Daily rated service prior to regularization qualifies for financial upgradation under ACP and MACP schemes.

The applicant was initially engaged as a daily rated Lower Division Clerk (LDC) in the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) on 16.05.1988

After passing a departmental interview and test, his services were regularized effective 27.01.1995

He rendered approximately 6.5 years of service on a daily rated basis before regularization

Following regularization, he was granted the 1st Assured Career Progression (ACP) benefit in 2007 and the 2nd ACP/MACP benefit in 2015, calculated from his date of regularization

The applicant retired on 30.06.2024

He approached the Tribunal seeking a direction to count his daily rated service (16.05.1988 to 26.01.1995) for the purposes of financial upgradation under the ACP/MACP schemes and for the assessment of pensionary benefits, citing various judicial precedents where similarly situated employees were granted such relief

The respondents contested the claim, arguing that benefits were correctly granted based on regular service rules and that the applicant's case involved distinct features like a break in service

Whether the period of service rendered by the applicant as a daily rated LDC prior to his regularization should be counted for the purpose of granting benefits under the Assured Career Progression (ACP) and Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) schemes, along with pensionary and consequential benefits

The court primarily relied on the principle of parity for similarly situated employees regarding the counting of temporary service followed by regularization for terminal and financial benefits.

It applied the mandate of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment dated 13.08.2024 (arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 9375-9376 of 2017), which held that employees initially engaged on a temporary basis and later regularized are entitled to count their previous service for ACP and pensionary benefits

The Tribunal also referenced the precedent set in B. Sasikumar & Others vs. Union of India, where the Ernakulam Bench allowed the counting of daily rated service for financial benefits, a decision upheld by the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court

The Tribunal observed that the legal issue regarding the counting of daily rated service followed by regularization had already been settled by various judicial forums, including the Mumbai and Ernakulam Benches of the CAT, and ultimately by the Supreme Court

The court noted that the respondents' implementation of these judgments for other employees established a precedent of entitlement for similarly situated staff

In applying the Supreme Court’s ruling of 13.08.2024, the Tribunal found that the applicant stood on the "same footing" as those in the cited precedents

The court rejected the respondents' attempt to distinguish the case based on service breaks, determining that no different view could be taken when the core circumstances—temporary engagement followed by regularization—matched the established judicial standards

The court directed the respondents to count the service rendered by the applicant as a daily rated LDC from his initial date of engagement for the purpose of financial upgradation under the ACP/MACP schemes

The respondents were ordered to complete the necessary exercise to grant these benefits within three months of receiving the order

No costs were awarded