GROUP GENERAL MANAGER (PROJECTS) versus A.M. SAIYED

Citation: [2003] SUPP. 6 S.C.R. 752 · Decided: 12-12-2003 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: S. RAJENDRA BABU · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

A 
GROUP GENERAL MANAGER (PROJECTS); O.N.G.C. 
v. 
A.M. SAIYED 
DECEMBER 12, 2003 
B 
[S. RAJENDRA BABU AND RUMA PAL, JJ.] 
Service Law : 
Allowances-Leave Fare Assistance (LFA) Scheme-Entitlement to 
encash LFA twice for block years 1982-85 for family-Jn case these LFAs 
C are not encashed, employee entitled to encashment of LFA for entire family 
for other than home town-Held : Respondent-Employee having encashed 
LFA for block years 1982-85, he is not entitled to LFA encashment, 
for other than home town for the family-Judgment of High Court set 
·aside. 
D 
The question which arose for consideration in the present appeal 
is whether the respondent-employee posted in Assam region,. after 
availing the LF A for self visiting home town and also having encashed 
LFA for home town for the family members for the block years 1982-
83. and 1984-85, was entitled to LFA encashment for his family for 
E other than home town for the block year 1982-~5. 
Allowing the appeal, the Court 
HELD : At the relevant time, an employee stationed at Estern 
Region and if residing alone was entitled to LTA twice in year to the 
F place of stay of bis family and the employee was entitled to encash LF A 
twice for Block years 1982-85, that is once for Block year 1982-83 and 
once for Block year 1984-85 in respect of family. If both these LFAs 
are not encashed, alone would entitle the respondent to encasbmerit of 
LF A for the entire family for other than Home Town. The respondent 
G during his tenure in Eastern Region twice availed Leave Travel 
Assistance in each year 1982, 1983 and 1984; encashed for entire 
fa.mily LFA for Block years 1982-1983 and 1984-1985 and thus in 
respect of his family he was not entitled LFA for other than Home 
Town and therefore his claim for such encashment was not sustainable. 
H 
[757-F-H; 758-AI 
752 
GROUP GENERAL MANAGER v. A.M. SAIYED [RAJENDRA BABU, J.] 
753 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 1574 of A 
2000. 
From the Judgment and Order dated 12.8.99 of the Gujarat High 
Court in L.P.A. No. 1155/98 in S.C. Appln. No. 1354 of 1998. 
P.P. Rao, Sr. Adv., John Mathew and K.R. Sasiprabhu for the 
Appellant. 
R.N. Singh, H.A. Raichura, Feroj Khan Pathan, S.H. Raichura and 
Shailendra Singh for the Respondent. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
RAJENDRA BABU, J. : The appellant introduced Leave Fare 
Assistance Scheme [for short 'LFA'] for its employees and officers posted 
B 
c 
in the projects mentioned therein whose home town was situated beyond D 
500 kms. from the headquarters and that scheme was modified from time 
to time although it was originally introduced in the year 1969. By an 
official memorandum dated 13 .12.1977, it was made clear that the 
assistance for visiting home town every year for the employees posted in 
Assam and whose home towns are situated outside Assam would not be E 
admissible to them for their families residing at a place other than the 
headquarters/place of duty of the employee concerned and in that event 
they .vould be entitled to avail of the assistance for their families once in 
a block of two years. By another official memorandum dated 21.5.1980, 
the said scheme was amended to the effect that LF A can be availed of by F 
an employee in any calendar year only if the employee has spent 9 months 
or more at one or more places of posting where LF A is available. By 
another modification made on 24.12.1981, it was further provided that in 
respect of employees who do not belong to North Eastern States but are 
working there on transfer or posting and are separated from their families 
and staying alone in North Eastern States will also be entitled to travelling G 
assistance once in six months, i.e., twice in a year instead of LF A once 
in a year by way of single return fare by the entitled class to the place of 
stay of his family. Their families are, however, entitled to LFA once in 
a block of two years for visting their home town from the place of their 
$tay subject to the- condition that LF A so granted will be limited to the fare H 
754 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 6 S.C.R. 
A as is admissible for visiting home town or a place other than home town 
from place of posting of the employee. By another official memorandum 
dated 2.1.1982, it was clarified that the families of any employee residing 
at a place other than the place of posting or headquarters or home town 
for various reasons, shall also be entitled to LF A to visit the emp
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