ANIL KUMAR, J. - (1.) Heard Sri Navneet Kumar and Sri Prashant Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel for the petitioners and Sri Praveen Kumar, learned counsel for the respondents.
(2.) The respondent nos.1 to 16 working in the petitioners' department had approached Central Administrative Tribunal, Lucknow by filing Original Application No.345 of 2016 ( Randheesh Kumar Singh and others Vs. Union of India and others) with the following main prayers:- "(1) To quash the impugned reduction of pay/ Grade Pay Rs.4800/-4600/- to 4200/- and consequential recovery of alleged over payment,contained as annexure no.A-1 to this OA and further quash the order if any, by which Grade Pay of the applicants has been ordered to be reduced after summoning the original form the respondents, with all consequential benefit. (2) To restore the pay of the applicants, which was earlier granted vide order dated 23.3.2010, 21.6.2010, 16.7.2011 and 16.8.2011 and pay arrears thereof and also revise the pay after adding annual increments eared on due dates."
(3.) After hearing the parties and going through the records, the Central Administrative Tribunal, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow has allowed the Original Application of the petitioners on 8.5.2019, the operative portion of the same is quoted as under:- "Considering the fact that initial fixation of pay and Grade Pay has been correctly done by the respondents, the same calls for no revision. As the matter of fact, the judgment relied upon by the counsel for the applicants as itemized in paragraph no.6 above, relate to the same subject matter of financial up-gradation of which to cases (a) judgment dated 11.9.2018 of Allahabad Bench in O.A. No.1253 of 2013 and (b) judgment dated 13.4.2018 of Patna Bench of the Tribunal in O.A. No.836 of 2014 pertain to very guards which fully supports the case of the applicants. In view of the above, the OA succeeds . The reduction of pay of the applicants as contained in the pay slips vide Annexure A-1 and consequent recovery are held to be illegal and unjust and it is declared that the applicants' pay fixed originally is the correct fixation and the grade pay of Rs.4800 and 4600 afforded to the applicants nos. 1 to 5 and 6 to 16 respectively shall not undergo any downward revision on the ground of erroneous fixation of pay. The withheld part of grade pay shall be refunded by the respondents to the applicants and the same shall be incremented with interest @7.5% per annum which is the normal interest rate on fixed deposit for a year or more prescribed by the nationalized banks. Time calendared to comply with this order is on or before 31st July, 2019. Under the above circumstances, there shall be no order as to cost." ;