LexGOPIKA RANJAN CHOUDHARY versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.
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GOPIKA RANJAN CHOUDHARY v. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. OCTOBER 25, 1989 [RANGANATH MISRA, P.B. SAWANT AND K. RAMASWAMY, JJ.] Assam Rifles Act, 1920: Assam Rifles Force-Ministerial Staff- Higher pay scale for staff at headquarters against their counterparts in Units/ Battalions-Whether discriminatory. Consequent to the re-structuring of the Assam Rifles Force in 1962 a separate Unit known as Central Record and Pay Accounts Office (C.R. and P.A.O.) was created at the Headquarters of the force. Pursuant to the recommendation of the Third Central Pay Commission the staff at the Headquarters were given higher pay scales than those A B c attached to the Battalions/Units. D The Petition_ers sought parity in emoluments with their counter- parts working at the Headquarters by filing a petition before the Cent- ral Administative Tribunal contending that; (i) the C.R. and P.A.O. U 11it situated at the Headquarters was not a part of the Headquarters establishment but was a separate Unit; and (ii) there is no difference E either in the nature of work and duties of the two or in their qualifica- tions and that the services of the staff at the Units/Battalions are trans- ferrable to the Headquarters. The Tribunal rejected the claim of the petitioner holding that the C.R. and'P.A.0. is a different unit and not a part of the establishment of the Headquarters and its staff are enjoying the scale of pay allowed to the staff of the Headquarters since its incep- F lion. Hence this appeal. Allowing the appeal, this Court, HELD: I. There is a contradiction between the finding recorded by the Tribunal that the C.R. and P.A.O. at the Headquarters is quite a G "distinct" establishment from the range Headquarters/Battalions, and' the justification made by it of the higher emoluments of the staff at the Headquarters on the ground that they are enjoying the same as allowed to the other staff of the Headquarters since its inception. l 73IC-D J 1.1. If the C.R .. and P.A.0. at the Headquarters is a different ff 727 A B c D E F G 728 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989) Supp. 1 S.C.R. unit and not a part of the Headquarters, then the staff attached to the office at the Headquarters is not entitled to emoluments higher than those drawn by the staff of the Units/Battalions. [73ID] 2. The payment of higher emoluments to the said staff merely on the ground that the establishment is at the place where the Head- quarters is situated, is discriminatory as against the staff at the Units/ Battalions since it is no way different from the other Units. [731E] [Matter remanded to the Tribunal for recording a finding on (i) whether the qualifications for appointment at the two establishments viz. C.R. and P.A.O. at the Headquarters and the Units are different, (ii) whether the nature of the duties and responsibilities of the Ministe- rial staff at the Hedquarters is of a higher order than that of those at the Units/Battalions, and (iii) whether transfer of the staff from the Units/ Battalions to the Headquarters was done arbitrarily and without apply· ing any test.] [7328-CJ CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION. Civil Appeal No. 3288 of 1988. From the Judgment and Order dated 11.8.1986 of the Central Administrative Tribunal at Gauhati in G .C. No. 102/86 (C.R. No. 905 of 1983). Mr. Soli J. Sorabjee, K. Madhav Reddy, Mrs. Kitty Kumara· mangalam, Kailash Yasdev and Ms. Yijayalaxmi for the Appellant. B. Dutta, Additional Solicitor General (N.P.), V.C. Mahajan, P.P. Singh and Ms. Sushma Suri, for the Respondents. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SAW ANT, J. This appeal is directed against the order dated August 11, 1986, passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Gauhati Bench rejecting the claim for parity in emoluments between the Upper Division Assistants and Lower Division Assistants (hereinafter referred to as UDAs and LDAs) in the branch establish· ments on Jhe one hand and their counterparts working at the Head· quarters on the other. 2. The admitted facts are that the Assam Rifles, a para-military H force was created by the then Assam Govt. under the Assam Rifles G.R. CHOUDHARY v. U.0.1. (SAWANT, J.] 729 Act, 1920, for its protection. It was taken over by the Government of A India, Ministry of External Affairs under its direct control in October 1947. It appears further that the Government of India appointed< an Inspector General as the Head for conducting mainly the administra- tive
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