Pay Rules - Next Below Rule

 

Next Below Rule (As per Master Circular)

 

1. The intention of this rule is to protect the interest of a Govt. servant who is working on deputation under the Govt. outside his regular line of service and on foreign service. Simply because he had gone out of his regular line, he should not lose any 

 promotion which he would have otherwise received had he been in regular line. Under this principle, an officer outside his regular line and who is fit for promotion in his regular line can be given Proforma 

 promotion to a higher grade without any change in the duties but subject to the following conditions.

 

i. All the officers senior to him should have been promoted and be drawing pay in the higher grad or still higher grades in which the promotion (proforma) is sought to be given to the officer out-side the regular line. If any senior has not been given such promotion, it should be due to inefficiency, unsuitability or leave.

 

ii. The officer immediately junior to him should have been given officiating promotion and be drawing pay in the higher grade. If the Immediate junior has been overlooked, for reasons of unsuitability etc. the one still junior should have been promoted to the higher grade.

 

iii. If no officer junior to him eligible for promotion within the cadre is available, proforma promotion may be given to the officer subject to the following conditions

 

 

a. that a post within the cadre remains unfilled for want of an approved person junior to the officer and

 

 

b. the vacancy caused in the cadre is not filled up by making promotion on ad hoc basis till the release of the next panel when some juniors become eligible for promotion.

 

 

iv. The benefit should be given to only one officer against one vacancy. For example, if series of officers are outside the ordinary line then the promotion of a junior to them in the regular line will entitle only the senior most of the series of officers to the benefit under the Next Below Rule subject to fulfilment of the other conditions mentioned above.

 

v.  The benefit of officiating promotion under the rule should be allowed only against promotions in a cadre in vacancies of more than 90 days duration. In other words, the initial vacancy as well as subsequent vacancies on the basis of which the benefit is to be continued should each be of more than 90 days duration.

 

2. The grant of benefit under Next Below Rule to an officer outside the regular line either on deputation under the Govt. or on foreign service will entitle him to the following :

For giving the benefit, a declaration under FR 22(II) to the effect that the post held by the Government servant is outside the ordinary line will be necessary.

 

a. To draw the higher rate of pay to which he may be entitled in the regular line, while holding the post outside his regular line.

 

b. To count the period of his service from the date of proforma promotion for increment in the post in which he would have officiated had he been in the regular line.

 

3.    For giving the benefit, a declaration under FR 22(II) to the effect that the post held by the Government servant is outside the ordinary line will be necessary.

 

4. A Govt. servant who does not require the benefit of Next Below Rule for the reason that the post held by him is on a scale identical with the scale of pay of the post in the regular line to which he is given proforma promotion can pass down the benefit to the next senior-most officer outside the regular line, provided that officer is senior to the junior promoted in the regular line.

 

5. The benefit under Next Below Rule should not be given to persons deputed to regularly constituted ex-cadre posts abroad in which their pay is regulated by the orders of the Central Govt. under FR 51-A. In such cases, when the officers revert to their parent cadre, in or out of India and are appointed to the posts which they would have held but for deputation abroad that portion of the period during which the conditions of Next Below Rule are fulfilled will be allowed to count for fixation of pay. The pay fixation will be done under FR 27.