Group B officers are entitled to non-functional Grade Pay ₹5400 after four years in Grade Pay ₹4800.

The applicant joined the Department of Posts as a Stenographer Grade III in 1987 and was eventually promoted to Stenographer Grade II (Group B)

Following the implementation of the 6th Central Pay Commission (CPC), he was placed in Grade Pay (GP) of Rs. 4200 and subsequently granted the 3rd Financial Upgradaton under the MACP scheme in Level 8 (GP Rs. 4800) effective from 19.07.2017

The applicant completed four years of regular service in GP Rs. 4800 on 18.07.2021 and retired from service on 31.01.2023

He sought the grant of non-functional Grade Pay of Rs. 5400 in Pay Band 2 based on the Ministry of Finance Resolution dated 29.08.2008

The respondents rejected his claim via letter dated 07.11.2023, contending that GP Rs. 4800 was the apex level for his cadre, that the non-functional grade was post-specific, and that the 7th CPC had dispensed with the concept of Grade Pay

Whether the applicant, a Group B officer in the Department of Posts, is entitled to the non-functional Grade Pay of Rs. 5400 upon completion of four years of regular service in the Grade Pay of Rs. 4800

Whether the benefits of the 2008 Resolution are restricted to specific posts or apply generally to Group B officers in the Department of Posts who reached the qualifying Grade Pay through MACP

Ministry of Finance Resolution dated 29.08.2008, specifically Paragraph x(e), which mandates that Group B officers of the Departments of Posts, Revenue, etc., shall be granted Grade Pay of Rs. 5400 in Pay Band 2 on a non-functional basis after four years of regular service in the Grade Pay of Rs. 4800

Union of India Ors. v. M. Subramaniam (Civil Appeal No. 8883 of 2011), which confirmed the entitlement of similarly placed officers to this non-functional upgradation

K.C. Sharma Ors. v. Union of India (AIR 1997 SC 3588) regarding the condonation of delay and the right of similarly situated employees to receive equal treatment in matters of pay fixation, which constitutes a continuing cause of action

The Tribunal observed that the issue was no longer res integra due to settled judicial precedents

It rejected the respondents' argument that the non-functional upgradation was post-specific, noting that the 2008 Resolution unambiguously made all Group B post holders eligible for the higher Grade Pay regardless of their specific designation

The Tribunal reasoned that the respondents could not create a "class within a class" by denying the benefit to those who attained GP Rs. 4800 through MACP rather than direct promotion

the transition to the 7th CPC Pay Matrix did not extinguish rights accrued under the 6th CPC resolutions, as the underlying principle of non-functional upgradation remained valid

The Tribunal emphasized that since the Department had already implemented similar orders for other litigants (e.g., in OA No. 296/2014), denying the same to the applicant was discriminatory and arbitrary

It held that the applicant is entitled to the non-functional Grade Pay of Rs. 5400 effective from 19.07.2021, following the completion of four years in GP Rs. 4800

The respondents were directed to re-fix the applicant's pay and pension accordingly and release all consequential financial benefits and arrears within 60 days of the receipt of the order

No costs were awarded