Chakradhari Sharan Singh, J.—This matter has been taken up for hearing online because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

2. Following are the reliefs which the petitioner has claimed in the present writ application :—

“(i) For a direction to the respondents to make payment of salary to the petitioner in the same pay scale of Rs. 4000-6000 which is being paid to the other similarly appointed Lower Division Clerks, who entered the service along with petitioner by the same common appointment letter dated 06.09.2001, initially in the pay scale of Rs. 3050- 4500 but are being provided with salary in higher pay scale of 4000-6000, in compliance of the direction contained in the judgment and order dated 11.03.2011 passed in C.W.J.C. No. 15956 of 2006.

(ii) For a further direction to the respondents to make payment of arrears of salary to the petitioner in the said pay scale of Rs. 4000-6000 and its corresponding higher pay scale and grade pay, with effect from the date, the other similarly appointed Lower Division Clerks are being paid in such pay scale, in the light of the direction contained in the judgment and order passed in C.W.J.C. No. 15956 of 2006 and further in the light of the judgment and order passed in L.P.A. No. 167 of 2016.”

3. By order No. 23/2001-2002 dated 06.09.2001, issued by the office of the District Magistrate, Nawada, the petitioner along with others was appointed as Lower Division Clerk in the pay-scale of Rs. 3050-4590/- on compassionate basis, being a dependent of a government servant who had died in harness.

4. This is not in dispute that the said scale of Rs. 3050- 4590/- was admissible for the said post of Lower Division Clerk as on the date of appointment of the petitioner. In order to appreciate the controversy involved in the present matter certain basic relevant facts are required to be taken into account. Prior to 07.04.1977 there were two cadres of Clerk, namely, Lower Division Clerk and Upper Division Clerk. The Finance Department of the Government of Bihar came out with a letter No. 3734 dated 07.04.1977 with a decision to merge a number of cadres including the cadres of Lower Division Clerk and Upper Division Clerk and the merged cadre came to be known as Assistants, with a common pay-scale. Subsequently, the Finance Department, Government of Bihar came out with a letter dated 20.12.2000 incorporating the decision of the State Government to demerge the cadre of Assistants in three cadres, namely, Lower Division Clerk with pay-scale of Rs. 3050-4590/-, Upper Division Clerk with pay-scale of Rs. 4000-6000/- and Assistants in the pay-scale of Rs. 5500-9000/-. The said exercise was apparently undertaken in the light of recommendation of the Fitment Committee to reconstitute different cadres in tune with the cadres in the Central Government. Clause 5(i) of the said letter of demerger dated 20.12.2000 clearly mentioned that subsequent to issuance of the said letter and till further orders, direct appointment shall be made only on the lowest post, till a classification of posts by the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department regarding number of posts in each category/cadre is determined according to necessity, with the consent of the Finance Department. Clause 5(ii) of the said letter dated 20.12.2000 further specified in no uncertain terms that all selection processes for filling up the posts with higher scale than the posts with lowest scale should be cancelled with immediate effect, irrespective of the fact that the selection process has been completed.

5. The petitioner’s father had died in harness while working as a Revenue Karmchari in Nawada Collectorate on 19.01.2000. He had made an application seeking appointment on compassionate basis consequent upon the death of his father. He held Intermediate qualification. It is the petitioner’s case that the District Compassionate Appointment Committee had found him fit for appointment against a Class-III post and had, in fact, forwarded its recommendat