JUDGMENT

Jyoti Singh, J.

1. By this writ petition, Petitioner seeks setting aside of the impugned order dated 24.01.2019, whereby the Respondent has rejected his request for counting his past service in the post of Junior Assistant-cum-Typist from 01.01.1996. Writ of mandamus is sought for direction to the Respondent to count Petitioner's past service from 01.01.1996 to 03.02.2013 towards eligibility period for computation of 20 years for grant of 2nd financial upgradation under the Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme ('MACP Scheme') in PB-2 with Grade Pay of Rs.4200/-, along with arrears and other consequential benefits.

2. Shorn of unnecessary details, the facts necessary for adjudicating the issues arising in the present writ petition are that Petitioner was appointed as Junior Assistant-cum-Typist in the pay scale of Rs.950-1500 (4th CPC) on 21.04.1995 on direct recruitment basis with the Respondent/Jawaharlal Nehru University ('JNU'), vide Office Order dated 15.05.1995 and was subsequently granted OUM (One Upward Movement) in the pay scale of Rs.1350-2200. Petitioner applied for the post of Semi Professional Assistant on direct recruitment basis and on being selected, was appointed to the said post on 01.02.2013 in Pay Band Rs.5200-20200 (PB-1) with Grade Pay of Rs.2800/- with the Respondent.

3. It is averred by the Petitioner that some employees of the Respondent, working as Caretakers, filed writ petitions in this Court including W.P.(C) 1050/2000 titled as Bam Dev Chhetri & Ors. v. Jawaharlal Nehru University & Anr., 2013 SCC OnLine Del 4705, challenging reduction of their pay scale from Rs.1350-2200 to Rs.950- 1500. Case of the Petitioners therein was that looking at their onerous duties and responsibilities they had been correctly granted the pay scale of Rs.1350-2200 w.e.f. 21.03.1996 with notional benefits from 01.01.1986 and having granted the pay scale, Respondents were estopped from reducing the said pay scale to pay scale of Rs.950- 1500. Case of the Respondents was that as per 4th CPC recommendations, core pay scale in the Central Government for Caretakers was Rs.950-1500 and by grant of higher pay scales in the University an anomaly had arisen, which was sought to be rectified by reducing their pay scale to Rs.950-1500.

4. After deliberating on the communications exchanged between University Grants Commission (UGC) and JNU, more particularly, letter dated 08.04.1998, whereby it was decided that wherever higher pay scales had been granted, even though different from the Central Government, they should be protected and treated as personal to the said employees, Court allowed the writ petitions vide judgment dated 22.11.2013 and directed that the pay scale of Rs.1350-2200, revised to Rs.4500-7000 under 5th CPC, be restored to the Petitioners with all consequential monetary benefits along with interest at the rate of 7.5% per annum on the arrears.

5. After the said judgment, Petitioner also took recourse to his legal remedies, in order to protect the pay scale of Rs.1350-2200 granted as OUM and filed W.P.(C) 2882/2016 in this Court along with a few other employees, claiming benefit of the judgment dated 22.11.2013. The writ petition was disposed of by the Court on 23.11.2016 by a consent order, directing that the judgment passed in Bam Dev Chhetri (supra) will govern the case of the Petitioners and Respondent shall, after giving appropriate hearing to the Petitioners, act in accordance with the said judgment.

6. It is stated that in compliance of the judgments, Respondent passed an Office Order dated 09.10.2017 and re-fixed the pay of the Petitioner in the pay scale Rs.1350-2200 w.e.f. 21.04.1995 and also gave benefits of subsequent pay revisions by placing him in the pay scale Rs.4500-7000 w.e.f. 01.01.1996 (5th CPC) and Pay Band Rs.5200-20200 with Grade Pay of Rs.2800/- under 6th CPC.

7. Contention of the learned counsel for the Petitioner is that the core pay scale of the Petitioner in the post of