Statutory right to equivalent pay scale post-medical decategorization prevails over voluntary acceptance of lower-grade posts.

The applicant was serving as a Constable in the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Malda with a Grade Pay (GP) of Rs. 2,000/-.

On 16/08/2022, he was medically decategorized.

A Screening Committee, finding him fit for medical category 'BEE-ONE', recommended his posting to the lower post of Hammer Man Grade-III in the ST Department with a lower GP of Rs. 1,900/- (with pay protection), citing the unavailability of a post with GP Rs. 2,000/-.

The applicant conveyed his willingness, was appointed to the lower post on 01/02/2023, and joined duty on 03/04/2023.

He subsequently challenged this medical decategorization and posting, seeking a suitable alternative post with the same Grade Pay or the creation of a supernumerary post.

1. Whether a medically decategorized railway employee can be legally shifted to a post carrying a lower Grade Pay when a post of equivalent rank is unavailable

2. Whether the doctrine of estoppel applies to an employee who voluntarily accepts a lower post after medical decategorization

Paragraphs 1301 and 1303 of the Indian Railway Establishment Manual (IREM), which mandate that a railway servant disabled during service should not be reduced in rank but shifted to a post with the same pay scale and service benefits, or kept in a supernumerary post if no such post is immediately available.

Section 47 of the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) Act (now governed by the 2016 Act principles), which prohibits the reduction in rank of an employee who acquires a disability.

The precedent set by the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in Bikash Roy v. Union of India (WPCT/56/2021), which establishes that there is no estoppel against statutory rights in the context of unequal bargaining power between employer and employee.

The Tribunal performed a conjoint reading of IREM Paragraphs 1301, 1303, and 1304, concluding that the statutory obligation of the Railways is to provide an alternative post with the same pay scale.

The Tribunal rejected the respondents' argument that the applicant’s voluntary consent to join a lower post (GP Rs. 1,900/-) estopped him from seeking the higher Grade Pay.

Citing the Bikash Roy judgment, the Tribunal noted that an employer occupies a dominant position, and an employee often accepts prejudicial terms to secure their livelihood.

Since the IREM holds statutory flavor, its provisions regarding pay protection and supernumerary posts cannot be bypassed by obtaining "consent" for a lower rank, as there can be no estoppel against a statute.

It held that the applicant is entitled to be posted in an alternative post carrying the same Grade Pay and service benefits he enjoyed prior to decategorization, regardless of his initial consent to the lower post.

The competent respondent authority was directed to issue appropriate orders within 30 days of receipt of the certified copy of the order.

No order as to costs was made.