LexINDIAN COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH THROUGH THE DIRECTOR GENERAL AND ANR. versus RAJINDER SINGH AND ORS
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[2024] 8 S.C.R. 507 : 2024 INSC 622 Indian Council of Agricultural Research Through the Director General and Anr. v. Rajinder Singh and Ors. (Civil Appeal Nos. 97-98 of 2012) 22 August 2024 [J.K. Maheshwari and Rajesh Bindal,* JJ.] Issue for Consideration Employees working on the technical side in the Agricultural Research Service, if entitled to two advance increments given to the Scientists in Agricultural Research Service on acquiring Ph.D. degree in their service career. Headnotes† Service Law – Incentives – Grant of two advance increments on acquiring Ph.D. degree to Scientists in Agricultural Research Service – Employees working on the technical side in the Agricultural Research Service seeking the same benefit – Allowed by the tribunal and the High Court – Correctness: Held: Benefit of two advance increments for acquiring Ph.D. qualification was part of the pay package of the Scientists – Similar benefit was not extended to the technical personnel – For technical personnel, the appellants had adopted the revised scales as recommended by the Government of India for Central Government employees – Merely because Study Leave Regulations, 1991 were extended to technical personnel, would not entitle them to other benefits which are available to the scientists – Merely after having Ph.D. qualification, the technical personnel would not become eligible for grant of two advance increments when the same has not been recommended for them – In any institution incentives may be given to a particular category of employees to get higher qualifications during service, considering their job requirements – Merely because different set of employees, who may be working in aid but governed by different set of rules and having different duties to discharge also obtain that qualification, would not entitle them to the benefits which were extended to different set of employees by the competent authority – Art. 14 would not have any application – * Author 508 [2024] 8 S.C.R. Digital Supreme Court Reports Tribunal and High Court erred by equating technical personnel and scientists and granting respondents advance increments to which they are not entitled to – Additional qualification merely makes them eligible for the higher post in the different cadre and not to grant them benefits, attached to the higher post in a different cadre – Impugned orders passed by the High Court and the tribunal set aside. [Paras 9, 10, 10.1, 10.2, 11] List of Acts Societies Registration Act, 1860; Agricultural Research Service Study Leave Regulations, 1991; Constitution of India. List of Keywords Incentives; Two advance increments on acquiring Ph.D. degree; Scientists in Agricultural Research Service; Employees on the technical side in the Agricultural Research Service. Case Arising From CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos.97-98 of 2012 From the Judgment and Order dated 21.07.2010 of the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi in WP Nos. 3364 and 3365 of 2004 Appearances for Parties Praveen Swarup, Ameet Siingh, Ms. Payal Swarup, Ms. Aditi Singh, Devesh Maurya, Syed Zafar Husain, Baij Nath Yadav, Ravi Kumar, K. P. Singh, Advs. for the Appellants. Dr. K. B. Sounder Rajan, Sr. Adv., Sudarshan Rajan, Mahesh Kumar, Ms. Srishti Sharma, Ramesh Rawat, Rohit Bhardwaj, Hitain Bajaj, Sachin S, Ashutosh Gupta, Nand Ram, Advs. for the Respondents. Judgment / Order of the Supreme Court Judgment Rajesh Bindal, J. 1. The appellants are aggrieved by an order dated 21.07.2010 passed by the High Court1 in Writ Petition2 filed against the order dated 1 High Court of Delhi 2 W.P.(C) Nos. 3364-65/2004 [2024] 8 S.C.R. 509 Indian Council of Agricultural Research Through the Director General and Anr. v. Rajinder Singh and Ors. 18.07.20033 passed by the Tribunal4. The Tribunal had allowed the application filed by the respondents, extending them the benefit of the scheme5 dated 27.02.1999 in terms of which a scientist was eligible for two advance increments as and when he acquires a Ph.D. degree in his service career. 2. Briefly the facts as are available on record are that the appellant No.1-Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) before this Court is a Society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It is engaged in agricultural research. On 01.10.1975, the appellant No.1 constituted two services namely Agricultural Research Service (in short “ARS”) and Technical Service (in short “TS”). The
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