JUDGMENT :

Rastogi, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. The present batch of appeals are directed against the self-same judgment dated 31st July, 2018 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla which upheld the order passed by the Director of the National Institute of Technology without going through the process of selection of the teachers in the higher pay band of Rs. 37400-67000 with AGP Rs.9000 and re-designated as Associate Professor consequent upon completion of three years of service in AGP Rs.8000(6th Central Pay Commission) and directed the appellants to consider their claim for further promotion to the post of Professor, and if found suitable, the teacher may be promoted from the due date with all consequential benefits.

3. The facts in brief have been taken note from Civil Appeal @ SLP(Civil) No. 31892 of 2018, culled out from the record and relevant for the purpose are that the appellant-institution, was initially the Regional Engineering College(REC) (H.P.), Hamirpur. Consequent upon conversion of 14 NITs and 3 RECs including the present institution at Hamirpur as National Institute of Technology with deemed university status, they were taken over as fully funded institutions of Central Government by notification dated 14th May, 2003 wherein it was decided with the approval of the competent authority to implement Career Advancement Scheme(CAS) in NITs after approval of the recommendations of tSelection Committee by the Board of Governors(BOGs) of the NIT concerned by Office Memorandum dated 15th September, 2003 and prescribed service conditions of the teachers/employees of the then RECs upon conversion as NITs with deemed university status by later notification dated 9th November, 2003.

4. Later, Parliament enacted the National Institute of Technology Act, 2007 w.e.f. 6th June, 2007 wherein the appellant institution finds place in the first Schedule appended to the Act at Serial No. 5 in the list of central institutions incorporated and correspondingly became the NIT, Hamirpur and later by the NIT (Amendment) Act, 2012 vide notification dated 8th June 2012, it became the National Institute of Technology(Science, Education and Research) Act, 2007(hereinafter being referred to as the “Act 2007”).

5. The respondent-teachers were initially appointed as a Lecturer in their respective Engineering Department in the then REC, Hamirpur(now NIT Hamirpur) on 28th June 2000. Later, on the recommendations of the staff selection committee, respondent teachers were designated as Lecturers(Sr. Scale) in the pay scale of Rs.1000015200 with the approval of Board of Governors w.e.f. 25th July, 2005 vide order dated 30th December, 2005 and later pursuant to the recommendations of the 6th Central Pay Commission notified by letter dated 18th August, 2009, respondent teachers were placed as Assistant Professors in AGP Rs.6000 w.e.f. 1st January, 2006 and granted AGP Rs.7000 w.e.f. 1st July, 2006 vide pay fixation order dated 20th January 2010. Further, on the recommendations of the selection committee in terms of directives of Ministry of Human Resource Development (hereinafter being referred to as the “MHRD”) dated 14th March, 2012 and 18th March 2013 and with due approval of the Board of Governors, NIT, Hamirpur, they were fixed in the AGP Rs.8000 vide orders dated 25th June, 2013 and 12th November, 2013 respectively. The orders passed by the competent authority granting AGP of Rs.8000 are not the subject matter of challenge.

6. It may be noticed that earlier, such of the Assistant Professors and Lecturers (Selection Grade) who had completed the requisite period of service in the appropriate pay scale with the approval of the competent authority, were re-designated as Associate Professor in the pay scale/pay band PB4 (Rs.37400-67000) with AGP Rs.9000 by an order dated 22nd June 2010 as per the MHRD guidelines date