- (1.)This appeal by special leave arises from the judgment of the central administrative tribunal, Madras bench in original application no. 750 of 1991. Respondent an employee of the railways was put under suspension and proceedings were drawn up. The disciplinary authority accepted the findings of the inquiry officer and imposed a penalty of compulsory retirement. An appeal being filed, the appellate authority modified the punishment and the order is quoted below:
".. Keeping in view his past service and purely on humanitarian ground, the penalty is modified as one of reduction to a next lower scale viz. Rs. 1200-2040 for a period of eighteen months. His pay is fixed at Rs. 1500/- in scale of Rs. 1200-2040. "

(2.)Aggrieved by the said order, the respondent approached the central administrative tribunal and the tribunal passed the following order:
"(1) The sentence "his pay is fixed at Rs. 1500 in the scale of Rs 1200-2040" in the order dated 16.8.1990 of the appellate authority is struck down. The order of the appellate authority is otherwise upheld. "

(3.)To appreciate the contentions of the parties we quote the following relevant rule 6 of the Railway Servants (Discipline and appeal) Rules, 1968 which reads as under: 6 Penalties.-
(1) The following penalties may, for good and sufficient reasons and as hereinafter provided, be imposed on a railway servant, namely. (i) censure; (ii) withholding of his promotion for a specified period; (iii) recovery from his pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused by him to the government or railway administration by negligence or breach of orders; (iv) withholding of increments of pay for a specified period with further directions as to whether on the expiry of such period this will or will not have the effect of postponing the future increments of his pay; major penalty; (v) reduction to a lower stage in the. time-scale of pay for a specified period, with further direction as to whether on the expiry of such period, the reduction will or will not have the effect of postponing the further increments of his pay; (vi) reduction to a lower time-scale of pay, grade, post or service, with or without further directions regarding conditions of restoration to the grade or post or service from which the railway servant was reduced and his seniority and pay on such restoration to that grade, post or service;