UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER versus RAJ KUMAR JHA AND OTHERS

Citation: [2017] 8 S.C.R. 664 · Decided: 12-09-2017 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: KURIAN JOSEPH · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

A 
B 
[2017] 8 S.C.R. 664 
UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER 
v. 
RAJ KUMAR JHA AND OTHERS 
(Civil Appeal Nos. 1585-1586 of2017) 
SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 
[KURIAN JOSEPH AND R. BANUMATHI, JJ.I 
Service law: 
Seniority - Respondent-officers had been serving in DANJPS 
C since long - They got a lateral induction into JPS based on their 
merit and seniority- While inducting them into JPS, they were given 
a year of allotment and placed below the direct recruits of that year 
- High Court held that after the introduction of the Sixth Pay 
Commission Report, the seniority will depend on the grade pay and 
D that relevant rules are to be accordingly amended so as to remove 
the alleged discrepancy with regard to the fixation of seniority -
Held: The fixation of seniority based on grade pay is among the 
officers inter se of the same service and it has nothing to do with the 
grade pay in the starting scale of direct recruits in a different service, 
i.e. JPS in the instant case - Merely because an officer in DAN/PS 
E working since 1987 is getting a higher pay and grade pay on 
account of his long service and that pay band being protected while 
induction to JPS, that by itself will not clothe him with a right to 
claim seniority above the entire direct recruits of several years who 
naturally would have been only on a lesser pay band having been 
F 
G 
H 
in service only after direct recruitment. 
Seniority - Fixation of - The Pay Commission Report has 
nothing to do with the fixation of seniority in a service - That is 
governed by the rules of the ser"·'r~ 
Allowing the appeals, the Court 
HELD: 1. According to the respondent officer, seniority on 
a post Will solely depend on the grade pay, meaning thereby, no 
junior officer will draw a higher pay on rationalization of the grade 
pay and hence the justification for the consequential fixation of 
seniority based on the grade pay. There is a fundamental fallacy 
664 
UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER v. RAJ KUMAR JHA 
665 
AND OTHERS 
in this argument. There are umpteen number of situations where A 
a senior officer in a service will be drawing a lesser pay than the 
junior. The instant case is a classic example. The respondent-
officers who had been serving long elsewhere (since 1987 in the 
DANIPS), got a lateral induction into JPS based on their merit 
and seniority. While inducting them into JPS, they were given a B 
year of allotment and placed below the direct recruits of that year. 
The officer who had been working in a different service gets pay 
.protection while getting inducted to IPS and necessarily that 
officer will be drawing a higher pay than the direct recruit to JPS 
of the year concerned. His pay band and grade pay would also be 
different. The grade pay is to operate among the officers of the C 
service prior to induction and not qua the officers belonging to a 
different service after the induction. In other words, the fixation 
of seniority based on grade pay is among the officers inter se of 
the same service and it has nothing to do with the grade pay in 
the starting scale of direct recruits in a different service, i.e. IPS D 
in the instant case. The whole scheme of grade pay is to operate 
only qua different posts within the same service. [Paras 12, 13) 
[672-F-H; 673-A-C, EJ 
2. The Pay Commission Report has nothing to do with the 
fixation of seniority in a service. That is governed by the rules of 
the service. Even otherwise, the Terms of Reference clearly E 
indicate that the Commission was only called upon to examine 
.the principles, the date of effect thereof that should govern the 
structure of pay, allowances and other facilities/benefits whether 
in cash or in kind etc. Unfortunately, this crucial distinction was 
not noticed by the High Court while answering the question that 
F 
was formulated "Can a junior officer draw higher pay, more 
particularly grade pay, than his senior?". There are umpteen 
such situations where a junior officer would draw higher pay, 
including the grade pay. There is no dispute that the seniority in 
IPS is to be fixed on the basis of the length of service in JPS. It 
cannot depend on the service rendered .by an officer in a different G 
Service prior to induction to JPS. That will be cutting at the root 
of the fundamental principles on the fixation of seniority. [Para 
14] [673-F-G; 674-A] 
H 
666 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2017] 8 S.C.R. 
A 
3. It is well settled that the Court cannot direct for any 
legislation. [Para 15
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