Ambika bhardwaj
Published On: January 30, 2022 at 14:41 IST
On Thursday, the Supreme Court in the Case of State of Madhya Pradesh v. RD Sharma and Another held that the Executive is responsible for equation of posts and determining pay scales and the Judiciary should avoid taking the task of job evaluation, which is usually left to expert bodies.
The Court was hearing an Appeal made by the State of Madhya Pradesh challenging a Judgement of the Madhya Pradesh High Court that permitted a retired employee (Respondent) to receive a pension of Rs.40,000 as per the Indian Forests Service (Pay) Second Amendment Rules 2008.
The 2008 Rules provided for the promotion for position of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) to the position of Head of Forest Force in each State cadre.
According to the facts of the Case, the Respondent retired in December 2001 and in April 2011, he asked the Central Government to increase his pension from Rs.37,750 to Rs.40,000. The Centre denied the representation.
The representation was also dismissed by the Administrative Tribunal in 2013.
However, the Madhya Pradesh High Court granted his Petition, ruling that the Respondent, who retired in 2001, was entitled to a pension of Rs.40,000.
The State moved to the Supreme Court, but it was rejected on December 1, 2017, with the Right to File a Revision Petition before the High Court. However, on September 17, 2019, the High Court rejected the Revision Petition as well.
Further, the State filed an Appeal in the Supreme Court, questioning the December 1, 2017 and September 17, 2019 Orders.
The Bench observed that, because the Respondent had retired in 2001, his assertion for benefit of the apex scale under the Indian Forests Service (Pay) Second Amendment Rules, that came into effect in 2008, was misconceived.
While permitting the State of Madhya Pradesh’s Appeal, the Court also stated that the authority under Article 227 should be used carefully in applicable Cases to keep Subordinate Courts and Tribunals inside the limits of their power.
Hence, the Appeal was permitted.