Railway employees equivalent to Central Govt staff: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that railway servants are on a par with other Central Government employees and hold the locus standi to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) for service-related matters.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma said a railway servant does not cease to be a member of the civil service of the Union merely because his or her conditions of service are governed by railway-specific rules.

The court clarified that the jurisdiction of the CAT is not barred in respect of railway servants. 

The term “service matters” concerning such employees encompasses all issues relating to conditions of service under the Union Government or its control, it said.

“A railway servant, though appointed in a Government Railway under rules made exclusively for the Railways... remains a person holding a civil post in connection with the affairs of the Union under the administrative control of the central government,” Justice Datta wrote for the bench in a judgment rendered on May 26, 2026.

The court emphasised that the Railway Board functions as the Government of India itself for railway administration. 

Consequently, service under the Railway Board is essentially service under the Central Government. 

Citing Articles 309 and 311 of the Constitution, the bench explained that a civil post pertains to employment in a civil capacity under the Union or a State, distinct from defence services. 

It involves a master-servant relationship where the State has the right to appoint, suspend, dismiss, control work, and pay remuneration.

The ruling came on an appeal filed by Bency John, who joined the Indian Railways as a Junior Draftsman in August 1990. After more than 10 years of regular pensionable service, he was relieved in February 2001 to join the Kerala State Electricity Board as a Sub-Engineer. His prior railway service was counted for pay fixation and other benefits.

However, in December 2012, the Chief Internal Auditor of the Railway Board objected to the pay fixation, cancelled the weightage granted, and ordered recovery of the alleged excess amount. 

The objection was on the ground that “Railway Service cannot be reckoned as a Central Government Service for weightage in pay revision".

While a single judge of the Kerala High Court held that railway service should be treated as Central Government service, a division bench reversed the order, observing that the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, and the CCS (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, do not apply to railway servants, who are governed by separate rules.

Highlighting the Railways’ unique role, the court noted the Railways is the country’s largest civilian employer, with extensive reach across States and Union Territories. It plays a critical role in transporting passengers, troops, food grains, coal, petroleum, and other essentials, besides serving as a lifeline during disasters.

“The Railway Board is a specialised technical body... quite unlike a normal ministry,” the bench noted. 

It exercises governmental powers under the Railways Act for administrative convenience and efficiency.

The court concluded that delegation of powers to the Railway Board does not change the status of railway servants as employees of the Central Government. 

It expressed surprise that benefits extended to Bency John through Board orders were later withdrawn.

Setting aside the Kerala High Court division bench’s order and restoring the single judge’s judgment, the court directed for extending all benefits to the appellant within three months.