Bombay High Court
Vijay S/O Viththalrao Vinchurkar vs The Zilla Parishad, Nagpur Thr. ... on 4 May, 2023
Bench: A.S. Chandurkar, M. W. Chandwani
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR
WRIT PETITION NO. 438/2017, 436/2017, 439/2017, 441/2017,
442/2017, 447/2017 AND 829/2017
WRIT PETITION NO. 438 OF 2017
Rabbil S/o. Rustam Pathan (dead)
Aged 63 yrs, Occu:- Retired Civil Engineer Asstt, Kuhi,
Distt:- Nagpur, R/o. Pachkhedi Punarvasan, Jivanapur,
Taluka- Kuhi, Distt:- Nagpur.
(LR of petitioner taken on record as per order
dt. 25.01.23 passed by this Hon'ble Court)
Khattijabegum Wd/o. Rabbil Pathan,
Aged 60 yrs, Occ. Household, R/o. Pachkhedi
Punarvasan, Jivanapur, Taluka-Kuhi, Distt-Nagpur.
. . . PETITIONER
// V E R S U S //
1. The Zilla Parishad, Nagpur
Through:- The Chief Executive Officer,
Zilla Parishad, Nagpur.
2. The State of Maharashtra
Through :- The Secretary,
Rural Development & Water Conservation
Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
3. The Additional Commissioner,
Nagpur Division, Nagpur.
(Amendment carried out as per Hon'ble
Court's order dated 27.04.2018) . . . RESPONDENTS
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO. 436 OF 2017
Vijay S/o. Viththalrao Vinchurkar,
Aged-61 yrs, Occu:- Retired Civil Engineering Asstt,
Kalmeshwar, Distt:- Nagpur,
R/o. Plot No. 156, Arunodaya Apartment,
Dattatrayanagar, Post- Ayodhyanagar,
Nagpur- 440024.
. . . . . .PETITIONER
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// V E R S U S //
1. The Zilla Parishad, Nagpur
Through:- The Chief Executive Officer,
Zilla Parishad, Nagpur.
2. The State of Maharashtra
Through :- The Secretary,
Rural Development & Water Conservation
Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
3. The Additional Commissioner,
Nagpur Division, Nagpur.
(Amendment carried out as per Hon'ble
Court's order dated 27.04.2018)
. . . . RESPONDENTS
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO. 439 OF 2017
Rama S/o. Punjaramji Khapare,
Aged-63 yrs, Occu:- Retired Civil Engineer Asstt,
Hingna, Distt:- Nagpur
R/o. Near Sai Mandir, Ward No. 10,
Kalmeshwar, Distt:- Nagpur.
. . . . . .PETITIONER
// V E R S U S //
1. The Zilla Parishad, Nagpur
Through:- The Chief Executive Officer,
Zilla Parishad, Nagpur.
2. The State of Maharashtra
Through :- The Secretary,
Rural Development & Water Conservation
Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
3. The Additional Commissioner,
Nagpur Division, Nagpur.
(Amendment carried out as per Hon'ble
Court's order dated 27.04.2018)
. . . . RESPONDENTS
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WITH
WRIT PETITION NO. 441 OF 2017
Sahadeo S/o. Zingar Talmale,
Aged-63 yrs, Occ:- Retired Civil Engineer Asstt,
Kuhi, Distt:- Nagpur,
R/o. Shanichara, Ward No. 4,
Kuhi, Distt:- Nagpur.
. . . . . .PETITIONER
// V E R S U S //
1. The Zilla Parishad, Nagpur
Through:- The Chief Executive Officer,
Zilla Parishad, Nagpur.
2. The State of Maharashtra
Through :- The Secretary,
Rural Development & Water Conservation
Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
3. The Additional Commissioner,
Nagpur Division, Nagpur.
(Amendment carried out as per Hon'ble
Court's order dated 27.04.2018)
. . . . RESPONDENTS
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO. 442 OF 2017
Haridas S/o. Ganeshrao Ambade,
Aged-63 yrs, Occu.:- Retired Civil Engineering Asstt,
Kuhi, Distt:- Nagpur
R/o. 114, Dipaknagar, Nari Road,
Post-Uppalwadi, Nagpur-26.
. . . . . .PETITIONER
// V E R S U S //
1. The Zilla Parishad, Nagpur
Through:- The Chief Executive Officer,
Zilla Parishad, Nagpur.
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2. The State of Maharashtra
Through :- The Secretary,
Rural Development & Water Conservation
Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
3. The Additional Commissioner,
Nagpur Division, Nagpur.
(Amendment carried out as per Hon'ble
Court's order dated 27.04.2018)
. . . . RESPONDENTS
WITH
WRIT PETITION NO. 447 OF 2017
Vasant S/o. Kewaldas Kathane,
Aged-63 yrs, Occu:- Retired Civil Engineering Asstt,
Hingna Distt:- Nagpur
R/o. Dhamanandnagar, Peelinadi,
Kamptee Road, Nagpur-440016.
. . . . . .PETITIONER
// V E R S U S //
1. The Zilla Parishad, Nagpur
Through:- The Chief Executive Officer,
Zilla Parishad, Nagpur.
2. The State of Maharashtra
Through :- The Secretary,
Rural Development & Water Conservation
Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
3. The Additional Commissioner,
Nagpur Division, Nagpur.
