Similarly situated employees are entitled to pay parity effective from the date of Cadre Review Committee recommendations.

The 44 applicants are Storekeepers employed at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry.

They were placed in Pay Band-1 (Rs. 5200–20200) with a Grade Pay (GP) of Rs. 2400.

The applicants contended that their duties, recruitment qualifications, and responsibilities are identical to Storekeepers at sister institutions such as AIIMS (New Delhi) and PGIMER (Chandigarh), who are placed in Pay Band-2 (Rs. 9300–34800) with a GP of Rs. 4200.

Despite recommendations from the Cadre Restructuring Committee and General Body for parity, the respondents did not implement the higher pay scale.

The applicants approached the Tribunal seeking retrospective implementation of the higher pay scale effective from 01.01.2006.

1. Whether the applicants are entitled to the pay scale of Rs. 9300–34800 with Grade Pay of Rs. 4200 on par with Storekeepers in AIIMS and PGIMER.

2. Whether the implementation of the upgraded pay scale should be granted from 01.01.2006 or from the date of the Cadre Review Committee’s recommendation.

The Tribunal applied the principle of parity for identical posts across autonomous sister institutions governed by similar recruitment rules and administrative structures.

It relied on the legal precedent set by the Principal Bench in OA 2731 of 2016, which established that employees should not suffer or be denied benefits due to administrative delays in approving Cadre Review Committee recommendations.

The core rule derived is that when a proposal for pay revision is accepted following a cadre review, the benefit should be effective from the date of the Committee's recommendation rather than the date of final executive approval.

The Tribunal noted that the matter was no longer res integra as a similar issue regarding Laboratory Technicians in identical institutions had been decided in OA 1365/2015.

Evidence showed that the duties, responsibilities, and qualifications for Storekeepers across JIPMER, AIIMS, and PGIMER are consistent.

The Tribunal observed that the Cadre Review Committee had made its recommendations on 11.12.2012, but executive approval was delayed until 2015.

Applying the reasoning from the Principal Bench, the Tribunal held that there was no plausible explanation for this delay and the applicants could not be penalized for it.

However, the Tribunal rejected the applicants' demand for the 01.01.2006 effective date, finding instead that the right to re-fixation accrued on the date the Cadre Review Committee finalized its recommendations.

It directed the second respondent (JIPMER) to re-fix the applicants' pay in the scale of Rs. 9300–34800 with a Grade Pay of Rs. 4200 effective from 11.12.2012.

The respondents were ordered to grant consequential arrears and benefits within three months of receipt of the order.

The Tribunal specifically held that the applicants are not entitled to interest on the arrears.