Similarly situated employees are entitled to notional pay fixation from 01.01.1996 for rectified pay scale anomalies.

The applicant, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Customs, joined the department as an Inspector in 1990 and was promoted to Superintendent in 1997

Under the 5th Central Pay Commission (CPC) effective 01.01.1996, pay scales for these posts were initially fixed but later found to be anomalous.

The Union Government subsequently upgraded these scales via a Ministry of Finance Office Memorandum (OM) dated 21.04.2004, but implemented them prospectively from the date of the OM rather than from 01.01.1996

The applicant sought notional fixation from 01.01.1996 and actual monetary benefits from 21.04.2004, citing parity with employees of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and other units of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) who received such benefits following extensive litigation

The respondents opposed the claim, citing the "fence-sitter" doctrine and limitation under Section 21 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985

1. Whether the application is barred by limitation and laches due to the delay in approaching the Tribunal

2. Whether the applicant is entitled to notional fixation of the upgraded pay scale effective from 01.01.1996 and actual monetary benefits from 21.04.2004 based on the principle of parity

The Tribunal applied the principle that pay fixation constitutes a recurring cause of action, thereby mitigating the rigor of limitation in such matters

It relied on the doctrine established in State of Karnataka v. C. Lalitha, which mandates that similarly situated persons must be treated similarly

The court further invoked the principle from K.L. Shephard v. Union of India, asserting that employees should not be penalized for not litigating if the relief granted to others is applicable to them

The primary precedent followed was the Hyderabad Bench decision in OA No. 1089/2019 (upheld by the Supreme Court in SLP (C) Diary No. 59005/2024), which determined that 5th CPC pay upgrades must be granted notionally from 01.01.1996

The Tribunal rejected the plea of limitation, noting that a Special Anomaly Committee (mandated by the Kolkata High Court) only finalized recommendations in late 2023, and that the department itself had implemented these orders for over 1,500 employees as recently as 2025 and 2026

On the merits, the Tribunal observed that both CBDT and CBIC fall under the Department of Revenue; since the CBDT granted retrospective notional fixation from 01.01.1996, denying the same to the applicant constituted a violation of Article 14

The Tribunal characterized the prior judicial pronouncements on this issue as "judgments in rem," asserting that the department cannot unilaterally treat binding judicial decisions as "in personam" to deny parity to non-litigants

The court concluded that once an anomaly is rectified, the benefits must flow from the date the 5th CPC became operational

It held that the applicant is entitled to refixation of pay under the CCS (Revised Pay) Rules, 1997, on a notional basis from 01.01.1996 and on an actual monetary basis from 21.04.2004, including consequential arrears and revised pensionary benefits

The respondents were directed to complete the implementation within two months of receiving the order