When a person is discharging duties in a higher post he is entitled to get pay and allowances due to said post.

This writ petition is filed by the petitioner association to quash the proceedings of the respondent in memo No. 692/HA1/96, dated 14.2.1997, and to direct the respondents to fix their initial pay in the post of Manager in accordance with proviso to Regulation 3.4 of the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation Employees Pay and Allowances Regulations and in accordance with the Fundamental Rule 22-B and with benefit of arrears.

2. It is the case of the petitioner association that it is a registered body under the Indian Trade Unions Act, with registration No.2140/MDS. The petitioner association consists exclusively of the officers of the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation Ltd., which is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956. On behalf of the petitioner association 14 members of the association, belonging to the Hotel Division joined duty as Assistant Managers in the respondent's Corporation, between 1984 to 1988. It is also stated that pursuant to the fifth Pay Commission's recommendation, the first respondent fixed the pay scale for the post of Assistant Manager as Rs. 1820-60-2300-75-3200 by proceedings No. 11905/A2/89 dated 21.10.1989, with effect from 1.6.1988. Accordingly, the scale of pay for the 14 officers mentioned in paragraph 4 of the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition was fixed in the pay scale 1820-60-2300-75-3200 in the proceedings of the first respondent in No. 228/RM/MDS/89, dated 24.10.1989. All the 14 officers were permitted to draw the arrears from 1.6.1989 onwards.

3. It is further submitted by the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner association that the first respondent by proceedings No.702/HAI/95, dated 4.1.1996, upgraded the existing 15 posts of Assistant Manager as Manager in the scale of pay of Rs. 2000-602300-75-3200. Pursuant to the above orders, the first respondent posted the afore-mentioned 14 Assistant Managers in the upgraded post of Managers in the time scale of Rs. 2000-602300-75-3200, with effect from 2.12.1995, by his proceedings in No.692/HA1/96 dated 29.1.1996. Thus all the 14 officers are holding the post of Manager with effect from 28.12.1995.

4. It is further submitted, on behalf of the petitioner association that the first respondent, in proceedings No.692/HA1/96, dated 15.2.1996, fixed the pay of the 14 officers in the post of Manager at Rs. 2300/- in the time scale of Rs. 2000-60-2300-75-3200 with effect from 28.12.1995. It is the case of the petitioner association that the fixation of pay of Rs. 2300/-, by the proceedings dated 15.2.1996, to the Managers in question is not in accordance with Regulation 3.4 of the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporations Employees Pay and Allowance Regulations and also not in accordance with Fundamental Rule 22-B and the pay should have been fixed at Rs. 2375/-, either by adopting the rule of adding notionally one increment in the lower post, and fixing the next higher stage in the scale applicable to the higher post, or by adopting the rule of 5% benefit under Fundamental Rule 22-B. It is the claim of the petitioner association that the appointment to the upgraded post of Manager is "Promotion" to a higher post.

5. However, the respondent had informed the above six Managers by the impugned proceedings in Memo No. 692/HA1/96, dated 14.2.1997, that their existing posts were upgraded to the Manager scale and not promoted, and that as per Rule, pay fixation under Fundamental Rule 22-B cannot be applied to this case.

"Under the proviso to Regulation 3.4 of the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation Employees Pay and Allowances Regulations, in the case of an employee already in the same Corporation, his pay in the newly appointed post shall be fixed at the stage of his existing pay together with a notional increment in the existing scale of pay. By virtue of this Regulation the initial pay in the post of Manager should have been fixed as Rs. 2375/- instead of Rs. 2300/- as they were drawing a bas