Junior Assistants, Senior Assistants and Head Assistants to receive notional pay fixation from January 1, 1996, without arrears or retrospective monetary benefits
LEH: The Administration of the Union Territory of Ladakh has granted notional benefits of pay upgradation to eligible employees of the clerical cadre, including Junior Assistants, Senior Assistants and Head Assistants, with effect from January 1, 1996, while ruling out arrears and retrospective monetary benefits for the period preceding the issuance of the order.
The decision, issued by the Finance Department through Order No. 08-F of 2026 dated October 9, follows directions of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Srinagar Bench, and a representation submitted by the Clerical Association, UT of Ladakh, seeking extension of the benefits of SRO-333 of 2018 to clerical cadre employees of the Union Territory.
Under the order, the upgraded pay levels prescribed under SRO-333 of 2018, dated August 2, 2018, will be extended to eligible employees on a notional basis from January 1, 1996. Employees appointed after that date will be entitled to the notional benefit from January 1, 1996, or the date of their appointment or promotion to the post, whichever is later.
The order provides for notional re-fixation of pay in the upgraded pay scales, pay bands and pay levels applicable to the respective posts, with consequential fixation at subsequent stages wherever admissible under the applicable rules.
However, the Administration has made it clear that the benefit will not translate into payment of arrears for the earlier period. No arrears of pay, allowances, pension, family pension, gratuity, leave encashment or commutation, or Government contributions under the National Pension System (NPS), will be admissible for any period before the issuance of the order. Gratuity, leave encashment and commutation already paid will not be reopened.
The notional fixation will, nevertheless, be taken into account for determining pay and admissible consequential benefits from the date of issuance of the order, as applicable under the relevant rules.
The order traces the matter to SRO-333 of 2018, issued by the erstwhile Government of Jammu and Kashmir, which provided for upgradation of pay levels for various posts and cadres, including Junior Assistant, Senior Assistant and Head Assistant, with effect from May 1, 2018.
The provision was challenged over the issue of its prospective application. The matter initially came before the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir through SWP No. 2384/2018 and was subsequently transferred to the Central Administrative Tribunal, Srinagar Bench, where it was registered as T.A. No. 3016/2021, titled ‘J&K All Departments Clerical Staff Association (Ministerial Federation) through Ali Mohammad Mir and others versus State of J&K and others’.
In its order dated December 12, 2024, the Tribunal directed that the benefit of pay upgradation under SRO-333 of 2018 be granted notionally with effect from January 1, 1996, and monetarily with effect from February 19, 2003, as granted to other cadres.
The Tribunal subsequently, through an order dated March 6, 2025, in M.A. No. 155/2025 in T.A. No. 3016/2021, took note that the original petition had been filed in 2018 by the Association on behalf of clerical staff, including employees subsequently apportioned to the Union Territory of Ladakh following the abrogation of Article 370. It accordingly directed that the benefits granted through its December 12, 2024, judgment be extended to the clerical cadre employees of Ladakh.
The Ladakh Administration had earlier constituted a UT-level committee through Order No. 394-LA(GAD) of 2025, dated September 1, 2025, to examine the administrative, financial, legal and procedural aspects of implementing the Tribunal’s directions. The committee recommended challenging the Tribunal’s order before the High Court through an appropriate appeal after examining the matter.
Meanwhile, the Clerical Association, UT of Ladakh, in its representation dated May 11, 2026, agreed to restrict its claim to retrospective notional benefits only, without seeking arrears or any retrospective monetary benefit, in an effort to resolve the long-pending issue.
Following examination of the proposal by the General Administration Department and the Finance Department, and with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor, the Administration issued the present order.
The order also lays down provisions for employees who have already received Time Bound Promotion (In-Situ) under the J&K Civil Services (Higher Standard Pay Scales) Rules, 1996, as adopted by the Union Territory of Ladakh.
In such cases, the existing pay scale or pay level will be notionally elevated to the corresponding upgraded scale or level under the new order. For instance, a Junior Assistant placed in Level-4, with a pay range of Rs 25,500–81,100, will be notionally elevated to Level-5, carrying a pay range of Rs 29,200–92,300, subject to the prescribed conditions.
Similarly, employees already placed in Level-5 on account of time-bound promotion will be notionally elevated to Level-6, while those in Level-6 will be elevated to Level-6A, wherever applicable.
The subsequent notional fixation will be carried out in accordance with the applicable rules. Options already exercised by employees at the time of functional promotion or time-bound promotion, as recorded in their service books, will continue to govern the fixation. No fresh option will be allowed on account of the notional upgradation, and options exercised during the pay revisions of 1996, 2006 and 2016 will not be reopened.
The order also covers eligible retired employees and pensioners. Their notional pay re-fixation will be considered for revision of pensionary benefits, wherever admissible under the applicable rules. The concerned Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs), in consultation with the respective Pay and Accounts Officers, will process the revision of pensionary benefits in accordance with the prescribed procedure.
To avail themselves of the benefits, eligible serving employees and pensioners must submit an undertaking to the concerned DDO within 30 days of issuance of the order. The undertaking requires them to confirm that they will not claim arrears or retrospective monetary benefits arising from the notional re-fixation. The order stipulates that the benefit will be released only after the undertaking has been furnished within the prescribed 30-day period.
The concerned administrative departments have been directed to undertake the necessary exercise for notional pay re-fixation of eligible employees and pensioners and revision of pensionary benefits, wherever applicable.
