In a significant ruling, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to extend pay parity and benefits to senior IPS officer Harish Chandra Singh, reinforcing the foundational principle of seniority in civil services.
The Tribunal has ordered that Singh, a 1984-batch IPS officer of the UP cadre, be granted the top pay scale of ₹80,000 — the same as his junior, former DGP Javed Ahmed — effective from January 1, 2016. In addition, the state government has been directed to pay all dues, pension arrears, and associated benefits within three months.
The order was passed by a bench comprising Justice Rajeev Joshi and Hon’ble Member Anjani Nandan Sharan while allowing Singh’s application. The Tribunal found that Singh, who ranked 17th in the 1984 batch, was unfairly denied the higher pay scale given to Javed Ahmed, who was two places junior in the same cadre.
Both officers were promoted on June 30, 2015. While Javed Ahmed was appointed as Director General of Police (DGP) with the corresponding top pay scale, Singh was posted as Director General of Training, Unnao — but without the appropriate pay.
Calling the state government’s action “arbitrary,” the CAT stated that seniority must be respected unless there are compelling reasons to disregard it. The Tribunal also cited the ‘next below rule’, emphasizing that extending a benefit to a junior while excluding a senior constitutes a violation of natural justice.
“This judgment reinforces that bureaucratic fairness hinges on the consistent application of seniority,” a legal expert noted, calling it a landmark decision in service jurisprudence.
