The initial entry into service determines entitlement to ACP scales, and employees promoted from Group 'D' to Group 'C' posts are entitled to ACP scales applicable to Group 'D' posts.

ORDER :

Application for permission to file SLP in Special Leave Petition (C) No. 1471 of 2003 is allowed.

Delay condoned in filing and refiling of Special Leave Petitions.

Leave granted.

2. The State of Haryana and certain public sector undertakings of the State of Haryana are the appellants before us. In these appeals, they challenge the judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. A series of Writ Petitions were filed before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana by various Government employees and in Civil Writ Petition No. 45 of 1999 titled as "Suraj Bhan and others v. State of Haryana and others" the question, raised in the present appeals, was considered. The judgment of the High Court in that case was delivered on 21st September, 2000. This decision was followed in a series of other writ petitions. Special Leave Petitions were filed by the State of Haryana and others against the decision in Suraj Bhan's case (supra) and other similar writ petitions. Some of the Leave Petitions were dismissed at the admission stage itself on the ground of delay, but in some petitions notices were issued. That is how, these matters have come up before us. The State of Haryana had been paying salary and other allowances to the Government employees on the pattern adopted by the Central Government on the basis of the recommendations of the Fourth Central Pay Commission. After the adoption of the said report, the Government employees and various associations and unions, representing the Government employees, submitted representations to the Government, inter alia, pleading that they were not having adequate avenues for promotion and that Class III and IV employees had stagnated for long period and, therefore, these anomalies should be rectified. Initially, in the year 1991, the State of Haryana framed a scheme to grant additional increments to the Government employees, based on their length of service, viz., one additional increment on completion of 10 years service and the next increment for those who completed 20 years service. Thereafter, in the year 1994, the State introduced another scheme known as the Higher Standard Scale Scheme for Group 'C' and Group 'D' employees on completion of 10 years or more and 20 years or more regular and satisfactory service. This scheme worked for about two years. While so, as scheme was introduced by the Central Government where the employees were assured career progression. This scheme came into existence with effect from 1.1.1996. The scheme was for grant of Assured Career Progression Pay-Scales (ACP). The scheme was later adopted as Rules under Article 309 of the Constitution with effect from 1.1.1996.

2. Rule 5 of the Rules reads as follows :-

"Eligibility for grant of ACP Scales :- (1) Every Government servant who, after a regular satisfactory service for a minimum period of 10 years, if the minimum period is not otherwise prescribed to be different than 10 years either in these rules or by the Government for any class or categories of Government servant from time to time, has not got any financial upgradation in terms of grant of a pay scale higher than the functional pay scale prescribed for the post as on 31.12.1995, on which he was recruited as a direct recruited fresh entrant :-

(a) either as a consequence of his functional promotion in the hierarchy, or

(b) as a consequence of the revision of pay scale for the same post, or

(c) As a consequence of any other event through which the functional pay scale of the post has been upgraded, with respect to the functional pay scale prescribed for the post as on 31.12.1995, scale prescribed for the post as on 31.12.1995, shall for the purposes of drawal of pay, be eligible for placement into the First ACP scale with reference to him.

(2) Every Government servant who after a regular satisfactory service for a minimum period of 20 years, if the minimum period is not otherwise prescribed to be different than 20 years either in these rules or by