ALL
INDIA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL TAX
GAZETTED EXECUTIVE
OFFICERS
(Earlier
known as All India Association of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers)
Patron
Chief Patron
Patron
A. Venkatesh
Ravi Malik C. S. Sharma
Mob. 7780255361 Mob. 9868816290 Mob.
9313885411
President:
Address for communication: Secretary
General:
M.
Loganathan Flat
No. 6, SE 11, Shastri Nagar, Ghaziabad Harpal Singh
Mob.8758262698 mail
Id:aiacegeo2019@gmail.com Site:cengoindia.blogspot.in Mob.9717510598
Vice Presidents: B C Khatik, V
Pagare (Central) Diwakar Sahai, Sanjoy
Gupta (East) Ashish Vajpayee, Amadul Islam (North) G Srinivas Reddy, P
Ravichandran (South) R Keny, J B Parmar (West) Joint Secretaries: S P
Pandey, T J Manojumon (Central) Subrata Adhikari, SiddharthTewari (East)
Ramkesh Meena, S Sahai (West) Atul Kumar, R B Sahu (North) Bhoopesh, R V
Raghunandan (South); All India Convener:
A K Meena All India Coordinator: B L Meena Office Secretary: B C
Gupta Treasuer: M Kumar Organising Secretary: M Bajpai Liaison
Secretary: N S Maheshwari North Zone
Coordinator: Prabhakar Sharma Legal Coordinator: S Sabarwal
Vigilance Coordinator: R K Singh South
Zone Coordinator: U Sharma
(Recognised vide F.No.B-12017/17/2022-AD-IV A dt.
14.07.23 of CBIC, Govt. of India)
Ref. No. 142/AIB/P/23 Dt. 18.10.23
COURT MATTER
REMINDER
To,
1. The Secretary, 2.
The Secretary,
Department of Expenditure, Ministry
of Finance, Department of Revenue,
Ministry of Finance,
North Block, New Delhi. North
Block, New Delhi.
3. The Chairman,
Central Board of Excise and
Customs (now Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs),
North Block, New Delhi.
Subject: In-rem
implementation of the order of the Hon’ble High Court of Kolkata delivered in
WPCT No. 21 of 2015 regarding retrospective implementation of the pay scale
revision.
Sir,
Kindly refer to the Ref. No. 133/AIB/P/23 Dt. 05.10.23 of the Association on the above
subject.
2. It is again submitted with due
regards that the pay scale of the Superintendents of Central Excise (now CGST),
Superintendents of Customs, Appraisers of Customs and Income Tax Officers was
revised to Rs. 7500-12000/- from Rs. 6500-10500/- and also of Inspectors of
Central Excise, Preventive Officers of Customs, Examiners of Customs and Income
Tax Inspectors to Rs. 6500-10500/- from Rs. 5500-9000/- prospectively w.e.f.
21.04.04, i.e., from the date of the issuance of the common order vide OM No. 6/37/98-IC Dt. 21.04.04 of the
Department of Expenditure.
3.
It is worth to mention that the said order should have been implemented w.e.f.
the date of the implementation of the Central Civil Service, Revised Pay Rules,
1997, i.e., w.e.f. 01.01.96, since when the recommendations of the 5th
Central Pay Commission were implemented.
4. Total 13 officers approached the
Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal of Kolkata against the said
discrimination and got the order in their favour. The govt. filed an appeal in the Hon’ble High
Court of Kolkata vide WPCT No. 21 of 2015 against the order of the Hon’ble
Central Administrative Tribunal of Kolkata. Hon’ble High Court of Kolkata vide order Dt.
03.05.23 directed to form a special anomaly committee to decide the issue. Based
on the report/decision of the said committee, the benefit of the OM F. No.
6/37/98-IC Dt. 21.04.04 has been granted retrospectively from 01.01.96 to 13
Income Tax Officers.
5. All officers
affected by the OM F. No. 6/37/98-IC Dt. 21.04.04 are equally positioned and should
be given the in-rem benefit of the decision of the Hon’ble High Court of
Kolkata/special anomaly committee by retrospective implementation of above OM
w.e.f. 01.01.96.
6.
There exist so many orders of so many courts including the Hon’ble Supreme
Court that the benefit of such matters is to be given in-rem to all similarly
positioned officers. Same has been intended in the National Litigation Policy
to minimise the litigations and not to force all equally placed/positioned
persons to approach the legal courts on the same matter. The Hon’ble Supreme
Court has ordered the govt. on various occasions to issue the circular to this
effect to minimize the litigations to save the precious time of the Hon’ble
courts and not to force the similarly situated persons to approach the courts.
7.
Your kind attention is also invited to the order on the issue given by the
Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi in O.A. No. 2544/2015. In this order, the
Hon’ble CAT has specifically ordered that the benefit of upgraded pay scales is
to be given to all eligible employees with effect from 01.01.96 irrespective of
the fact whether they have approached an appropriate judicial forum for the
same or not as under-
“Before parting we would also express a
hope that the competent authority shall on its own extend the benefit of
upgraded pay scales to all eligible employees with effect from 01.01.1996
irrespective of the fact whether they have approached an appropriate judicial
forum for the same or not so that unnecessary litigation is avoided.”
8.
The issue of extension of benefits granted by the courts including Apex Court
in service matters to similarly situated persons has been settled in various
cases including the following-
(i) In the case of State of
Karnataka v. C. Lalita (2006) 2 SCC 747, it was held that service jurisprudence
evolved by the courts from time to time postulates that all persons similarly
situated should be treated similarly. Only because one person has approached
the court would not mean that persons similarly situated should be treated
differently.
(ii) In the judgment given by the full Bench of Central
Administrative Tribunal, Bangalore in the case of C. S. Elias Ahmed and others
v. UOI & others (O.A. Nos. 451 and 541 of 1991), it was held that the
entire class of employees who are similarly situated are required to be given
the benefit of the decision whether or not they were parties to the original
writ. This principle has been upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in this case
as well as in numerous other orders like G. C. Ghosh v. UOI, [(1992) 19 ATC 94
(SC)] dt. 20.07.98; K. I. Shepherd v. UOI [(JT 1987 (3) SC 600)]; Abid Hussain
v. UOI [(JT 1987 (1) SC 147], Order dt. 17.10.14 in the Civil Appeal No. 9849 of 2014 in the matter of State
of Uttar Pradesh & Ors v. Arvind Kumar Srivastava & Ors, SLP No.
77457/2017 filed against the order dt. 23.03.17 given by the Hon’ble High Court
of Delhi in WP No. 2634/2017, Order dt. 08.12.21 in Civil Appeal No(s). 5966,
5967, 5968 and 5969 of 2021 etc.
9. In view of
the above, it is very much requested to kindly implement the decision of the Hon’ble
High Court of Kolkata/special anomaly committee in-rem to give benefit to all
the officers affected by the common OM F. No. 6/37/98-IC Dt. 21.04.04 and give
the retrospective effect to the enhanced pay scale w.e.f. 01.01.96 instead of
21.04.04 with all consequential benefits with due interest at the rate of at
least interest of GPF.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
(HARPAL SINGH),
Secretary General.
Copy to the
Cabinet Secretary, Govt. of India with the request for necessary action.
