court, as endorsed by the Supreme Court in its orders.

  In view of the above, the impugned order does not call for any
  interference.

  The Writ Petition is accordingly dismissed.


  S.RAVINDRA BHAT, J

  
  VIPIN SANGHI, J

  JULY 14, 2014

PRINCIPLE CAT DIRECTS NCERT TO IMPLEMENT MACP ON PROMOTIONAL HIERARCHY

Central Administrative Tribunal

Principal Bench, New Delhi

O.A. No.864/2014

Wednesday, this the 12th Day of March of 2014

Hon ble Mr. G George Paracken, Member (J)

Hon ble Mr. Shekhar Agarwal, Member (A)

1. Shri Om Prakash

S/o Sh. Naidar Singh

R/o 3/76, NCERT Campus

NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi-16

2. Shri Sunil Kumar

S/o Shri Mehkaar Singh

R/o 30/9-A, Hari Om Gali No.1

Babar Pur, Shahadara, Delhi 110032

3. Shri Prakash Veer Singh

S/o Shri Jai Singh

R/o M-2618, Gali No.8

Bihari Colony, Shahadra

Delhi-32.                                                                               .Applicants

(By Advocate: Shri M.K. Bhardwaj)

VERSUS

1. Secretary (NCERT)

Sri Aurobindo Marg

New Delhi 110016.

2. The Secretary

Ministry of Human Research & Development

Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.

3. The Secretary

DOP&T

North Block, New Delhi.                                                  .Respondents

(By Advocate: Shri Anand Nandan)

Order (Oral)

Shri G. George Paracken:

The applicants in this Original Application are aggrieved by the alleged, arbitrary and discriminatory action of the respondents in not giving them the pay scale of Rs.9300-34800 with grade pay of Rs.5400/- as given to similarly placed persons/ counterparts who were appointed as Production Assistants by following the same method of recruitment and the same rules as applicable to them. They have, therefore, made several representations to the Respondents to grant them also the same benefits. In response to their last representation dated 19.09.2013, the Respondents have issued the impugned Office Memorandum dated 26.11.2013. Both the said representation and Office Memorandum are reproduced as under:-

To

The Under Secretary

E-III Section

NCERT, New Delhi.

Subject:         Grant of MACP on Promotional Hierarchy.

Sir,

Kindly acknowledge my correspondence(s) dated 23.09.2010, 7.2.2011, 1.3.2011 & 15.6.2011.

Now, the Hon ble Supreme Court has dismissed the Petition(s) for Special leave to Appeal (Civil) (CC 7467/2013) filed by the Government, and upheld the judgement passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in CWP No. 19387/19.10.2011 and Honble CAT, Principal Bench, New Delhi in OA No.904/2012 dated 26.11.2012. Honble CAT, Chandigarh Bench, in OA No.1038/CH/2010 dated 31.05.2011 and has issued the following Order on dated 14.09.2013.

The eligible government servants are to be placed in the immediate next higher grade pay in the hierarchy of the recommended revised pay bands and grade pay and not merely in the next higher pay scale of pay as per the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission.

(Copy of all the Orders from Supreme Court/High Court are enclosed herewith for reference.)

In my earlier correspondences, I have already mentioned that my other colleagues have been placed in their next attached grade of Rs.5400/- after grade pay of Rs.4,200/- i.e. the promotional hierarchy of a Production Assistant lies in the next grade pay of Rs.5,400/-. (This has already been explained in detail in my earlier correspondences.)

Accordingly, I also represent my case that I too be placed in my next attached promotional hierarchy, which is Rs.5400/- and not Rs.4,600/- (as recommended in the 6th Pay Commission). Since the said post of Production Assistant is next attached to their promotional hierarchy Rs.5400/- which is an Assistant Production Officer Grade (Promotional hierarchy).

Establishment Section is requested to kindly grant me the next promotional hierarchy grade pay of Rs.5,400/- as per the Order of Honble Supreme Court dated 14.09.2013, which is explained above.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

(Om Prakash)

Production Assistant

Publication Division (PW)

No.F.14-3/2011-E.III/MACP(Pt.)

National Council of Educational Research & Training

Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110016

New Delhi, the 26th November, 2013

Office Memorandum

            Reference his application dated 19th September, 2013 for grant of Financial upgradation in the promotional hierarchy as per the judgement of Punjab and Haryana High Court in CWP No.19387 of 2011 and upheld by the Supreme Court in SLP (CC 7467/2013) and not in the next higher pay as per 6th Central Pay Commissions recommendation.

No clarification/circular for compliance of the said judgement is received from DOP&T till date. Hence, his request for grant of financial upgradation under MACPS in the hierarchical post as per the judgement cannot be acceded to.

This issue with the approval of the Competent Authority.

(S.D. Singh)

Under Secretary, E.III

Shri Om Prakash,

Production Assistant

Publication Division, NCERT.

  

2.         The applicants have, therefore, filed this OA seeking the following reliefs:-

(a)       To declare the action of the respondents in not granting  the scale of Rs.9300-34800 (PB-2) with Grade Pay of Rs.5400 as given to similarly placed persons to the applicants as illegal and arbitrary.

(b)       To direct the respondents to grant scale of Rs.9300-34800 with Grade Pay of Rs.5400 as 1st financial upgradation to the applicants under MaCP from due date with all arrears of pay.

(c)       To declare the OM/MACP dated 19.05.2009 as unconstitutional to the extent the same deny the next promotional scale attached to the promotion post as 1st, 2nd & 3rd financial upgradation as illegal, arbitrary and unjustified.

3.         In our considered view, once an order has been passed by this Tribunal and it has also been upheld at the level of the Supreme Court, there is no question of waiting for an approval from any Govt. department for implementation of the same. The respondents, therefore, should have considered the representations of the applicants on merits.

4.         In view of the above position, we dispose of this OA at the admission Stage itself with the direction to the respondents to consider the Representations of the applicants in the light of the judgment of Punjab and Haryana High Court in CWP No.19387/2011 (supra) as upheld by the Apex Court in SLP (CC) o.7467/2013(supra) and decide their cases under intimation to them. The aforesaid exercise shall be completed within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. There shall be no order as to costs.

 ( Shekhar Agarwal)                                                                 ( G. George Paracken )

       Member(A)                                                                                      Member (J)