(Amendment carried out as per Hon'ble
Court's order dated 27.04.2018)
. . . . RESPONDENTS
AND
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WRIT PETITION NO. 829 OF 2017
Kashiram S/o. Jangluji Lende,
Aged-65 yrs, Occu:- Retired Civil Engineering Asstt,
Ramtek, Distt:- Nagpur
R/o. 23, Gadgenagar, Galli No. 1,
Bypass Road, Post:- Dighori,
Nagpur- 440024.
. . . . . .PETITIONER
// V E R S U S //
1. The Zilla Parishad, Nagpur
Through:- The Chief Executive Officer,
Zilla Parishad, Nagpur.
2. The State of Maharashtra
Through :- The Secretary,
Rural Development & Water Conservation
Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
3. The Additional Commissioner,
Nagpur Division, Nagpur.
(Amendment carried out as per Hon'ble
Court's order dated 27.04.2018)
. . . . RESPONDENTS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shri D. P. Shouche, Advocate for petitioner.
Shri Shaikh Majid, Advocate for respondent no. 1.
Smt. S. S. Jachak, AGP for respondent nos. 2 and 3/State.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CORAM :- A. S. CHANDURKAR & M. W. CHANDWANI, JJ.
RESERVED ON :- 27.04.2023
PRONOUNCED ON :- 04.05.2023
JUDGMENT (PER: M. W. CHANDWANI, J.):-
Heard.
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2. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith and heard learned
counsel for the parties.
3. In this batch of petitions, the petitioners are challenging
the order passed by respondent no. 1 withdrawing pay-scale of Junior
Engineer granted to them.
4. The petitioners in all the petitions were appointed as
Muster Clerks and later on their posts were regularized. In the year
1999, the post of Muster Clerk and other cadres were amalgamated in
the cadre of Civil Engineer Assistant. Meanwhile, the Government has
introduced scheme of Time Bound Promotion of granting pay-scale of
next cadre for the employees, who cannot be promoted for continuous
period of 12 years, by way of Government Resolution dated
08.06.2015. The petitioners were granted the pay-scale of Junior
Engineer from the date when they completed 45 years of age and also
got exemption from the mandatory departmental examination for the
post of Junior Engineer. However, subsequently by the impugned
orders, the pay-scale of Junior Engineer assigned to the petitioners
were reduced on the premise that the petitioners are entitled to higher
pay-scale only from the date of absorption in the cadre of Civil
Engineer Assistant and not from the date of their posting as Muster
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Clerks. Therefore, these petitioners approached this Court by way of
the present batch of petitions.
5. We have heard Shri D. P. Shouche, learned counsel for the
petitioner, Shri Shaikh Majid, learned counsel for the respondent no. 1
and Smt. S. S. Jachak, learned Assistant Government Pleader for
respondent nos. 2 and 3/State.
6. We need not to delve deeper into the argument and
counter argument advanced by learned counsels for the respective
parties. Suffice to say that since the post of Muster Clerk was
amalgamated with the post of Civil Engineer Assistant therefore, while
granting Time Bound Promotion, the date of amalgamation of post of
Muster Clerks with the post of Civil Engineer Assistants is immaterial.
Since, the petitioners have worked for more than 12 years on the post
of Muster Clerk as well as Civil Engineer Assistant, which is one and
the same cadre therefore, the period of working as Muster Clerk
cannot be excluded for granting benefit of Time Bound Promotion for
granting pay-scale of Junior Engineer.
7. The perusal of the communication dated 22.06.2007
addressed by State of Maharashtra to all Chief Executive Officers of
Zilla Parishads revels that the State of Maharashtra has approved
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granting of pay-scale of Junior Engineer to the employees, who are
absorbed as Civil Engineer Assistant from the post of Mistri, Grade-I
and II, Road Clerk, Muster Clerk, Tracer etc. upon their completion of
12 years of service on the said cadre.
8. The issue involved in the present batch of petitions is
squarely covered and is no more res-integra since the Division Bench
of this Court has dealt with the issue raised in the present petition in
various judgments including in Writ Petition No. 4915/2012, decided
on 19.09.2013 (Coram: B. R. Gavai & Z. A. Haq, JJ), Writ Petition No.
1531/2019, decided on 06.08.2019 (Coram: R. K. Deshpande & Vinay
Joshi, JJ.), Writ Petition No. 2009/2018, decided on 30.09.2019
(Coram: Sunil B. Shukre & Milind N. Jadhav, JJ.) and Writ Petition No.
755/2014, decided on 21.03.2023 (Coram: Rohit B. Deo & Mrs.
Vrushali V. Joshi, JJ.).
9. In view of the aforesaid, we see no difficulty in allowing
the petitions by declaring that the petitioners were entitled for higher
pay-scale from the date on which they attained age of 45 years
whereby condition of examination for higher post was exempted.
Consequently, the impugned order withdrawing the higher pay scale
from the date of amalgamation/absorption to the post of Civil Engineer
Assistant is set aside.
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10. The respondents are hereby directed to grant benefit of
pay-scale of Junior Engineer to the petitioners from the respective
dates on which they have completed age of 45 years within a period of
three months from date of receipt of copy of the judgment.
11. Rule is made absolute in the above term. No costs.
(M. W. CHANDWANI, J.) (A. S. CHANDURKAR, J.)
RR Jaiswal
