Allahabad High Court Dismisses PIL Seeking Upgradation Of Overall Working Conditions, Pay Structure, Etc Of CBI Prosecution Cadre

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea seeking a direction to the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to upgrade the overall working condition, pay structure, support staff, incentive, etc of CBI Prosecution Cadre.

The plea has been moved by one Rama Kant Dixit over the alleged discrimination being meted out to the officers of a particular cadre in the CBI, such as Assistant Public Prosecutors, Public Prosecutors, and Senior Public Prosecutors.

The plea had submitted that on account of not so good conditions of service, the members of the prosecution cadre of the CBI are leaving their jobs in large numbers every year and that the CBI had failed to retain their talent, as a result of which the prosecution has become poor and toothless.

Against this backdrop, the bench of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi, having perused the averments in the plea, noted that in the plea, an attempt had been made to raise the issues relating to conditions of service of a particular set of employees, including cadre structure, pay scales and other alleged entitlements of the members of the Prosecution Cadre in the CBI.

The Court further opined that the instant PIL plea won't be maintainable for the reason that it essentially raises the issues relating to the service of a particular cadre of an organization. In this regard, the Court referred to the case of Dr. Duryodhan Sahu and others vs. Jitendra Kumar Mishra and others (1998) 7 SCC 273.

The Court also noted that even otherwise, the cadre restructuring, structure of pay scales and other service conditions are essentially policy matters which lie in the realm of the government.

"As to what should be the structure of a cadre, sources/mode of the recruitment, prescription of qualifications, selection criteria, evaluation of service records, pay structure, and other service benefits are matters which fall exclusively in the realm of the employer, judicial review of which is very very limited," the Court added.

Consequently, the Court opined that the plea had not been filed in any larger public interest; rather, it sought to take up the cause of various service-related issues of the cadre of Prosecuting Officers in the CBI, who, the Court added, in no manner, can be said to be a disadvantaged or incapacitated lot.

In view of the aforesaid, the PIL plea was dismissed.

Case Title - Rama Kant Dixit v. Union Of India Thru. Its Secy. Ministry Of Personnel, Public Grievances And Pensions And Another [PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 201 of 2022]

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (AB) 229

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