Pay disparity between seniors and juniors caused by administrative delays in training constitutes discrimination requiring pay rectification.

The applicant, Vinod Kumar, and one Ms. Usha Kiran Hembram were selected through a competitive examination for the post of Telecom Technical Assistant (TTA) under direct recruitment for SC/ST backlog vacancies in the Bihar Circle

In the merit list dated 21.02.2006, the applicant was placed at Sl. No. 4, while Ms. Hembram was at Sl. No. 6

Ms. Hembram was sent for training in July 2006 and joined her duties in September 2006, whereas the applicant was sent for training in November 2006 and joined on 27.01.2007

Due to the intervening pay revision effective from 01.01.2007, Ms. Hembram (having joined earlier) received a 30% fitment benefit in the revised pay scale

The applicant, joining after 01.01.2007, was placed at the initial of the revised pay scale (Rs. 13,600/-) without the fitment benefit, resulting in a lower basic pay than his junior

Although the applicant was initially granted the fitment benefit in 2010, it was withdrawn and recovered in 2012 without written communication

The applicant sought a mandamus to remove this pay anomaly and refund recovered amounts

1. Whether the disparity in pay between the applicant and his junior, Ms. Hembram, arising from the respondents' administrative delay in sending the applicant for training, constitutes arbitrary discrimination

2. Whether the applicant is entitled to the 30% fitment weightage at par with his junior and the benefits previously extended to other cadres (JTOs) facing similar anomalies

The Tribunal primarily considered the principles of non-discrimination and pay parity within the same recruitment batch under Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.

BSNL Office Order No. 10/2010 dated 07.05.2010 regarding revised pay scales and fitment formulas

BSNL's own precedent established in Office Order No. 1-14/2009-PAT(BSNL) dated 16.04.2010, which granted a "special dispensation" to the 2005 batch of Junior Telecom Officers (JTOs) to remove pay disparities for those joining after 01.01.2007

BSNL Corporate Office Order No. 1-02/2012-PAT (BSNL) dated 13.07.2015 regarding pay fixation for TTAs

The Tribunal found that the pay anomaly was undisputed: the applicant, despite being higher in merit, was drawing less pay than his junior

The delay in the applicant's joining was not attributable to him but to the respondents' administrative decision to send him for practical training at a later date than Ms. Hembram

The Tribunal observed that BSNL had already recognized and rectified an identical anomaly for the JTO cadre (2005 batch) by fixing their pay at a uniform rate to ensure seniors did not draw less than juniors due to the 01.01.2007 cutoff

The Tribunal reasoned that denying similar relief to the applicant, who belonged to the same recruitment year and selection panel as his junior, was discriminatory

The respondents' reliance on the 2015 order—which offered only one advance increment—was deemed insufficient to bridge the gap created by the 30% fitment benefit granted to the junior

The competent authority was directed to remove the pay disparity and pass an order providing the applicant with all consequential benefits, including arrears

The Tribunal awarded interest at the rate of 6% per annum on the arrears, accruing from the date of filing the application until payment

The respondents were ordered to complete this exercise within five months