The court established that claims for service-related pay benefits can be limited by considerations of delay and timeliness, adhering to established precedents regarding equal pay and non-discrimination.

JUDGMENT :

Jiya Lal Bhardwaj, J.

By way of the present petition, the petitioners have prayed for the following substantive reliefs:-

“i.) That the order dated 30.09.2010 Annexure-P/5 is totally illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory in view of the law laid down by this Hon’ble Court as well as the Apex Court and so that the respondents be directed to modify the order dated 30.09.2010 Annexure-P/5 to the extent that petitioners be allowed monetary benefits alongwith 9% interest per annum from the date of their joining as auditor in the department.

ii.) The Respondents be directed to grant the pay scale arrear to the present petitioners from the date of their appointment as auditors alongwith interest @9% per annum in view of the judgment dated 8.9.2009 passed by this Hon’ble Court in case titled Sanjeev Kumar Mahajan and Others vs. State of HP and Another, in the monetary benefits were allowed to the petitioners (in OA No.2242/97) CWP(T) 4063/2008 and the petitioners who were impleaded as party in the year 2007 (in OA No.2242/97) CWP(T) 4063/2008.”

2. Shorn of unnecessary details, the key facts of the case are that the petitioners are working and had worked as Auditors with respondent No.2 at different places throughout the State. The respondents as per notification dated 31.07.1995 (Annexure P/1) had granted pay scale of Rs.1800- 3200/- to the Auditors promoted on or before 23.07.1990. Thereafter the pay scale of Rs.1500-2640/- was allowed to Auditors and Rs.1800-3200/- after completion of 5 years’ of service. Some of the Auditors feeling aggrieved by the said action had preferred the original application before the erstwhile HP Administrative Tribunal, which was transferred to this Court and was registered as CWP(T) 4063 of 2008, titled, Sanjeev Kumar Mahajan and others vs. State of Himachal Pradesh and another. This Court had disposed of the said petition on 08.09.2009, directing the respondents to grant the petitioners therein, the pay scale of Rs.1800-3200/- with effect from the date their colleagues were granted the same, on the principle of “equal pay for equal work”. The respondents in sequel to the said directions, had granted the pay scale of Rs.1800-3200/- (revised w.e.f. 01.01.1986) vide order dated 20.05.2010 (Annexure P/4).

3. Thereafter respondents had issued an order on 30.09.2010 (Annexure P/5), after noticing the fact that on account of implementation of the judgment dated 08.09.2009, passed by this Court in aforementioned petition, an anomalous situation had arisen, since the pay scale of the junior employees, who were petitioners in the said writ petition, had become higher than those of their seniors, who were not parties in the said writ petition and thus to maintain parity in the pay scales as well as to remove the pay anomaly, it was decided to grant the pay scale of Rs.1800-3200/- to the non-petitioners/Auditors. However, as per the law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the matter of Jai Dev Gupta vs. State of H.P. and Another ( AIR 1998 SC 2819 ), the aforesaid pay scale shall be allowed only on notional basis from the due date to the non-petitioners/Auditors. They shall be given notional benefit of annual increments thereafter. The actual monetary benefits will be payable from the date three years’ prior to the issuance of the said order.

4. The petitioners after grant of benefits in pursuance of the directions in the aforementioned petition had made representations to the respondents on 20.05.2010 (Annexure P-6