IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that due process must be followed in altering pay-scales, particularly regarding recovery of payments made in error, emphasizing employee rights post-retirement.

JUDGMENT :

A.S. SUPEHIA, J.

1. The present Letters Patent Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent, 1865, is directed against the judgment and order dated 29.03.2017 passed by the learned Single Judge, allowing the captioned writ petition.

BRIEF FACTS:

2. Since the original petitioner (deceased employee) has passed away, his legal heirs are representing the present appeal. The respondent-deceased employee was appointed as an Assistant Librarian on 27.12.1972. He was holding the qualification of SSC pass. He was appointed in the Government Medical College, Surat under the Health and Family Welfare Department. Thereafter, he was promoted to the post of Librarian and was also granted Higher Pay-Scale.

3. It is the case of the appellant state, that there are two levels of higher pay-scales, one at the level of Gujarat State i.e. SSC pass, whose pay-scale was Rs.1640-2900/- and in case, the candidate is UGC Graduate or Diploma, his pay-scale would be Rs.2200-4000/-. It appears that through an oversight, the respondent-deceased employee was given the pay-scale of Rs.2200-4000/- instead of Rs.1640-2900/-. The respondent- deceased employee was conferred the said pay-scale of Rs.2200-4000/- by the Dean, Government Medical College, Surat with effect from 01.02.1990. The same was further revised to Rs.8000-13,500/- w.e.f. 01.01.1996 pursuant to the Revision of Pay Rules, 1998. After completion of 8 years of service, he was granted the benefit of Senior Scale of Rs.10,000-15,200/- w.e.f. 01.02.1998.

4. By the letter dated 18.11.2005, the Office of the Commissioner, Medical Education Research, sought an explanation from the Dean, Government Medical College, Surat, in respect of the pay-scale of Rs.2200-4000/- granted to the present respondent - deceased employee (original petitioner). By the order dated 08.12.2005, passed by the Dean, Government Medical College, Surat, his pay-scale was fixed at Rs.4000-6000/-, which is the revised pay-scale of the cadre of Assistant Librarian. It is fixed in a sense that as if he was not promoted on the post of Librarian. Thereafter, the deceased employee reached the age of superannuation on 31.03.2006 and also retired.

5. The deceased-employee filed a writ petition being Special Civil Application No. 2431 of 2006, assailing the order dated 08.12.2005 withdrawing the benefit of UGC pay-scale and re- fixing his salary by the order dated 13.12.2005. The learned Single Judge allowed the said writ petition and the order dated 08.12.2005 was set aside on the ground that the same was passed without affording any opportunity of hearing to the deceased employee. However, the learned Single Judge had reserved the liberty in favour of the authority to pass a fresh order after affording reasonable opportunity of hearing. It appears that thereafter, by the order dated 03.11.2006, after hearing the deceased employee, the appellant-authorities held that the employee was not entitled to the pay-scale of Rs.2200-4000/- and consequential order dated 18.01.2007 was passed. By the impugned order, the pay-scale of the respondent-deceased employee was fixed at Rs.1640-2900/- instead of Rs.2200-4000/- and further recovery has been ordered. The learned Single Judge has quashed and set aside the aforesaid order by placing reliance on the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of State of Punjab and Ors. Vs. Rafiq Masih (White Washer) etc., AIR 2015 SC 696.

SUBMISSIONS OF THE LEARNED AGP:

6. The learned Assistant Government Pleader Ms.Dhruve appearing for the State has submitted that assuming that the case of the respondent-deceased employee is covered under the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Rafiq Masih (supra), the learned Single Judge ought not to have quashed the entire order of re-fixing the pay-scale. She has submitted that as per the Government Resolution dated 14.09.1998, only those Librarians, who fulfill the requisite qualification of M.Phil or Ph.D. at the time of recruitment, are entitled to the pay-