Direction to decide representation against withholding holiday pay in accordance with established judicial precedents.

The applicants, employees of the Government Medical College Associated Hospitals, Jammu, challenged the orders dated 14-03-2026 and 20-01-2026 issued by the Medical Superintendent and Director Finance respectively

Under these orders, the respondents withheld 2½ days’ pay and allowances (including Basic Pay, DA, and Special Pay) from the applicants for their alleged absence from duty on a Gazetted Holiday (13-03-2026), as stipulated by a duty roster

The applicants approached the Tribunal seeking to quash these orders and further prayed for a direction to the respondents to sanction the 2½ days monthly allowance from January 2026 until their retirement, along with 18% interest on withheld amounts

During the hearing, the applicants restricted their prayer, requesting that the Original Application (O.A.) be treated as a formal representation to be decided in light of a specific legal precedent

1. Whether the withholding of 2½ days’ pay and allowances for absence on a Gazetted Holiday was legally sustainable under the prevailing service rules

2. Whether the applicants are entitled to the 2½ days monthly allowance in accordance with the principles established in Shoket Ali Ors. v. UT of JK

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

It applied Rule 4(5) of the Central Administrative Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1987, to permit the applicants to pursue the application collectively

Substantively, the Tribunal relied on the precedent set in Shoket Ali Ors. v. UT of JK (O.A. No. 61/07/2023, decided on 27.04.2023), which governs the entitlement and regulation of the 2½ days' pay/allowance for medical staff in the Union Territory

The Tribunal did not adjudicate the merits of the alleged absence or the validity of the roster issued by Respondent No. 5. Instead, it focused on the procedural request made by the applicants' counsel to seek parity with the Shoket Ali case

Given the "limited prayer" for a time-bound administrative review, the Tribunal found it "appropriate" to dispose of the matter by converting the judicial filing into an administrative representation

This approach ensures that the executive branch first applies the settled law (the Shoket Ali judgment) to the specific facts of the applicants' service records before further judicial intervention is required

The respondents were directed to treat the O.A. as a formal representation and consider the applicants' case specifically "in terms of judgment dated 27.04.2023, passed by this Tribunal in OA No. 61/07/2023 titled 'Shoket Ali Ors. Vs. UT of JK'"

The respondents must issue a reasoned and speaking order within six weeks from the date of receipt of the certified copy of the Tribunal's order

No costs were awarded