The Himachal Pradesh High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the Himachal Pradesh Polytechnic Teachers Welfare Association and others, seeking pay parity with their counterparts in Punjab. The Court held that Himachal Pradesh is not bound to adopt the Punjab pay structure in its entirety, even though it follows the Punjab Pay Commission as a reference model.
Justice Satyen Vaidya, while rejecting the petition, observed: “The mere fact that the State of Himachal Pradesh has been following Punjab's pay pattern does not mean it has bound itself to follow such pay pattern for all intents and purposes.” The Court emphasized that decisions regarding pay scales fall within the domain of experts, who consider multiple factors before making recommendations. It found no infirmity in the Council of Ministers’ decision, which noted that granting the demand would lead to financial burden and create hierarchical imbalance in the future.
The petitioners had sought directions for granting four-tier pay scales, similar to those allowed to technical education lecturers in Punjab. They argued that since Himachal Pradesh had historically followed the Punjab pay pattern, it could not discriminate against faculty in government polytechnics.
The Court, however, noted that Himachal Pradesh, while adopting aspects of the Punjab pay system through the H.P. Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2009, based on the Punjab pattern, was still entitled to apply its own considerations. These included staffing structures, recruitment and promotion rules, qualifications, geographical conditions, and financial resources specific to the State.
Ultimately, the Court held that polytechnic faculty in Himachal Pradesh had no legal right to demand parity with Punjab counterparts, and the State Government retained the discretion to decide which recommendations of the Punjab Pay Commission it wished to implement.
Picture Source :
