Government of India Should End Multiplicity of Litigations in Service Matters

OPINION PIECE

Recently, the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur imposed a fine of ₹3 lakh on the Government of India. The Ministry of Defence/Director General Ordnance/Field Unit Jabalpur had filed appeals against 30 judgements of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). These judgements directed inclusion of HRA/TA in OT wages and payment of arrears. AIDEF-affiliated unions of Ordnance Factories in Madhya Pradesh were also party to these cases.

Driving employees and their unions to courts for redressal of service-related grievances has become routine for government departments. This raises crucial questions: Why is this happening? Why has the Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM), which was designed to resolve employees’ grievances, become ineffective?

JCM – A Defunct Mechanism

Srikumar said the Government has deliberately made the JCM machinery ineffective.

• The Cabinet Secretary is Chairman of the National Council JCM (I level), which deals with all service matters of Central Government employees.

• Secretaries of respective ministries/departments chair the Departmental Council JCM (II level).

• As per the JCM scheme, three ordinary meetings should take place every year.

However, for the past decade, JCM has become defunct. Meetings are not convened, and repeated requests by the staff side have fallen on deaf ears. Even after the Cabinet Secretary recently advised Secretaries to meet trade union leaders regularly, no effort has been made.

When JCM fails, employees and unions are left with no option but to approach the courts. Litigation, however, is costly, time-consuming, and financially draining.

Government – The Largest Litigator

• The Government has emerged as the largest litigator in service matters.

• CAT was established exclusively to adjudicate such disputes, but even its strength has been diluted due to non-appointment of judicial and administrative members.

• When judgements go against the government, appeals are routinely filed in High Courts and then in the Supreme Court.

• This process can drag on for 10–15 years. Even after Supreme Court dismissal, review petitions are filed.

• Importantly, judgments are implemented only for petitioners, forcing similarly placed employees to again approach courts.

Examples include Dress Allowance, Night Duty Allowance on actual basic pay, MACP issues, medical reimbursement claims, parity in pay scales, and the current OT arrears case.

In more than 90% of such cases, judgments go against the government. Many are implemented only after Contempt of Court petitions. Enormous amounts of taxpayers’ money are wasted on endless litigation and TA/DA of officials, who often face no accountability.

Even senior citizens are not spared. BSNL pensioners are fighting for pension revision. Central government pensioners are in legal battles over pension revision through the 8th and successive pay commissions.

The Way Forward

• Officers filing frivolous and baseless appeals should be held accountable.

• The only sustainable solution is to revive and strengthen the JCM scheme by:

• Holding regular meetings at all levels.

• Referring disagreements to the Board of Arbitration under the JCM scheme.

• Implementing arbitration awards within six months.

Service matter judgements should be implemented across the board without forcing employees to repeatedly litigate.

The Prime Minister, as Minister for Personnel, Pension and Public Grievances, should take note. In 2026, the JCM scheme will complete 60 years (Diamond Jubilee). This milestone should be used to rejuvenate the mechanism.

The PMO and Cabinet Secretariat must issue clear directions to all ministries to reduce litigation, implement judgements fairly, and activate the bipartite grievance redressal system. Regular monitoring at the highest level is essential.

Only then can employees be spared the hardship of endless legal battles, and service jurisprudence in India be restored with fairness and empathy.

The writer of this article is C. Srikumar, General Secretary of AIDEF who is also a veteran Trade Union Leader