Per: SURESH KUMAR BATRA MEMBER (J):-
1. The applicants have filed present Original Application under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 seeking the following relief:-
“(i) That a direction be issued to the respondents to grant Dress Allowance to the applicants w.e.f. 1.7.2017 along with arrears of the same etc. by extending them benefit of decision rendered by this Tribunal in the case of Gurmeet Singh and Ors Vs. UOI and Others, O.A. No. 1228/2019, allowed on 5.6.2020 (Annexure A-6) and upheld by the Hon‟ble Punjab and Haryana High Court vide order dated 4.10.2021, in the interest of justice.
(ii) That it be declared that the applicants are entitled to benefit of Dress Allowance w.e.f. 1.7.2017 in terms of O.M. dated 02.08.2017 and 31.08.2017 issued by Govt. of India along with all consequential benefits like arrears etc.”
2. The pleaded case of the applicants is that they are Industrial employees, working as Master Craftsman (MCM), FGM, HS-I, HS-II, Elect, Mate Carp, Mate elect, Painter, Mason etc. (industrial Staff) and are Group-C employees under the control of the respondents no. 4 to 6. Prior to implementation of recommendations of 7th CPC, the Industrial employees like applicants were provided Dangri (Dress) yearly and washing Allowance per month. But on the recommendations of 7th CPC, the respondents stopped providing same to the employees like applicants. The applicants continued to get washing allowance till March, 2017 and providing Dangri was stopped to them w.e.f. 01.01.2016. The Government of India, Ministry of Finance issued Office Memorandum dated 02.08.2017 (Annexure A-1) , whereby a decision was taken and existing orders relating to Uniform Related Allowance, Clothing Allowance, Robe Allowance, Robe Maintenance allowance, Shoe Allowance, Uniform Allowance and Washing Allowance were subsumed in a single Dress Allowance amounting to Rs.5000/- per annum. Subsequently, the Government of India, DoP&T issued Office Memorandum dated 31.08.2017 (Annexure A-2) providing that in supersession of the existing orders relating to admissibility of Uniform Allowance/Washing Allowance/stitching charges/Shoe allowance etc. to common categories of Group-C and erstwhile Group-D employees of various Ministries/Department including attached/subordinate offices, who are supplied uniform and required to wear them regularly, they shall be paid Dress Allowance @ Rs.5000/- per year.
3. Pursuant to Office Memorandums dated 02.08.2017 and 31.08.2017, Respondent No. 4 issued circular dated 02.08.2018 (Annexure A-4) whereby all the sub Offices were directed to grant Dress Allowance to the employees(Industrial/Non-Industrial), who are wearing Uniform and/or were drawing washing allowance. Pursuant thereto, some Units of the respondent department like Adampur, Kapurthala, Ferozepur, Patiala, Chandigarh and Chandimandir etc. sanctioned Dress Allowance to the Industrial employees for the year 2017-18, 2018-19 @ Rs.5,000/- each year. Later on, the respondent no. 6 issued letter dated 15.11.2019 (Annexure A-5) whereby it was decided to recover the Dress Allowance from the industrial employees paid for the year 2017-18 2018-19, 2019-20 by stating that at present the entitlement of dress allowance to the industrial employees yet to be decided.
4. Learned counsel for the applicants argued that the identical issue regarding entitlement of Industrial employees to Dress Allowance @ Rs.5000/- per annum has been considered and decided by this Tribunal in a bunch of matters with leading case titled Gurmit Singh Vs. Union of India & Others (O.A. No. 1228/2019 decided on 05.06.2020) wherein the applicants (therein), who are similarly situated like the applicants herein, have been held entitled to Dress Allowance and a direction has been issued to respondents to refund the recovered amount towards dress allowance. The decision of this Tribunal in the case of Gurmit Singh (supra) has been upheld by the Hon‟ble High Court of Punjab and Haryana vide order dated 04.10.2021 in CWP No. 19317 of 2021 titled Union of India & ors Vs. Vinod Kumar and Others. It has been submitted that the orders dated 05.06.2020 of this Tribunal have been implemented qua the applicants therein. It has been prayed that the applicants being the similarly situated like the applicants in the case of Gurmit Singh (supra) be granted the benefit of decision dated 05.06.2020 in the case of Gurmit Singh( Supra), as affirmed by the Hon‟ble High Court of Punjab and Haryana.
5. Learned counsel for the respondents could not dispute the fact that the action of the respondents in withdrawing the benefit of dress allowance has been held to be unsustainable by this Tribunal in the case of Gurmit Singh (Supra) and the applicants therein have been granted the relevant benefit.
6. I have gone through the pleadings and perused the decision of this Tribunal in the case of Gurmit Singh (supra) and judgment dated 04.10.2021 of the Hon‟ble High Court of Punjab and Haryana in the C.W.P. No. 19317/2021 challenging the decision of this Tribunal. The applicants herein are similarly situated like the applicants in the case of Gurmit Singh (supra), who have already been granted the benefit of dress allowance, therefore, the respondents cannot deny the similar benefit to the applicants herein, in view of the law laid down by the Hon‟ble High Court of Punjab and Haryana in the case of Satbir Singh Vs. State of Haryana, 2002 (2) SCT 354.
7. In view of the above facts and law position on the issue, the present Original Application is disposed of with a direction to respondents to decide the claim of applicants for grant of Dress Allowance in the light of the decision of this Tribunal in the case of Gurmit Singh (supra), within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. No costs.
