Claims for service-related arrears are generally limited to three years prior to the filing date of the petition, reflecting principles of delay and laches.

ORDER :

1. Admit. Learned advocates waive service of notice of admission for and on behalf of the respective respondents.

2. With consent of the learned advocates appearing for the respective parties, the present appeals are taken up for final hearing and are heard together.

3. The issue raised in all these appeals is with regard to grant of regular pay-scale to those employees, who are appointed on compassionate appointment on fixed pay-scale. Number of judgments are cited before this Court by the learned advocates for the respective parties conferring regular pay-scale to the employees from their initial date of appointment. The issue is no more res integra. Against the couple of orders, the SLPs are also dismissed. Thus, the issue of conferring the regular pay scale to those employees, who are initially appointed on a fixed pay on compassionate appointment, does not need further deliberation. However, the issue, which calls for interference by this Court is with regard to grant of actual arrears to such employees, who have belatedly approached this Court by filing the writ petitions.

4. Various judgments are cited by the learned advocates for the respective parties and have vociferously stated that in some of the judgments, the learned Single Judge has granted arrears to such employees from 01.01.2020, whereas in some matters, no such observations are made and in fact, the State Government has granted the arrears on their own from their initial date of appointment.

5. At the outset, learned AGP and learned Advocate Mr. Munshaw appearing for the State authorities have submitted that the issue with regard to arrears in those cases, where the employees have belatedly approached this Court claiming the pay-scale, in no more res integra. Reliance is placed on the judgments of the Apex Court in the Case of Union of India Vs. Tarsem Singh, 2008 (8) SCC 648 and in the case of Shiv Dass Vs. Union of India, 2007 (9) SCC 274 and has urged that the arrears may be conferred from 3 years instead of conferring the same from their initial date of appointment. It is submitted that the writ petitioners were appointed in the year 2004, and they have approached this Court claiming relief of regular pay-scale after considerable long period, hence the arrears are required to be confined to three years.

6. Learned advocate Mr. Thakkar has placed reliance on the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of N.C. Santhosh Vs. State of Karnataka, (2020) 7 SCC 617.

7. Learned advocates Ms. Bhargavi Thakker and Mr. Japee have submitted that all the employees are entitled to arrears from their initial date of appointment since they are regularized pursuant to the orders passed by this Court. It is submitted that in fact, due to belated action of the State authorities, they were not paid the regular pay-scale and instead, were appointed on compassionate appointment on fixed pay, and they are entitled to the actual arrears from the initial date of appointment, after they are regularized in service and not from 01.01.2020. It is submitted that the employees cannot be made to suffer for the inaction on the part of the respondent authorities of belatedly putting them in the regular pay-scale and also not appointing them on regular pay-scale from the initial date of appointment, when they were appointed on the compassionate appointment. Learned advocate Mr. Japee has placed reliance on the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Himachal Road Transport Corporation Vs. Lekh Ram, 2019 SCC Online SC 2118 and has submitted that in the case before the Apex Court, the arrears have been granted from the initial date of appointment.

8. At this stage, we may notice that learned advocate Mr. Majmudar has placed reliance on the order dated 03.10.2023 passed in Letters Patent Appeal No. 287 of 2023 and allied matters and has submitted that in the said matter, the Division Bench of this Court has conferred the consequential benefits to original petitioner-employees from the date o