UNION OF INDIA AND ANR vs M SETHU RAMANLINGAM

Judgment text excerpt

$~67 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(C) 7489/2017 UNION OF INDIA AND ANR .....Petitioners Through: Mr. Ripudaman Bhardwaj, CGSC with Mr. Kushagra Kumar, Mr. Abhinav Bhardwaj, Mr. Himanshu Kaushik and Mr. Deepak Kaushik, Advs. versus M SETHU RAMANLINGAM .....Respondent Through: Mr. Padma Kumar S. Adv. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE C.HARI SHANKAR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AJAY DIGPAUL JUDGMENT (ORAL) % 17.02.2025 AJAY DIGPAUL, J. 1. The present writ petition was filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by the Union of India, Ministry of Defence, Joint Secretary E/CAO, Ministry of Defence1 challenging the order dated 20.12.2016 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal Principal Bench, New Delhi2 whereby the Tribunal had quashed the decisions of the Ministry of Defence3 and the Ministry of External Affairs4 denying the respondent, Mr. M. Sethu Ramalingam, the financial benefits accruing from his in-situ promotion to the position of Joint 1 "the petitioner", hereinafter 2 "the Tribunal", hereinafter 3 “MoD” , hereinafter 4 “MEA” , hereinafter W.P.(C) 7489/2017 Signature Not Verified Page 1 of 7 Signed By:MEENU KALRA Signing Date:01.03.2025 15:54:34 Director during his deputation to Mauritius. The Tribunal further directed the MoD to disburse the arrears in the scale of Joint Director for the period spanning from 28.08.2004 to 20.10.2005, along with an interest of 9% per annum on these arrears. 2. The genesis of this dispute is that the respondent joined the Armed Forces Headquarters Service5 on 02.02.1997 as Assistant (Direct Recruit) and after serving for a period of around 13 years, he was promoted as Deputy Director (Group 'A' post) in AFHQ CS. Subsequently, he was deputed to Mauritius under the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation6 Programme o