IMPORTANT POINT
Revisors in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana who were given the pay scale of Superintendent Grade II with effect from August 5, 1980 are not entitled to the said scale with effect from January 23, 1975.

JUDGMENT

S.C. Agrawal, J.-The short question that falls for consideration in this appeal is whether the respondents who were employed as Revisors in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana (hereinafter referred to as the High Court ) and were given the pay scale of Superintendent Grade II with effect from August 5, 1980 are entitled to the said scale with effect from January 23, 1975.

2. In the High Court the conditions of service of the employees were earlier governed by the High Court Establishment (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1952 (hereinafter referred to as the 1952 Rules ). Under the 1952 Rules there were posts of Senior Translator and Junior Translator. Keeping in view the recommendations of the Pay Commission constituted by the State of Punjab in 1968, when the High Court Establishment (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the 1973 Rules ) were made by the High Court, the posts of Senior Translator and Junior Translator were designated as Revisor and Translator respectively. The 1973 Rules we issued vide Notification dated January 23, 1975 and were published in the Chandigarh Gazette on February 1, 1975. Under Rules 26, 27 read with Schedule I of the 1973 Rules Revisors were placed in the scale Rs. 225-500 with a special pay of Rs. 50 per month and Translators were placed in the scale Rs. 225/500. Since Rules 26, 27 and 34 and Schedules I, II and III of 1973 Rules related to salaries, allowances and pension, etc. of the employees, the same were sent for approval of the President of India as required under Clause (2) of Article 229 read with Article 231 of the Constitution of India. The approval of the President of India was received vide letters dated September 25, 1985 and October 30, 1985. In the meanwhile, the pay scale of Rs. 225-500 had been revised to Rs.  600-850 with effect from January 1, 1978 and by Notification dated August 5, 1980 Schedule I of the 1973 Rules was substituted. In the substituted Schedule the posts of Senior Translator and Junior Translator were mentioned. In the remarks column against the post Senior Translator the following note was made:-

"Note : Redesignated as Revisors and recommended the pay scale of Superintendent Grade II i.e. Rs. 800-25-850-30-1000/40-1200/50-1400."

Similarly, as against the post of Junior Translator the following note was made in the remarks column:-

"Redesignated as Translators and recommended the pay scale of Assistants i.e. Rs. 570/- 1080 & also the selection Grade."

3. After receiving the approval of the President of India, Notification dated January 23, 1986 was issued by the High Court wherein it was notified that Rules 26, 27 and Schedules I, I(A) and 3 shall come into effect with effect from September 25, 1985. Feeling aggrieved by the said Notification dated January 23, 1986, a number of employees working as Revisors and Translators in the High Court, including the respondents who were working as Revisors, filed a Writ Petition (C.W.P.No. 2363 of 1986) in the High Court wherein they claimed that Rules 26, 27 and Schedules I, I(A) and 3 should be brought into effect with effect from March 1, 1974, the date of provision for special pay of Rs. 50 p.m. for enforcement agreed to by the then Chief Justice while approving the draft rules on the administrative side. The said Writ Petition was disposed of by the High Court by judgment dated August 6, 1987. The High Court held that in letter dated September 25, 1985 conveying the approval of the President of India of Rules 26, 27 and Schedules I, I(A) and III of the 1973 Rules, it is stated that the Rules shall come into effect from the date of issue and since the 1973 Rules were issued by Notification dated January 23, 1975, the said Rules came into effect with effect from January 23, 1975 and all amendments to the Rules made between January 23, 1975 and September 25, 1985 were to take effect from the respective dates on which such amendments were issued fro