MES industrial employees’ dress allowance claims must be decided by a reasoned and speaking order.

The applicants are civilian industrial employees of the Military Engineer Service, posted as Fitter General Mechanic (FGM) in GE (East), Bareilly Cantt.

Prior to implementation of the Seventh Central Pay Commission recommendations, they were supplied annual work clothing/dangri and paid washing allowance. These benefits were discontinued from 1 January 2016.

The Ministry of Finance, by Office Memorandum dated 2 August 2017, subsumed various uniform-related allowances into a consolidated Dress Allowance of Rs. 5,000 per annum with effect from 1 July 2017.

The Department of Personnel and Training, by O.M. dated 31 August 2017, clarified that the allowance was payable to eligible Group ‘C’ and erstwhile Group ‘D’ employees who were supplied uniforms and required to wear them regularly.

Although a departmental communication dated 5 June 2018 indicated that the benefit could be extended to civilian MES employees, including industrial personnel, subsequent communications dated 15 November 2019 and thereafter stated that MES industrial employees were not yet entitled to the allowance and directed recovery of amounts allegedly paid for 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019.

Relying on decisions of the Chandigarh and Guwahati Benches of the Tribunal, the applicants sought Dress Allowance of Rs. 5,000 per annum from 1 July 2017, with arrears and interest.

They also referred to representations dated 12 February 2025 and 21 April 2026.

The respondents admitted the existence of the relevant O.M.s and stated that Dress Allowance had already been paid to some industrial staff in similar litigation.

1. Whether the applicants, as industrial employees of the Military Engineer Service, are entitled to Dress Allowance of Rs. 5,000 per annum with effect from 1 July 2017 under the O.M.s dated 2 August 2017 and 31 August 2017.

2. Whether the applicants’ claim should be considered by the competent authority in light of the decisions of the Chandigarh and Guwahati Benches of the Tribunal, and whether consequential arrears and interest should be granted.

The Tribunal applied the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, O.M. dated 2 August 2017, which consolidated various uniform-related allowances into a Dress Allowance of Rs. 5,000 per annum with effect from 1 July 2017, and the Department of Personnel and Training O.M. dated 31 August 2017, which extended the allowance to eligible common categories of Group ‘C’ and erstwhile Group ‘D’ employees who were supplied uniforms and required to wear them regularly.

It also directed consideration of the applicants’ claim in light of Gurmit Singh & Others v. Union of India & Others, O.A. No. 1228 of 2019, decided by the Chandigarh Bench on 19 February 2020, and O.A. No. 59 of 2023, decided by the Guwahati Bench on 23 March 2023, concerning Dress Allowance for similarly situated MES industrial employees.

The Tribunal noted that the applicants claimed to be industrial employees covered by the relevant Dress Allowance O.M.s and relied on decisions granting similar relief to MES personnel.

The respondents did not dispute the existence of the O.M.s and acknowledged that Dress Allowance had been paid to some industrial employees in comparable cases.

However, instead of directly adjudicating the applicants’ entitlement or ordering immediate payment, the Tribunal considered it appropriate for the competent authority to examine the applicants’ individual claim, including the applicability of the departmental O.M.s and the cited Tribunal decisions.

The Tribunal therefore adopted a limited adjudicatory course by directing a comprehensive representation and a reasoned decision within a prescribed period.

The applicants were directed to submit a comprehensive representation to the competent authority within two weeks from the date of the order.

The competent authority, identified as Respondent No. 5 or the appropriate authority among the respondents, was directed to consider the claim in light of the O.M.s dated 2 August 2017 and 31 August 2017 and the Chandigarh and Guwahati Bench decisions, and to pass a reasoned and speaking order within three months of receiving the representation along with a certified copy of the Tribunal’s order.

The decision was confined to the applicants in the present O.A., and there was no order as to costs.