JUDGMENT :

SUJIT NARAYAN PRASAD, J.

1. Matter has been heard through video conferencing and there is no complaint whatsoever regarding audio and/or video quality.

2. This intra-court appeal filed by the State-appellants under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent is directed against the judgment and order dated 08.11.2017 passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court in W.P. (S) No. 3492 of 2016, whereby the decision of the authority as contained in Office Order No. 75 dated 09.02.2016 by which the benefits of upgradation of 1st and 2nd Assured Career Progression Schemes granted on 09.08.1999 and 10.03.2004 have been cancelled, has been quashed and set aside with a direction to pay the benefits of 1st and 2nd Assured Career Progression Schemes in accordance with law with a further direction that if the writ petitioner is found entitled to the 3rd MACP, the same shall also be considered and granted to him in accordance with law within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt/production of a copy of the order.

3. The brief facts of the case, which are required to be narrated, are as under:

The writ petitioner has joined as Correspondence Clerk on 10.03.1980 in the Works Division, Jamshedpur of the then Rural Development Department (now Rural Development Department/Rural Works Affairance). The writ petitioner has never been granted any regular promotion, however, was granted the benefit of 1st Time Bound Promotion on completion of 10 years of successful service, but the same was withdrawn without prior information to the writ petitioner in pursuance of Resolution No. 660 dated 08.02.1999 implemented with effect from 1996. Even though the writ petitioner was entitled to get the benefit of upgradation of pay scale vide resolution dated 14.08.2002 under which the scheme under the Assured Career Progression Scheme has been floated which stipulates to grant of upgradation of pay scale after completion of 12 years of service and another on completion of 24 years of service. The concerned competent authority, however, had constituted a Screening Committee meeting of which was held on 01.12.2006 in which the writ petitioner has been found eligible for the 1st and 2nd upgradation of pay scales under the Assured Career Progression Scheme with effect from 09.08.1989 and 10.03.2004 i.e. on completion of 12/24 years of service vide Office Order as contained in Memo No. 401 dated 05.12.2006 in which the name of the writ petitioner appeared at serial No. 1. The aforesaid decision of the benefits has also been approved by the Divisional Commissioner.

The appellant No. 4 herein vide Office Order No. 04 dated 09.02.2016 has cancelled the upgradation of pay scale under the 1st Assured Career Progression Scheme granted with effect from 09.08.1999 and the 2nd upgradation of pay scale granted with effect from 10.03.2004, against which the writ petitioner has approached this Court by filing the present writ petition being W.P. (S) No. 3492 of 2016 wherein the following grounds have been agitated:

(i) No departmental examination has ever been conducted by the Works Division, while as per the decision of the Parent Department, all the departmental examinations of the Clerks of the Works Division will be conducted by the Works Department and not by the Revenue Department as has been circulated vide Circular dated 09.05.1991 and, therefore, even if the departmental examination has been conducted by the Revenue Department, it makes no difference since the writ petitioner has not passed the departmental examination and as such, the benefit of upgradation of pay scale will be held admissible as because it is up to the Works Department to conduct the examination in which the writ petitioner being an employee was required to appear, but not in a departmental examination conducted by the Revenue Department.

(ii) In the similar circumstances, the similarly situate