Railway Retirees’ Admissible MACP Benefits Paid; CAT Closes Contempt Case After Finding 2018 Order Complied With

The applicants, retired North Central Railway employees, filed a contempt petition under Section 17 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, alleging non-compliance with the Tribunal’s order dated 15 November 2018 in O.A. No. 331/2015.

The respondents filed compliance and supplementary affidavits stating that admissible MACP benefits, revised pay fixation, revised PPOs, arrears and consequential retirement benefits had been provided or paid, as applicable.

The applicants maintained that the order remained uncomplied with.

Section 17 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 provides the basis for the Tribunal’s contempt jurisdiction.

The operative order required the respondents to consider eligible applicants for MACP financial upgradation in accordance with the Allahabad High Court’s judgment in Writ-A No. 18244/2013, dated 19 July 2013, and prohibited recovery of MACP benefits already granted, consistently with the Supreme Court’s judgment in Union of India v. Mukti Singha, Civil Appeal No. 3321 of 2018, dated 27 March 2018.

The Tribunal considered the compliance affidavits and supporting records, including pay-fixation statements, revised PPOs and due-and-drawn statements.

On that record, the Tribunal concluded that the admissible benefits under its 2018 order had been extended and consequential arrears and retirement dues paid, leaving no basis to find wilful disobedience.

It closed the contempt petition, consigned it to the record, discharged the notices issued to the respondents and disposed of any pending miscellaneous application.