Home / Crime and Justice / Senior Cop Wins Pay Parity Battle Against Junior
Senior Cop Wins Pay Parity Battle Against Junior
24 Apr
Summary
- Retired IPS officer awarded salary upgrade due to superseding junior.
- Tribunal ruled against government's discriminatory pay decision.
- Officer to receive arrears and revised pension from November 2015.
The Central Administrative Tribunal's Hyderabad bench has ruled in favor of a retired IPS officer, AK Khan, declaring that a senior officer should not receive less pay than a junior. The tribunal found the government's prior refusal to grant Khan a pay upgrade illegal and discriminatory.
Consequently, the tribunal overturned the previous government order. It mandated Khan's salary to be re-fixed at Rs 80,000 monthly, effective November 13, 2015, the date a junior officer, Anurag Sharma, became DGP. Arrears up to Khan's retirement in December 2017 and a revised pension were also ordered.
Khan, a 1981-batch IPS officer, had approached the tribunal after his supersession for the Head of Police Force role by the 1982-batch officer, Sharma. While the government argued the higher pay scale was post-specific, the tribunal invoked the 'Next Below Rule,' emphasizing that seniority should not result in financial disadvantage and citing Supreme Court precedents.
The tribunal granted the government one month to implement the order, after which interest would accrue on unpaid dues. This ruling upholds established service norms and ensures fair compensation based on seniority.
