WPSS/1809/2023
2023 Latest Caselaw 3278 UK

                Office Notes,
             reports, orders or
SL.           proceedings or
      Date                                          COURT'S OR JUDGES'S ORDERS
No             directions and
             Registrar's order
              with Signatures
                                  WPSS No.1809 of 2023
                                  With
                                  WPSS No.1816 of 2023
                                  WPSS No.1817 of 2023
                                  WPSS No.1818 of 2023
                                  WPSS No.1819 of 2023
                                  Hon'ble Pankaj Purohit, J.

Mr. Dinesh Gahatori, learned counsel for the petitioner(s).

2. Mr. B.S. Koranga, learned Brief Holder for the State.

3. Since the subject matter of all these writ petitions is one and the same, hence these are being taken up together and decided by this common order.

4. In all these writ petitions, a common prayer has been made by the writ petitioners to issue a writ in nature of mandamus directing the respondents to grant amended grade pay to the petitioner(s) w.e.f., 01.01.2013, in accordance with Government Orders issued on the subject on 16.01.2013, 08.02.2013 and 20.10.2016.

5. In a nutshell, facts of the petitions, as narrated by the writ petitioners, are that they were appointed in the respondent-Institution after following due selection process and grant of approval by the Competent Authority. On completion of one year probation period, they were also confirmed into service.

6. It is case of the petitioners that a government order was issued by the State Government, by which the pay scale of the Ministerial cadre of the Government Department was amended. The said order dated

16.01.2013 was amended vide another communication dated 08.02.2013 only to the extent that applicability of the order dated 16.01.2013 was changed to 01.01.2013 in place of 01.04.2013.

7. It is also stated that although the mandate of the Government Order dated 16.01.2013 was made applicable for the aided schools, but not w.e.f., 01.01.2013.

8. The petitioners moved a representation for grant of benefit of Government Order dated 16.01.2013, but no positive action was taken. Hence they have knocked the doors of this Court.

9. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and gone through the records of the case.

10. The issue raised in these writ petitions is no longer res-integra. Challenging the same prayer, as made in the body of the present writ petitions, some other persons approached this Court by way of filing Writ Petitions being WPSS No.520 of 2018 and two others (Parvez Alam and Others Vs. State of Uttarakhand and Others) and two other writ petitions. All those three writ petitions were decided by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court vide an elaborate judgment dated 06.09.2021, whereby, the writ petitions were allowed and the petitioners, therein, were directed to be granted the benefit of amended grade-pay w.e.f., 01.01.2013. Moreover the arrears were also directed to be paid to the petitioners within four months.

11. Learned counsel appearing for the writ petitions fairly submit that since the matter has already been settled vide judgment dated 06.09.2021, present writ

petitions may also be disposed-off in terms of the aforesaid judgment.

12. Although, learned State counsel raised objection on two points viz. (1) The service conditions of the petitioners are different from those petitioners whose writ petition was decided by the Coordinate Bench and (2) it is a policy decision which cannot be challenged.

13. The objection raised by the learned State counsel is misconceived and the same is liable to be discarded. The reason being that as against the judgment dated 06.09.2021 passed by Co-ordinate Bench, the State preferred SPA Nos. 148 and 149 of 2022. Those special appeals were dealt with and dismissed by a Division Bench of this Court vide judgment dated 04.09.2023. Meaning thereby, the judgment dated 06.09.2021 has attained finality and the controversy has been put to a rest.

14. For the reasons stated hereinabove, present writ petitions are also allowed in terms of judgment dated 06.09.2021 passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in WPSS No.520 of 2018 (Parvez Alam and Others Vs. State of Uttarakhand and Others) and two others (which was also affirmed by the Division Bench). The respondents are directed to grant the petitioners also the benefit of amended grade-pay w.e.f., 01.01.2013. The arrears, if any, be also paid to the petitioners within a period of four months from today.

15. Pending applications, if any, stands disposed-off.

(Pankaj Purohit, J.) 30.10.2023 SK