An employee who is duly and regularly appointed on a substantive post is entitled to regular pay scale and retiral benefits, and cannot be reverted to a lower post or paid a lower salary without authority of law.

1. The present petitioner Sanghi Lal Changgani after his retirement has filed the present writ petition with the prayer that even though he worked for more than 40 years with the respondent Devasthan Department in the Class IV Cadre as Peon/Chowkidar, having been appointed as Peon against the sanctioned post way back on 13/7/1966, at the time of his retirement, he was paid a paltry sum of Rs.1000/-pm only instead of the regular pay scale of Class IV servant and no retiral benefits have been paid to him and, therefore, the present writ petition has been filed seeking appropriate relief in this regard against the respondent Devasthan Department.

2. The writ petition was filed by the petitioner at 66 years of age on 20/9/2011. Upon issuance of the notices, the respondents have filed a reply to the writ petition and have contested the same.

3. First the facts in nutshell are like this. Vide appointment order Annex.1 dated 13/7/1966, the Assistant Commissioner of Devasthan Department, Jodhpur issued sanction in favour of Assistant Commissioner, Devasthan Department, Bikaner to appoint the present petitioner as a Peon. Thereafter, the petitioner was made permanent on the said post vide Annex.2 order passed by the Assistant Commissioner of Devasthan Department, Bikaner on 6/10/1969 and due grade increments were also given to him vide order Annex.3 dated 2/12/1971.

4. Annex. 4 is a representation made by the petitioner to the respondent Department that without any reason his pay of Rs.60/-pm has been reduced by Rs.5/-pm and consequently the Assistant Commissioner, Devasthan Department, Jodhpur sanctioned payment of his pay again to the Inspector of the Devasthan Department Bikaner vide Annex.6 dated 10/12/1975 in which it was clearly stated that the petitioner Sanghi Lal Changgani, Chowkidar is again posted on his previous post. However, it appears that under the orders of the Inspector of Devasthan Department, Bikaner, referred to in para 3 of the representation of the petitioner (Annex.7), the petitioner was asked to discharge his duties as Chowkidar in Jaggannath Temple, Bikaner, though he was appointed on the substantive post of Peon, and since he was asked to discharge his duties as Chowkidar, for the first time in the month of January, 1975 when his pay was reduced by Rs.5/-pm, as Chowkidars were paid fixed monthly amount only, the petitioner made the aforesaid representation. Somehow it appears that the petitioner continued to discharge his duties as Chowkidar only since then and was paid only fixed monthly amount instead of regular pay scale of Peon in Class IV Cadre and that is why he made a detailed representation to the Commissioner of Devasthan Department in the year 2007 on 27/12/2007, a copy of which is placed at Annex.7, in which he narrated the details of his service career and prayed for regular pay scale of Peon to the learned Commissioner instead of monthly amount of Rs.595/-by that time. Copy of said representation was also endorsed to the concerned Hon'ble Minister & Chief Minister of the State.

5. Upon the comments being sought from the higher authorities in this regard, the Assistant Commissioner, Devasthan Department, Bikaner favourably recommended the case of the petitioner for grant of regular pay scale vide communication Annex.10 dated 26/2/2008 stating therein that the petitioner's services were absorbed in the year 1975 on the post of Chowkidar and since then he was working as Chowkidar in the Temple of `Rasik Shiromani' Bikaner and the payment was made out of the fund created for the Devasthan Department. Learned Commissioner asked the Assistant Commissioner, Devasthan Department, Bikaner to take appropriate action at its own level vide Annex.11 dated 8/8/2008 on the aforesaid representation of the petitioner. Vide Annex.12 dated 13/8/2008, the Assistant Commissioner, Devasthan Department informed the petitioner that since his case is old and complex, the same will take some time. But since no dec