Merits-based adjudication required for scheme extension claims; summary rejection without reasoned findings was quashed and remitted.

A tribunal deciding a claim for extension of the Non-Functional Financial Upgradation Scheme was required to examine the request on merits and record a reasoned finding. The tribunal had rejected the OA only because the scheme had already been extended to Group-A officers and further extension was said to lie within the Government's domain, without addressing the association's substantive contentions or the prayer made. The Delhi High Court held that such disposal was unsustainable, quashed the order, and remitted the OA for fresh adjudication in accordance with law.

---

---

Issues: Whether the Tribunal's dismissal of the OA without examining the prayer for extension of the Non-Functional Financial Upgradation Scheme to Group-B officers on merits was sustainable, and whether the matter required remand for fresh adjudication.

Analysis: The Tribunal disposed of the OA only on the ground that the benefit of the scheme had been extended to Group-A officers and that extension to any other category lay in the Government's domain. The order did not examine the petitioner-association's contentions on merits or return any finding on the prayer made. A tribunal deciding such a claim was required to consider the case on merits and record a reasoned finding one way or the other.

Conclusion: The impugned order could not be sustained, was quashed and set aside, and the OA was remitted to the Tribunal for fresh decision in accordance with law.

---