Tent Menders classified as skilled workers entitled to skilled pay grades and all consequential service benefits.

The applicant was appointed as a "Tent Mender (Skilled)" in the pay scale of PB-1 (Rs. 5200-20200 + GP 1900) on September 17, 2014, following a public advertisement.

In 2022, while processing the applicant’s request for a promotion course, the respondents alleged that the post of Tent Mender is "un-skilled/semi-skilled" with a Grade Pay of Rs. 1800 per the Recruitment Rules (RR), and the initial advertisement was an inadvertent error.

Consequently, Respondent No. 5 issued an order on June 7, 2023, to re-classify the applicant as "unskilled," reduce his pay scale, and recover the "excess" payments in installments.

The applicant challenged these orders, citing judicial precedents that classified Tent Menders as skilled workers.

1. Whether the post of Tent Mender in the Ministry of Defence is to be classified as a "Skilled" category with the corresponding pay scale.

2. Whether the respondents can legally recover alleged excess payments and revert the applicant’s status from skilled to unskilled after eight years of service.

The Tribunal relied on the principle of stare decisis and judicial consistency, specifically citing the decision of the CAT Principal Bench in O.A. No. 762/2002, which directed the Ministry of Defence to declare Tent Menders as "skilled workers" in the grade of Rs. 260-400 (revised to 3050-4590/GP 1900) effective from 1984.

This rule was upheld by the Delhi High Court in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 9539/2003 and confirmed by the Supreme Court of India via the dismissal of a Special Leave Petition (SLP) on September 4, 2009.

It also relied on the CAT Chandigarh Bench decision in O.A. No. 832/2014 and the Guwahati Bench in O.A. No. 290/2014 which extended these benefits to similarly situated employees.

The Tribunal found that the controversy regarding the categorization of "Tent Menders" had already attained finality through previous litigation up to the Supreme Court.

The court reasoned that since the higher judiciary had already declared Tent Menders as "skilled workers" entitled to the higher pay scale (equivalent to the category of Tailors), the respondents' claim that the 2014 advertisement was an "inadvertent mistake" contradicted established law.

The Tribunal applied the precedents from the Principal, Chandigarh, and Guwahati Benches to the present facts, noting that the applicant was rightly appointed in the "Skilled" grade and that the respondents were bound by the finality of the judicial pronouncements declaring the post as skilled.

It held that the applicant must be treated as a "Skilled worker" from his initial date of appointment (September 17, 2014) and is entitled to all consequential benefits, including arrears and further promotions. The respondents were directed to complete the exercise within two months.