C.A. No. 009082 - 009101 / 2024
Under Rule 21 of the Gujarat Civil Services (Pay) Rules, 2002, the benefit of stepping up of pay of a senior government employee to the level of a junior's pay can only be invoked when the pay anomaly is a **direct result** of the application of the stepping-up rule itself; where the disparity arises from an independent cause — such as counting of prior *ad hoc* service for Career Advancement Scheme benefits — the precondition of direct causation is not satisfied and Rule 21 remains inapplicable. As analysed on casestatus.in, an employee cannot claim parity with a junior's pay that reflects service rendered before the senior was even "born in the cadre," as allowing such a claim would violate principles of equity and constitute negative discrimination.