LexCENTRAL RAILWAY AUDIT STAFF ASSOCIATION AND OTHERS versus DIRECTOR OF AUDIT, CENTRAL RAILWAY AND OTHERS ETC.
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A B c CENTRAL RAILWAY AUDIT STAFF ASSOCIATION AND OTHERS ETC. ETC. v .. DIRECTOR OF AUDIT, CENTRAL RAILWAY AND OTHERS ETC. ETC. APRIL 20, 1993 [P.B. SA WANT ANDN. VENKATACHALA,JJ.] Railway Servants (pass) Rules, 1986: Facilities and benefits ofpasses/P.T.O, Quarters etc. allowed to Railway officers Group B category-Whether Assistant Audit Officers, Group B Gaze11ed, under Comptroller and Auditor General of lndia, working in Railway Audit Department also entitled-Whether exclusion of Assistant Audit Officers Group B gaze11ed, in p8)' scale Rs. 2000-3200, from Group B category of Railway Officers violative of Article 14 of Constitution- Whether allowing the benefits, D only to Assis tam Audit Officers given Group B Gaze11ed status, between March 1, 1984 and December 31, 1985, is discriminatory. Petitioners we~e in service, under Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C & AG for 'short), as Assistant Audit Officers- (A.A.O. for short) Group B Gazetted, in pay scale Rs. 2000-3200, and were working in Railway E Audit Department, after December 31, 1985. In 1960, Railway Board spelled out its policy, stating that scale of passes/P. T .Os. and the rules governing their issue to staff of the Railway Audit Department will be the same as applicable to Railway servants. However some distinctioD.s were made as regards Indian Audit and Accounts Service Officers (IA & AS OOicers) of Railway Audit Department, on recommendatio~ of the C & AG., Central Government F sanctioned higher scale of pay effective from March 1, 1984, for 80 per cent of Section officers in the Railway Audit Department to be designated as A.A.Os (Group B-Gazetted). Their pay scale was revised to Rs. 2000-3260 from January 1, 1986, on recomm'~ndation ofFotirth Pay Commission. They'·,. continued to have the privileges and facilities of Group B Officers of Indian Railway. In 1987, consequent to the revision of pay scales of Railway posts, on ·G recommendation by the F~urth Pay Commission, the posts under Indian Railways were re-classified. Posts in scale of Rs. 2000-3200 were classified as Group 'C' instead of Group B. In 1989, the Railway Board, in view of restructuring of cadre of Indian Audit and Accounts Department, creation of posts of A.A.Os in scale of Rs. 2000-3200, classified as Group B- Gazetted H status, issued instructions that Audit Officers in Scale of Rs. 2000-3200 may 296 1 CENTRAL RAILWAY AUDITSTAFFv.DIRECTOR 297 STATF.OF_ be given privileges and facilities viz Passes/P.T.Os. Quarters etc,. as admis- A sible to Railway employees in identical scale. Consequently they were not entitled to the privileges and facilities admissible to gazetted Railway Offic- ers. classified in Group B in scale of Rs. 2000-3500. However, Assistant Audit Officers given Gazetted status between March 1, 1984, and December 31, 1985 were allowed to continue to enjoy the facilities of Passes/P.T.Os quarters etc. Petitioners fded application before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, claiming that Assistant Audit Officers, given Gazetted status Group B after December 31, 1985, were also entitled to the privileges and facilities admissible to Railway Officers, classified 'Group B'. The application was rejected by the Tribunal and the Petitions filed Special Leave petition seeking redressal. This Court dismissed the special leave petition and, HELD: Th~t conferring special privileges and facilities, to Assistant Audit Officers, which arc not prO\·ided to Railway servantsJ~ identical pay scale would lead to unjust result<;. It would result in oo~ferring special privileges and facilities, by the Indian Railways to persons belonging to foreign department ofComtrollcr and Auditor General oflndia, while their own servants, who hold equivalent posts on the same scale of pay will. be denied such privileges and facilities. The Railway Board's letter dated April 14, 1960 also shows that the staff of the Railway Audit Department is treated more generously than the officers of the same Audit Department in matters of issuance of Passcs/P.T.Os. The Assistant Audit Officers, who had been given status of gazetted Group B, by the comptroller and Audit General, cannot be treated, by the Indian Railways on par, with Railway servants, classified group B. In matters relating to conferring privileges and giving of .facilities. The Railway Servant (Pass) Rules, 1986, made in Consonance with classification
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