In Brief
The Supreme Court addressed whether Research Assistants at a Rajasthan university who were re-designated as Lecturers and then Assistant Professors could claim Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) benefits offering senior pay-scales. The Court held that CAS benefits are restricted to employees with eight years of service after 'regular appointment.' Re-designation does not constitute regular appointment; re-designatees remain in a separate cadre from direct appointees. While respondents received equivalent pay to direct recruits, this did not qualify them for CAS, which was an employer policy for directly-recruited staff. The Court set aside High Court orders granting CAS benefits and clarified no recovery of disbursed amounts would be made, and respondents could claim benefits under other applicable schemes.
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