Rule 21 of the Gujarat Civil Services (Pay) Rules, 2002, does not apply when the pay anomaly is not a direct result of its application, particularly when the higher pay of juniors is due to prior ad hoc service being counted.

JUDGMENT :

VIKRAM NATH, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. These appeals assail the common impugned order dated 28.12.2017 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Gujarat in LPA No. 765/2017 in Special Civil Application No. 3210/2016 along with other allied appeals. The LPA was preferred by the respondent State of Gujarat against the order of Single Judge dated 19.04.2017 directing the State of Gujarat to remove the anomaly in the pay of the appellants Petitioners qua their juniors by stepping up their pay. The Division Bench allowed the LPA by the State and set aside the Single Judge’s order.

FACTUAL MATRIX

3. The matters pertain to the issue whether or not the principle of stepping up of pay of an employee on the basis of the pay of his junior, is applicable in the present case, where the appellants are put on a lesser pay scale than the Assistant Professors who were appointed before them as ad hoc lecturers and subsequently regularized. The genesis of controversy goes back to the period of 1984-95 when 111 persons came to be engaged as Lecturers on ad-hoc basis in various Government Colleges. The University Grants Commission¹ [UGC, hereinafter] has framed the Regulations of 1998, inter-alia, providing for minimum length of service of four years for lecturers (Assistant Professor) with PhD and M. Phil and of six years for others to be eligible to move to Senior Scale (i.e. 10000-325-15200) and on completion of another five years of service, for being eligible to move to Selection Grade (i.e. 12000-420-18300). The said regulations also provided for counting of services during ad hoc period for grant of Senior Scale and Selection Grade Pay.

4. In view of the above regulations, the Education Department, issued a Government Resolution dated 17.06.1999 for considering previous services rendered by the ad hoc lecturers for the purpose of their placement in Senior Scale/Selection Grade. Subsequent to the said Resolution, the Government provided benefits to some of the ad hoc lecturers subject to conditions as provided therein. In 2001, some other ad hoc lecturers [1984-95 Group] approached the High Court for regularization of their services. However, the said Special Civil Application was dismissed against which LPA No. 485 of 2002 was preferred.

5. In the year 2001 itself, the appellants in the instant case came to be directly selected and appointed as Assistant Professors by Gujarat Public Service Commission.² [GPSC, hereinafter]

6. On 15.11.2002, the State Government framed the Gujarat Civil Services (Pay) Rules, 2002³ [2002 Pay Rules, hereinafter] wherein Rule 21 provides for stepping up of a pay of Government Employee on the basis of the pay of his junior, while categorically stipulating that the provision of the said Rule will apply where the pay of a junior is fixed higher than his senior on his promotion to the higher cadre.

7. Alongside, in LPA No. 485 of 2002 preferred by the ad hoc lecturers for regularization, the Division Bench of the High Court in its order dated 11.12.2002 held that the services of the ad hoc lecturers cannot be regularized contrary to the Recruitment Rules in the post for which direct recruits were already selected through GPSC, but in the facts and circumstances of the case, directed the ad hoc lecturers to be treated as a separate class in view of their ad hoc continuance for nearly a decade and be considered for absorption in such posts as may be available with the government. Accordingly, rest of the ad hoc Assistant Professors came to be selected through GPSC and appointed as regular Assistant Professors in addition to the ad hoc lecturers who were already appointed as regular Assistant Professors in 2001.

8. Further, the ad hoc lecturers who were appointed as regular Assistant Professors in 2001 approached the High Court by way of Special Civil Application No. 6597 of 2007 and other connected matters seeking the relief of counting ad hoc services for the purpose of senior scale/selection grade. The High