Competent authority must decide representation against recovery from gratuity by passing a reasoned and speaking order.

The applicant, a retired Assistant Engineer (Civil) from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), challenged the reduction of his basic pay from ₹91,100 to ₹88,400 as reflected in his Pension Payment Order (PPO) dated 13.10.2017

This reduction resulted in a recovery of ₹6,06,475 from his gratuity following superannuation

The applicant contended that such recovery was illegal and submitted a written representation to the respondents on 31.12.2025, which remained unanswered

During proceedings, the applicant sought a limited direction for the disposal of said representation, citing parity with similar orders passed by the Tribunal in OA No. 553/2026 and OA No. 872/2026

Whether the Tribunal should direct the competent authority to decide the applicant's pending representation regarding pay reduction and gratuity recovery in a time-bound manner

The Tribunal exercised jurisdiction under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985

It applied the Principles of Natural Justice, requiring administrative authorities to address grievances via reasoned and speaking orders

The court followed the procedural precedent established in OA No. 553/2026 and OA No. 872/2026, which favored directing the administration to resolve pending representations before judicial intervention on merits

The Tribunal noted that the applicant's primary grievance involved the arbitrary reduction of pay and subsequent recovery from retiral benefits post-superannuation

However, the court opted not to adjudicate the merits of the recovery at this stage, focusing instead on the respondents' failure to respond to the applicant's representation dated 31.12.2025

Given the respondents’ counsel’s submission that the representation would be considered in accordance with the law, the Tribunal determined that the ends of justice would be met by requiring a formal administrative decision

The court explicitly reserved judgment on the merits, granting the respondents the autonomy to decide the matter through a reasoned order

The competent authority was directed to decide the applicant’s pending representation dated 31.12.2025 by passing a reasoned and speaking order within four weeks of receiving the court’s order

The decision must be communicated to the applicant immediately thereafter

No costs were awarded