UNION OF INDIA vs M. SURYANARAYANA RAO

The Supreme Court upheld the Central Administrative Tribunal's decision to step up the pay of the respondent to be on par with his junior, P. Panjiara, based on the principle that pay should not be lower than that of juniors promoted earlier. The Court clarified that the principle of stepping up does not apply when a junior's higher pay results from adhoc promotions, as established in Union of India vs. R. Swaminathan & Ors. [1997 (7) SCC 690]. The Court affirmed the Tribunal's limitation of relief to three years prior to the application, rejecting the appellant's contention regarding the inapplicability of stepping up in this context.