Authority: High Court of Odisha at Cuttack

Order Date: 06 July 2026

Case Overview

  • Petitioner: Rabindra Kumar Mohanty, an employee of the railways.
  • Opposite Party: Union of India represented through its General Manager, East Coast Railway, Bhubaneswar, and others.
  • Petition Number: W.P.(C) No.24167 of 2019.
  • Nature of Proceeding: Writ petition challenging the order dated 31 August 2018 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Cuttack Bench, in O.A. No. 260/275 of 2012, which had negatived the original application for benefits under the Modified ACPS (ACP Scheme).
  • Key Legal Provision Invoked: Paragraph‑5 of the MACP Policy dated 10 June 2009, which states that promotions or upgradations earned under the ACP Scheme in the past, which now carry the same Grade Pay due to merger of pay scales/upgradations recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission, shall be ignored for the purpose of granting upgradations under Modified ACPS.
  • Petitioner’s Argument: The promotion earned by the petitioner should be excluded while computing benefits under the ACP Scheme, and the Tribunal failed to consider this, constituting an error apparent on the face of the record.
  • Respondent’s Argument (DSGI & Sr. Panel Counsel): Paragraph‑5 allows exclusion only when the Grade Pay before and after the merger is identical. The petitioner’s pre‑merger Grade Pay was ₹1950‑1400, whereas post‑merger it became ₹2000‑3200, thus the condition is not satisfied.

Final Outcome

  • The Court, after hearing counsel and reviewing the petition papers, agreed with the respondent’s submission that the condition in Paragraph‑5 is not met because the Grade Pays differ pre‑ and post‑merger.
  • The Court noted that the Tribunal’s omission in reasoning does not alter the material fact that the condition is not fulfilled.
  • Consequently, the writ petition is dismissed.
  • Costs are awarded to the respondents, with the order stating “costs having been made easy.”

Topics: Promotion Benefits, Railway Employment