The DIVISIONAL SUPERINTENDENT, PAKISTAN RAILWAYS, RAWALPINDI vs Syed IRSHAD ALI ABID art

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The DIVISIONAL SUPERINTENDENT, PAKISTAN RAILWAYS, RAWALPINDI VS Syed IRSHAD ALI ABID art. 25---Employee of Pakistan Railways---Scheme for encouraging higher education---Employees with higher education entitled for advance increments---Withdrawal of scheme---Plea of discrimination---No vested right--- Promissory estoppal--- applicability--- Scope---Respondent-employee secured his LL.B degree in the year 2002 on the basis of the scheme in question introduced by the Railway authorities in the year 1996---Respondent claimed four advance increments on account of having secured the said degree---Employer/Pakistan Railways contested the claim on the ground that the incentive scheme was discontinued by the Railway authorities vide notification dated 13.9.2001---Service Tribunal found that the employee was entitled to the advance increments for two reasons; firstly, in similar cases the relief was granted in the year 2011 after the closure of the scheme and secondly, the Railway authorities had conceded and granted the right to such relief in the case of several similarly placed persons---Consequently, denial of the relief to the employee would constitute discrimination---Held, that perusal of the record showed that the persons who were granted relief by the Service Tribunal had obtained their higher qualification prior to the year 2001, consequently, they enjoyed same entitlement which was given judicial recognition---In the second category of cases the judgments given by the Service Tribunal were given ex-parte against Pakistan Railways---Furthermore, neither of the said orders dealt with the withdrawal of the scheme vide notification dated 13.9.2001---Respondent was making his claim in the year 2012 before the Service Tribunal although the benefit scheme had been withdrawn in the year 2001---although Railways had given an assurance that an alternative scheme would be introduced again in due course, but till date that had not happened---No promissory estoppel had arisen in the present case because the scheme was withdrawn before the employee secured his higher qualification in the year 2002---Consequently, there was no vested right in the employee to be granted the benefit of abolished scheme---appeal was allowed and impugned judgment of Service Tribunal was set aside.

The DIVISIONAL SUPERINTENDENT, PAKISTAN RAILWAYS, RAWALPINDI vs Syed IRSHAD ALI ABID art — 2021 PLC(CS) 277 SUPREME-COURT

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