Senior employees are entitled to pay stepping-up parity with juniors receiving ACP/MACP benefits.

The applicant, a retired Superintendent of Central Tax, challenged the Principal Chief Commissioner’s order dated 18 October 2024 and the Department of Revenue’s direction dated 10 April 2023, which treated the Karnataka High Court’s decision in C.R. Madhava Murthy v. Union of India as confined to the parties in that case. He sought stepping up of his pay to that of his junior, with consequential pensionary benefits.

The Tribunal noted that the pay-parity issue had already been considered in R.S. Venkataram v. Union of India and connected matters, OA No. 69/2023, decided on 20 December 2024.

Whether the applicant was entitled to pay stepping-up and consequential benefits on par with his junior, having regard to C.R. Madhava Murthy and the Tribunal’s decision in R.S. Venkataram.

Whether the impugned orders should be quashed insofar as they denied the applicant that relief.

Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, provides the basis for the applicant’s original application.

The Tribunal relied on its decision in R.S. Venkataram v. Union of India, which considered the Karnataka High Court’s judgment in C.R. Madhava Murthy v. Union of India, W.P. Nos. 33038–33039/2016, dated 31 July 2021, affirmed by the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal Nos. 2087–2088/2022, reported at (2022) 6 SCC 183, and followed by dismissal of the review petitions.

The governing principle applied was that similarly placed employees were entitled to consistent treatment in the matter of stepping up pay vis-à-vis their juniors.

The Tribunal treated the applicant’s claim as governed by its earlier decision in R.S. Venkataram, which had considered the effect of C.R. Madhava Murthy and granted pay stepping-up to the applicants before it.

Finding no reason to depart from that decision, and emphasising uniformity and consistency in judicial decisions, the Tribunal held that the applicant was entitled to similar relief.

No order was made as to costs.