In Brief
Captain Gurdev Singh and another IMTRAT officer challenged the High Court's clarification order directing parity between their Bhutan Compensatory Allowance (BCA) and the Foreign Allowance (FA) paid to MEA diplomats. The Supreme Court held that the clarification went beyond the original order's scope, which only required removing BCA depression retroactively from 1999. The Court found that 'civilian counterparts' in relevant government decisions meant non-military civilians in Bhutan, not MEA personnel. Rejecting parity claims on constitutional and policy grounds—since BCA and FA serve different personnel with distinct conditions—the Court allowed the appeal in part, directing removal of the 6% and 4% depression on BCA for officers and other ranks respectively, effective immediately, as recognition of their difficult border duties.
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