All India Association Of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers And Ors vs Union Of India And Ors

C. Hari Shankar, J

The petitioner-association instituted OA 3848/2018 before the Central Administrative Tribunal, seeking extension, to the members of the petitioner-association, who are Group-B Officers, who had joined service as Central Excise / CGST Inspectors, under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), of the Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFU) Scheme. Various grounds have been urged in the petition for justifying the request. In as much as the learned Tribunal has not considered any of the contentions, it is not necessary to reiterate them.

The impugned order merely has dismissed the petitioners’ OA on the sole ground that the NFU have been extended only to Group-A Officers, and the question of whether the benefit of the Scheme was required to be extended to any other category of employees was “purely on the realm of Government”.

With respect, we are of the opinion that the learned Tribunal has not properly appreciated the contentions advanced in the OA. While we do not express any merits on the entitlement of the petitioners to the relief sought by them, it was incumbent on the learned Tribunal to examine the petitioners’ prayer for extension of the benefit of NFU Scheme to Group-B Officers of the petitioner-association on merits, and return a finding of the prayer, one way or the other. That has not been done.

For the aforesaid reasons, we are of the opinion that the impugned order cannot be sustained, and is accordingly quashed and set aside. OA 3848/2018 stands remitted to the learned Tribunal for decision afresh in accordance with law, after extending opportunity to all parties concerned.

The petition is allowed to the aforesaid extent.

In order to expedite the matter, learned Counsel from both sides are directed to appear before the learned Tribunal on 15 October 2024.