Allahabad High Court
State Of U.P. And 3 Others vs Ram Sewak And Another on 15 March, 2021
Bench: Manoj Misra, Rohit Ranjan Agarwal
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Court No. - 40
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 3824 of 2021
Petitioner :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others
Respondent :- Ram Sewak And Another
Counsel for Petitioner :- Gopal Chandra Saxena
Hon'ble Manoj Misra,J.
Hon'ble Rohit Ranjan Agarwal,J.
Heard Sri Gopal Chandra Saxena, learned Standing Counsel, for the petitioners.
This petition assails the order dated 07.11.2017 passed by the U.P. State Services Tribunal, Lucknow (for short the Tribunal) in Claim Petition No.572 of 2012 by which the claim of the first respondent (Ram Sewak) was allowed and a direction was issued upon the petitioners herein to provide the benefit of Personal Time Scale to the first respondent with effect from 14.08.2007.
Before we address the issue raised in this petition, a brief glimpse of the facts of the case would be apposite. The first respondent joined the State Irrigation Department as a Junior Engineer on 01.11.1982. He passed the departmental examination prescribed for Junior Engineers and also passed AMIE in the year 1986 and became eligible for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer. In the seniority list of Junior Engineers who had passed AMIE/BE the first respondent was placed higher than Sahansar Pal and Daljeet Singh. However, both those Juniors were promoted ahead of the first respondent on the post of Assistant Engineer by Government Notification dated 14.08.1989. Aggrieved by his non promotion, the first respondent filed Claim Petition No.438/F/IV/89 before the Tribunal which was allowed by order dated 18.09.1995. The operative portion of the order dated 18.09.1995 is extracted below:-
"The opposite parties are directed to promote the petitioner w.e.f. 14.08.1989 in the same and like manner in which juniors than the petitioner have been promoted with all the consequential benefits of salary and seniority etc.
Let the judgment be complied with within three months from the date of receipt of its copy. Costs is made easy."
In between, by Government Order dated 14.07.1993 the first respondent was also promoted on the post of Assistant Engineer, on ad hoc basis, and he took charge of the said post on 15.07.1993. However, when the claim petition of the first respondent was allowed, the petitioners in compliance of the Tribunal's order dated 18.09.1995, vide order dated 16.08.1996, amended the promotion order so as to promote the first respondent on ad hoc basis with effect from 14.08.1989 i.e. from the date on which his juniors were promoted. Later, the services of first respondent was also regularized.
Dispute arose when the juniors to the first respondent who were promoted with effect from 14.08.1989 were accorded Personal Time Scale on completion of 18 years of service but the first respondent was denied such benefit even though he had completed 18 years of service on the post of Assistant Engineer, if it were to be counted from 14.08.1989. Aggrieved by non payment of personal time-scale, the first respondent made a representation. This representation was rejected by the department vide order dated 22.07.2015. In between, the first respondent had already filed Petition No.572 of 2012 for conferment of such benefit with effect from 14.08.2007 i.e. on completion of 18 years of service starting from 14.08.1989. Accordingly, on rejection of his representation, he also challenged the order dated 22.07.2015. The Tribunal after exchange of pleadings took the view that the earlier order of the Tribunal dated 18.09.1995 had attained finality therefore, the first respondent was required to be treated to be promoted on the post with effect from 14.08.1989 and as such he was entitled to the benefit of personal time-scale. Accordingly, the Tribunal allowed the claim petition and after setting aside the order dated 22.07.2015 directed that the benefit of Personal Time Scale, on completion of 18 years of service, counted from 14.08.1989, be provided to the first respondent from 14.08.2007.
When the order passed in the claim petition No.572 of 2012 was put to execution, the petitioners have rushed to this Court to challenge the order dated 07.11.2017.
Learned Standing Counsel has submitted that although the earlier claim petition of the first respondent was allowed with direction for promotion of the first respondent on the post of Assistant Engineer with effect from 14.08.1989 but the first respondent had actually worked on the post of Assistant Engineer with effect from 14.07.1993 and, as such, the benefit of Personal Time Scale after 18 years is not to be available to him with effect from 14.08.2007. He submitted that the Tribunal has therefore erred in granting the benefit of Personal Time Scale to the first respondent with effect from 14.08.2007.
We do not find substance in the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioners, inasmuch as, it is the admitted case of the petitioners that the earlier promotion order dated 14.07.1993 was amended by order dated 16.08.1996, consequent to the order dated 18.09.1995 passed by the Tribunal, thereby promoting the first respondent with effect from 14.08.1989. Once that is the position and the earlier order of the Tribunal dated 18.09.1995 had attained finality, the petitioners were under legal obligation to promote the first respondent with effect from 14.08.1989 and count his service from that day on the promotion post for all the consequential benefits of salary, seniority etc. Under the circumstances, the petitioners had no option but to confer the same benefits on the first respondent as were accorded to his juniors.
On a perusal of the record we find that there was a specific case taken by the first respondent in his claim petition that his juniors Sahansar Pal and Daljeet Singh were accorded the benefit of Personal Time Scale on completion of 18 years of service, counted from 14.08.1989, that is with effect from 14.08.2007. There is no specific denial by the petitioners to that claim.
In view of the above, once the earlier order passed by the Tribunal dated 18.09.1995 had attained finality, there was no justification for the petitioners to deprive the first respondent of the benefit of Personal Time Scale attached to the post of Assistant Engineer on completion of 18 years of service counted from 14.08.1989. The impugned order dated 07.11.2017 passed by the Tribunal therefore suffers from no legal infirmity. The petition is dismissed.
Order Date :- 15.3.2021.
AKShukla/-
