The principle of stepping up pay must be applied when seniors in the same cadre are receiving lower salaries than their juniors, ensuring equitable pay that adheres to constitutional mandates.

ORDER :

1. Rule returnable forthwith. Ms.Nirali Sarda, learned Assistant Government Pleader waives service of notice of rule on behalf of respondent State.

2. The petitioners by way of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India pray for a direction that the pay of the petitioners be put at par with their juniors who are appointed or or after 01.01.2006 and to place the petitioners at the stage of Rs.7730 in the pay band of Rs.5200-20200 (PB1) with effect from 01.01.2006.

3. The petitioners were appointed on different dates as a Peon and placed on a fixed salary of Rs.1500 for a period of five years. As on August 2005, the petitioners were in the pay-scale of Rs.4440-7440. By the coming into force of the 6^th Pay Commission, their pay-scale came to be revised and implemented with effect from 01.01.2006 and they were placed in the pay-scale of Rs.5200-20200 with the grade pay of Rs.1900. Thereafter, the State through the Finance Department came out with a resolution dated 27.02.2009 by which the entry level pay was revised with effect from 01.01.2006. As per the said government resolution, the basic pay was fixed at Rs.7730 with grade pay of Rs.1900 as a result of which employees junior to the petitioners got more basic pay than the petitioners.

4. Learned advocate Mr. Kinariwala appearing on behalf of the petitioners would submit that an identical issue came up for consideration before this court in Special Civil Application No. 12207 of 2014 and this Court allowed the petition and directed the authority to step up the pay of the petitioners therein by placing them at the pay band with arrears from 01.01.2006 and to pay periodical rise and all consequential benefits.

5. Admittedly, when it is a matter of record that the petitioners were appointed much prior to the other employees junior to the present petitioners, the essential ingredient of ‘stepping up of pay’ in favour of the petitioners who were otherwise drawing less pay in the basic of Rs.7100 would apply.

6. This Court in Special Civil Application No. 12207 of 2014 and allied matters has considered the very issue and observed accordingly:-

“20. Here in the present case also, the petitioners were appointed prior to January 01,2006 and their juniors were appointed on or after January 01, 2006, however, the pay in pay band of the juniors of the petitioners was fixed higher than that of the present petitioners and, thus, there is apparent anomaly in the salary being paid to the petitioners as against their juniors.

21. So far as the issue in question is concerned, it depends upon the applicability of the principle of stepping up. Admittedly, the petitioners had been appointed earlier to the category of Private Secretary, Grade-I, and some of their juniors got their pay fixed at a higher level than the petitioners on implementation of the Sixth Central Pay Commission in view of Rules, 2009. To remove the anomaly of a Government servant promoted or appointed to a higher post earlier drawing a lower rate of pay in that post than another Government servant junior to him in the lower grade and promoted or appointed subsequently to the higher post, the principle of stepping up of the pay is applied. In such cases the pay of the senior officer in the higher post is required to be stepped up to a figure equal to the pay as fixed for the junior officer in that higher post. The stepping up is required to be done with effect from the date of promotion or appointment of the junior officer. On refixation of the pay of the senior officer by applying the principle of stepping up, the next increment of the said officer would be drawn on completion of the requisite qualifying service with effect from the date of the refixat