In a major boost to constables of the Delhi Police, recruited before 2006, the Delhi High Court has dismissed the Centre’s petition challenging a decision of a tribunal here on the strength of which the police personnel are seeking refixation of their salaries.
On July 18, 2016, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) had directed the Delhi Police to fix the salary of Constable Babu Lal Mitharwal on par with those recruited after 2006.
Mr. Mitharwal, who was recruited before 2006, had challenged a policy of the Delhi Police which fixed the minimum entry pay for direct-recruit constables joining the force in or after 2006, up to ₹1,900 more than the pay fixed for those recruited between 2000-06.
Approached individually
While the Delhi Police, in compliance with the tribunal’s order, in September 2016, revised the salary of Mr. Mitharwal, it did not do so for the other constables who too had joined the agency before 2006.
This forced the affected constables to individually approach the court for similar relief granted to Mr. Mitharwal.
“The denial of the benefit of minimum pay scale that had been granted to Constable Babu Lal Mitharwal would be violative of the fundamental right to equality [under Article 14 of the Constitution] of applicants who are similarly placed, in so far as they were enlisted as constables before 2006,” a petition by one of the constables seeking similar relief said.
Advocate Gyanant Kumar Singh, who had represented Mr. Mitharwal, said that though the tribunal rules allow an association to approach it on behalf of all similarly placed workers, the Delhi Police constables are not allowed to form an association or a union. Hence, they have not been able to do that.
Mr. Singh said the decision affects about 4,000 constables.
‘Already burdened’
In its plea before the High Court, the Centre said that after the tribunal’s verdict in Mr. Mitharwal’s case, it is already “burdened with financial implications”.
It had argued that the employees who were already in service prior to January 1, 2006, and those who joined after as Direct Recruits formed two different classes with two different rules for fixation of pay.
However, a High Court Bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Rekha Palli expressed displeasure over the Centre not mentioning in its petition that the tribunal’s order has already been implemented in Mr. Mitharwal’s case.
On the Bench query to know the reason for challenging an order which had already been implemented, the Centre’s counsel said many other police personnel were seeking refixation of salary in terms of the order.
This cannot be justification for challenging an order, the Bench remarked while dismissing the Centre’s petition.
“We do not see any reason to entertain the present petition…particularly, when it is nowhere been stated therein that the benefit of the impugned judgment has already been granted by the petitioners to the respondent. The present petition is dismissed,” the Bench said.