Inspectors and Superintendents are entitled to notional revised pay from 1996 and actual monetary benefits from April 2004.

The applicants, or the legal heir of one applicant, were employees of the respondent departments who had served as Inspectors, Examiners or Preventive Officers and Superintendents or Appraisers.

The pre-revised pay scales were Rs. 1,640–2,900 for Inspectors/Examiners/Preventive Officers and Rs. 2,000–3,500 for Superintendents/Appraisers.

The Fifth Central Pay Commission recommended revised scales of Rs. 6,500–10,500 and Rs. 7,500–12,000, respectively, but the applicants’ claim to those scales from 1 January 1996 was disputed; the respondents had made the benefit effective from 21 April 2004.

Relying on decisions of other Tribunal benches and courts, including orders affirmed by the Supreme Court, the applicants sought revised pay, consequential benefits and arrears.

The Tribunal heard the applications together because they raised identical issues.

1. Whether the applicants were entitled to notional fixation of pay in the revised scales with effect from 1 January 1996.

2. Whether the applicants were entitled to actual monetary benefits from 1 January 1996, or only from 21 April 2004, in light of the Anomaly Committee recommendations and the Office Memorandum issued pursuant to them.

The Tribunal directed pay refixation under the Central Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 1997.

It also applied the principle reflected in the Hyderabad Bench decision in OA No. 1089/2019, as affirmed by the Telangana High Court and the Supreme Court: the revised pay is to be fixed notionally from 1 January 1996, with actual monetary benefits commencing from 21 April 2004.

The Tribunal further relied on the Jaipur Bench decision in OA No. 154/2015, upheld by the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court, which recognised discrimination in the grant of Fifth Pay Commission benefits to similarly situated employees.

The Tribunal treated the entitlement as settled by the Hyderabad and Jaipur decisions, which had been affirmed by the respective High Courts and the Supreme Court.

It also noted that its own similar orders had been implemented by the Department.

Applying that position, it distinguished the date for notional pay fixation from the date for actual monetary payment: pay was to be refixed from 1 January 1996, while actual monetary benefits were payable from 21 April 2004.

The exercise was to be completed within two months of receipt of the order.

The OAs were disposed of at the admission stage.