HYDERABAD: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Hyderabad Bench, has ruled that a senior officer cannot be paid less than a junior and directed authorities to grant pay parity to former IPS officer AK Khan.
A bench, comprising Dr Lata Baswaraj Patne (Judicial Member) and Varun Sindhu Kul Maumudu (Administrative Member), was hearing Khan’s plea challenging a November 3, 2016 order of the Ministry of Home Affairs. While setting aside the order, the Tribunal held the rejection order to be “contrary to law and discriminatory”.
Invoking the “Next Below Rule” and provisions under the IPS (Pay) Rules, 1954, the Bench observed that when a junior officer is granted a higher pay scale, the senior is entitled to have his pay stepped up to that level. Khan, a 1981 batch IPS officer, sought parity after his junior, Anurag Sharma, was appointed Director General of Police and granted the Apex Scale of `80,000 on November 13, 2015.
The Tribunal directed the respondents to re-fix Khan’s salary in the Apex Scale from the same date, along with consequential arrears until his retirement. It also ordered revision of his pensionary benefits and release of arrears within a month, failing which interest applicable under GPF norms would accrue.
Khan argued that the issue was settled by prior Tribunal rulings upheld by the Supreme Court and various high courts. He contended that despite being senior and eligible, he was overlooked for the DGP post without explanation. The Union and state governments argued that the Apex Scale is post-specific and limited to the DGP, with no provision for additional posts. However, the Tribunal rejected this contention, emphasising pay parity principles over post-based distinctions in such cases.