Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 25: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has directed the Government to treat the services of Indian Reserve Police (IRP) officials for Old Pension Scheme (OPS) under the relevant Pension Rules which were in force in 2009 and pass necessary orders within three months in this regard.
About 82 officials of the IRP who were selected and appointed by the Selection Board after due process of selection for the post of constables in the Police Department approached the CAT that though their recruitment process took place in 2009 and selected and appointed by or before December 31, 2009 but the authorities issued their formal joining appointment order after 31.12.2009 causing them great prejudice as it made them ineligible for the OPS.
The advertisement notice was issued on 7.2.2209 by the Director General of Police J&K. The process in this regard was initiated and Selection Board was constituted, which submitted its recommendations 26.09.2009, the competent authority accorded approval for selection of the candidates along with applicants. They were directed to report to the Dy Inspector General of Police IRP Kashmir Range at Armed Police Complex Zewan Srinagar, for document verification.
Subsequently, the applicants reported before DIG IRP and the appointment orders issued to them, joined the department immediately and since then they have been discharging their duties. They are now being governed by SRO 400 dated 24.12.2009(new pension scheme) which is not applicable to them. Their counsel Lone Altaf submitted before the bench of Chhabilendra Roul and Harvinder Kaur Oberio that though the applicants are similarly situated to others who are governed by the un-amended pension rules as the process of selection was one and such other candidates were also selected through the same appointment process.
The CAT while allowing the pleas said that there is no in dispute that the recruitment notice was issued in February 2009, applicants applied in pursuance to the same, further the selection process was conducted and concluded in the same year as result was declared in 2009 itself. What remained was verification process prior to formal appointment. Those who could get their appointment offer prior to 31.12.2009 are under the OPS and applicants who could not get the offer prior to the cut off of 31.12.2009 have been placed in New Pension Scheme (NPS) as per SRO 400.
The reply filed in opposition to the pleas of these candidates by the authorities have stated that they issued enrolment orders to the present applicants on completion of recruitment process, however, there the Police/CID verification caused some delay but there has been no delay on the part of appointing authority.
It has been further added that the applicants joined their duties after 01.01.2010 and as per their appointment orders, they are governed by SRO 400 of 2009 dated 24.12.2009 and since the recruitment process included selection of 6000 candidates, it was not possible to issue 6000 appointment orders prior to 31.12.2009 and as such there has been no delay on part of the respondents.
The CAT after hearing the advocate Altaf recorded that there is force in the submissions made by him and held that since the applicants are not at fault for their delay in formal joining, they cannot be discriminated against vis-à-vis their counterparts who could join prior to 01.01.2010 and direct the respondents to govern the service conditions of the applicants under the relevant Pension Rules in vogue in 2009 within a period of three months.
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