Four years of regular service in Grade Pay 4800 entitles employees to Non-Functional Grade Pay 5400.

Twenty-seven applicants, employed as Assistant Superintendents and Inspectors of Posts within the Department of Posts, filed a joint application seeking the grant of a Non-Functional Grade Pay (GP) of ₹5400/- in Pay Band-2 (PB-2)

The applicants claimed entitlement to this scale upon the completion of four years of regular service in the Grade Pay of ₹4800/-, effective from their respective eligibility dates

They challenged various orders issued between 2024 and 2026 that denied them this financial upgradation and pay re-fixation

The procedural history includes a request for joining together in a single application via M.A. No. 1354/2026, which the Tribunal granted

1. Whether the applicants are entitled to the Non-Functional scale of PB-2 with Grade Pay ₹5400/- and subsequent pay re-fixation under Rule 13(i) of the CCS (Revised Pay) Rules, 2008, upon completing four years of regular service in Grade Pay ₹4800/-

2. Whether the respondents' failure to extend benefits previously granted to similarly situated employees by the Hyderabad, Bangalore, and New Delhi Benches of the Tribunal constitutes illegal and discriminatory action

The Tribunal applied Part-C, Section II of the First Schedule to the CCS (Revised Pay) Rules, 2008, and Rule 13 regarding pay fixation and increments

It relied on the precedent established in B. Udaya Shankara Rao & Ors. v. Union of India (O.A. No. 296/2014), which attained finality following the dismissal of challenges by the High Court of Hyderabad and the Supreme Court

The Tribunal further applied the principles of parity and in rem application of judicial decisions as articulated in M.R. Kulkarni v. Union of India (O.A. No. 41/2025, CAT Bangalore) and Surjeet Singh & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. (O.A. No. 4877/2025, CAT New Delhi)

The Tribunal noted that the legal question regarding the eligibility for ₹5400/- Grade Pay after four years of service in the ₹4800/- Grade Pay was no longer res integra

The court observed that the respondents failed to present any divergent views or distinguishing facts to separate the current applicants from those in Surjeet Singh

By citing M.R. Kulkarni, the Tribunal emphasized that "artificial classification" (such as membership in a specific association) cannot be used to deny benefits to otherwise eligible employees

The court reasoned that since the issue was "squarely covered" by the Surjeet Singh judgment, the respondents were duty-bound to take a holistic view and grant appropriate relief to maintain administrative consistency and adhere to judicial precedents that have attained finality

It directed the respondents to extend the benefit of the Non-Functional Grade Pay of ₹5400/- to the applicants, if found similarly situated, through a reasoned and speaking order to be passed within eight weeks from the receipt of the certified order

No order was made as to costs