Reasoned adjudication required on extension of financial upgradation scheme; Tribunal's non-speaking dismissal set aside and matter remitted.

The Tribunal's dismissal of the OA without adjudicating the request for extension of the Non-Functional Financial Upgradation Scheme to Group-B officers was unsustainable because it failed to consider the petitioner-association's merits-based contentions and returned no finding on entitlement. The Court did not decide whether the scheme should be extended, but held that the claim required a reasoned determination one way or the other. The impugned order was quashed and the OA was remitted to the Tribunal for fresh decision in accordance with law after hearing all parties.

---

---

Issues: Whether the Tribunal's dismissal of the OA without adjudicating the prayer for extension of the Non-Functional Financial Upgradation Scheme to Group-B officers on merits could be sustained, and whether the matter required remand.

Analysis: The Tribunal rejected 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 Tribunal did not examine the petitioner-association's contentions on merits or return any finding on the prayer for extension of the scheme to its members. The Court did not express any view on the entitlement claimed, but held that the petition required a reasoned determination one way or the other.

Conclusion: The impugned order was unsustainable and was quashed. The OA was remitted to the Tribunal for fresh decision in accordance with law after hearing all parties.

---