Central Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2008 - Entry pay
for direct recruits appointed on or after 1.1.2006 and pay fixation in
the case of persons other than such direct recruits
No. 8-23/2017 - E.IIIA
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Expenditure
North Block, New Delhi
28th September, 2018
Office Memorandum
Subject:
Central
Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2008 - Section II of the Part 'A'
of the First Schedule thereto - entry pay for direct recruits appointed
on or after 1.1.2006 and pay fixation in the case of persons other than
such direct recruits.
The undersigned is directed to
invite the attention to the provisions contained in Section-2 of Part
'A' of the First Schedule of the Central Civil Services (Revised Pay)
Rules, 2008 which provides for entry pay in the revised pay structure
(pay structure effective from 1.1.2006 up to 31.12.2015) for direct
recruits appointed on or after 1.1.2006 on a post and to say that pay in
respect of persons appointed to the same posts before 1.1.2006 is
required to be fixed as on 1.1.2006 under Rule 7 (1)(A)(i) and pay in
respect persons appointed on the same post on promotion on or after
1.1.2006 is required to be fixed under Rule 13 thereof.
2. A
number of references were received in Ministry of Finance, Department of
Expenditure, stating that the pay of seniors of a post was fixed at a
stage lower than the entry pay applicable to the persons appointed on
direct recruitment basis on that post on or after 1.1.2006. In such
cases, stepping of pay was allowed to the senior employee at par with
the entry pay of direct recruits of those posts, subject to the
conditions, inter-alia, that stepping up of pay of seniors is applicable
only in those cases which have an element of direct recruitment and
where a directly recruited junior is actually drawing more basic pay
than the seniors. Thus, the stepping up of pay of senior employees was
admissible from the date a junior direct recruit joined on or after
1.1.2006.
3. The matter was also considered in the meeting of the
National Anomaly Committee (NAC) held on 17.7.2012 based on a demand
raised by the Staff Side under the JCM. NAC had recommended that in
cases where Recruitment Rules provide for direct recruitment, then the
stepping up of pay of senior may be considered, even if no actual direct
recruitment takes place or no direct recruit has actually joined.
However, it was decided that stepping up of the pay of seniors can be
claimed only in the case of those cadres which have an element of direct
recruitment and in cases where a directly recruited junior is actually
drawing more basic pay than the seniors. Thus, stepping up of pay was
dependent upon actual joining of a direct recruit.
4. Trained
Graduate Teachers (TGTs) of the Government of National Capital
Territories of Delhi (GNCTD) filed an OA No. 3217/2014 before the
Hon'ble Principal Bench of CAT. The 13 petitioners of the post of
Trained Graduate Teachers (TGT) comprised those who were appointed as
TGT before 1.1.2006 as also those who were promoted to the post of TGT
on or after 1.1.2006. The pay of these 13 employees had been fixed as
per the relevant provisions of the CCS(RP) Rules, 2008 and the same
happened to be lower than the entry pay as applicable to direct recruits
of the post of TGT appointed on or after 1.1.2006. These petitioners
prayed for re-fixing their pay as applicable to direct recruits
appointed on or after 1.1.2006.
5. The Hon'ble Principal Bench of
CAT in their order dated 4.4.2016 in OA No.3217/2014 allowed the
application and directed the Government to ensure that none of the
applicant's pay is fixed at a stage lower than the pay which could be
drawn by a direct recruit appointed on or after 1.1.2006. The order of
Hon'ble CAT dated 4.4.2016 was upheld by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in
terms of their order dated 23.3.2017 in WP(C ) No.2634/2017. The
Hon'ble Delhi High Court in its order dated 23.3.2017 observed,
inter-alia, that the plea of stepping up of pay, as mentioned in para 2
above, means that the direct recruits should have actually joined before
any stepping up of pay can be granted and the date of joining would be
different as filling up of direct recruit vacancies in the cadre would
depend upon vacancy position, selection etc. The Hon'ble Delhi High
Court held that this was unacceptable.
6. The matter arising out
of the aforesaid order of Hon'ble Delhi High Court dated 23.3.2017 was
heard by the Hon'ble Supreme Court as part of the SLP and in its order
dated 01.09.2017 (Dy. No. 23663/2017), the Hon'ble Supreme Court has
observed that once the question, in principle, has been settled, it is
only appropriate on the part of the Government to issue a Circular. The
Hon'ble Supreme Court further observed that the present situation is
that the stepping up is available only to those who have approached the
Court, but since the issue otherwise became final, the Hon'ble Supreme
Court directed Government to immediately look into the matter and issue
appropriate orders.
7. Accordingly, the matter has been considered
in the light of the above background and in the context of the specific
orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court dated 01.09.2017 as arising out of the
original issue raised by the Trained Graduated Teachers of GNCTD in
terms of their OA No. 3217/2014. As mentioned above, the petitioners in
that case were those who were appointed as TGT before 1.1.2006 and also
promoted as TGT on or after 1.1.2006, and had occasion for grievance
because their pay in the pay structure in vogue from 1.1.2006 had been
fixed lower than the entry pay as prescribed for direct recruits
appointed as TGT on or after 1.1.2006. Therefore, the principle of the
benefit of pay fixation, as flowing from the aforesaid orders of Hon'ble
CAT, Hon'ble Delhi High Court and the Hon'ble Supreme Court, is that
the pay of those who were appointed to the post prior to 1.1.2006 and
those who were appointed to the post on promotion in the pay structure
effective from 1.1.2006 onwards, and where in respect of such posts
entry pay for direct recruits appointed on or after 1.1.2006 has been
prescribed giving rise to differential pay, may not be lower than the
said entry pay. It is the case of differential pay in respect of
employees of a post, as caused by the existence of entry pay applicable
for direct recruits on that post appointed on or after 1.1.2006, that
has been addressed in the aforesaid case of the post of TGTs. In case
entry pay as per Section II of Part A of the First Schedule of the
CCS(RP) Rules, 2008 is not applicable in case of a post, the same will
not give rise to differential pay for holders of the post and, hence,
not covered under the ratio of the case of TGT.
8. Accordingly,
the President is pleased to decide that in respect of those posts where
entry pay for direct recruits appointed on or after 1.1.2006, as per
Section II of Part A of the First Schedule of CCS(RP) Rules, 2008,
becomes applicable by virtue of the provision of the element of direct
recruitment in the relevant recruitment rules, the pay of Central
government employees who were appointed to such posts prior to 1.1.2006
and whose pay, as fixed in the revised pay structure under Rule 7
thereof as on 1.1.2006 turns out to be lower than the prescribed entry
pay for direct recruits of that post, shall not be less than such entry
pay w.e.f. 1.1.2006. Likewise, the pay of Central Government employees
who were appointed to such posts by way of promotion on or after
1.1.2006 and whose pay, as fixed under Rule 13 of CCS(RP) Rules, 2008,
happens to be lower than the said entry pay, shall also not be less than
such entry pay from the date of their promotion taking place on or
after 1.1.2006.
9. In their application to the employees of office
of Indian Audits and Accounts Department, these orders issue after
consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
10. Hindi version of these orders is attached.
S/d,
(Amar Nath Singh)
Director
