IMPORTANT POINT
High Court should not have based its judgment to grant Selection Grade Pay on the principle that when a junior in the cadres is given a higher scale of pay a person senior to him could not draw lesser pay in view of specific Govt. Circulars dated 3-1-1980 and 18-5-1987 prescribing 15 years of service in the cadre to qualify for Selection Grade Pay.

Headnote:Service Jurisprudence-Grant of selection grade in PWD of Punjab State-Two circulars issued by Govt. dated 3.3.1980 and 18-5-1987 requiring 15 years of service as eligibility criteria-Respondents junior getting selection grade on Court s order-Respondent filing writ to get selection grade on parity with junior-Allowed by High Court-Appeal to Supreme Court by State-Controversy about the date from which the respondents are entitled to get selection Grade Pay as SDE in PWD of the State-Whether with effect from 1-1-1978 when juniors got it or from the date when the respondents completed 15 years of service in the cadre? (the later)-Appeal allowed.
Held : From the contents of the two circulars it is manifest that an employee in order to be eligible to get the selection grade pay has to complete 15 years of service and he is not to be given such scale of pay before he fulfils the said eligibility criteria. It follows as a consequence that no employee can claim selection grade pay before completing 15 years of service on any ground including the ground that an employee junior to him has already been given such grade of pay. The position is further clarified in the circular issued in May, 1987 wherein it is provided that in the event of a junior employee getting the selection grade pay earlier the post in the said grade may be kept vacant for the senior employee who may be given the benefit of the pay prescribed for the selection grade pay only after he completes 15 years of service. The interest of the senior employee in such cases is safeguarded by making the provision in the inter se seniority between the two employees will remain undisturbed despite the junior employee getting the selection grade pay earlier than the senior employee. In view of the position communicated in the circulars the claim of an employee for a selection grade post was to be dealt with only in accordance with the provisions in the circular. The reasons stated in the judgment/order of the High Court that the respondents were entitled to the higher grade pay with effect from 1.1.1978 as employees junior to them were granted such pay by that date is extraneous and irrelevant for the purpose. The High Court overlooked the provisions in the circulars while directing the appellants herein to grant selection grade pay to the respondents before they completed 15 years of service. The High Court was clearly in error in issuing a writ of mandamus apparently against the Government Circulars which was binding on the parties. The judgment/order passed by the High Court is, therefore, unsustainable. Accordingly, the appeal is allowed, the judgment/order is set aside and the writ petition filed by the respondents is dismissed. It is made clear that if the respondents have already drawn any amount in pursuance of the judgment/order of the High Court, the same will not be recovered from them. No costs. (Paras 9 & 10)

JUDGMENT

D.P. Mohapatra, J.-Leave is granted.

2. This appeal filed by the State of Punjab, through the Secretary in the P.W.D. (B&R) Mini Secretariat and the Chief Engineer, P.W.D. (B & R) Branch, is directed against the judgment/order dated 25.3.1998 of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana allowing Civil Writ Petition No. 15263 of 1997 filed by the respondents herein. The controversy raised in the case relates to the date from which the respondents are entitled to get Selection Grade Pay as Sub Divisional Engineers in the Public Works Department of the State; whether it is with effect from 1.1.1978 when Shri Devender Singh Sekhon, a Sub Divisional Engineer junior to them got the Selection Grade Pay or from the date when the respondents completed 15 years of service in the cadre. In the judgment under challenge the High Court took the view that since Shri A.S. Mann and Shri Devender Singh Sekhon who are juniors to the respondents were granted Selection Grade Pay from 1st January, 1978 the respondents being senior to them and if they are within the 20% posts of the cadre of Sub Divisional Engineers then there was no reason why they should not be granted Selection Grade Pay with effect from that date. Accordingly, the High Court allowed the writ petition and directed the appellants that if the respondents fulfilled the aforementioned conditions then they should be given the Selection Grade Pay with effect from the date their juniors were given such grade and arrears should be released as was done in the case of Shri Devender Singh Sekhon. From the discussions in the judgment/order it appears that the High Court based its judgment on the principle that when a junior in the cadre is given a higher scale of pay a person senior to him could not draw lesser pay unless a higher scale of pay was made personal to the junior officer by order.

3. The factual matrix of the case, so far as relevant for the purpose of this proceedings may be stated thus: Shri Kuldip Singh, respondent No.1 herein, and Shri Devender Singh Sekhon were directly appointed as Sub Divisional Engineers in the Public Works Department of the State of Punjab. While Shri Kuldip Singh joined the post on 11th November, 1970 and Shri Teekam Chander Bali on 17th November, 1970, Shri Devender Singh Sekhon joined the post on 18th November, 1970. Another officer Shri A.S. Mann, who had been appointed as Junior Engineer on 28th April, 1956 was promoted as Sub Divisional Engineer with effect from 22nd December, 1971. Shri A.S. Mann filed a suit claiming Selection Grade Pay with effect from 1.1.1978 on the ground that persons junior to him had already been granted such grade. The suit was decreed on 24th September, 1985. The appeal preferred by the State was dismissed. The Second Appeal preferred by the State was also dismissed on 22nd September, 1986. Thereafter the Selection Grade Pay was released in favour of Shri A.S. Mann on 21st April, 1989.

4. Shri Devender Singh Sekhon who was senior to Shri A.S. Mann as Sub Divisional Engineer filed the writ petition C.W.P. No. 14777/95 claiming the Selection Grade Pay. The writ petition was allowed by the High Court on 12th September, 1996 on the ground that Shri A.S. Mann who was junior to the writ petitioner having been given the higher scale of pay the writ petitioner was entitled to get the Selection Grade Pay. The Special Leave Petition filed by the State, SLP (C) No. 11409 of 1997 was dismissed in limini on 10th July, 1997.

5. Thereafter the respondents herein filed the writ petition, C.W. P. No. 15263 of 1997 praying for writ of Mandamus directing the State Government to grant the Selection Grade Pay scale with effect from 1.1.1978 when officers junior to them like Shri A.S. Mann and Shri Devender Singh Sekhon were granted the higher pay. The writ petition was contested by the appellants herein mainly on the ground that the petitioners could not be given the Selection Grade Pay before they completed 15 years of service which is

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