The court ruled that the pay parity rule does not apply when the senior and junior are not in the same lower post, thus rejecting the claim for stepping up pay.

JUDGMENT :

(G.R. Swaminathan, J.)

Heard the learned Additional Advocate General assisted by the learned Additional Government Pleader for the appellants and the learned senior counsel assisted by the learned counsel for the respondent / writ petitioner.

2.The respondent / Ramachandran who is working as Health Inspector Grade I complained that his junior / Mohamed Ameen who is working as Health Inspector Grade I is getting more pay and that therefore, his pay should be stepped up. The respondent herein submitted representations dated 15.04.2015 and 23.09.2019. Since they were not considered, he filed W.P.(MD)No.21767 of 2019. The writ petition was disposed of on 16.10.2019 in the following terms:-

“3.According to the petitioner, one Leprosy Inspector / Health Inspector Grade I-B, by name, Mohammed Ameen, working under the second respondent, bearing seniority No. 4191, as per the revised seniority list published by the second respondent, was getting his pay of Rs.7100/- with effect from 01.09.1998 under the Special Grade Health Inspector Grade-I pay of Rs.5900-200-9900, vide proceedings of the Deputy Director of Medical (Leprosy) Tirunelveli, dated 24.11.2014. The petitioner's seniority number in the list is 2181 and he is the senior to the said Mohammed Ameen. His junior is getting higher pay and arrears of increased allowances. Therefore, the petitioner has sent representations dated 15.04.2015 and 23.09.2019 to refix his scale of pay on par with his juniors, who were working as Leprosy Inspectors and to redesignate as Health Inspector Grade-I. However, till date, no order has been passed thereon. Hence, the petitioner has come out with the present Writ Petition.

4.Considering the nature of relief sought for by the petitioner, without deciding the issues on merits and the delay in sending the representations, this Court directs the second respondent to consider the representations of the petitioner dated 15.04.2015 and 23.09.2019 on merits and pass appropriate orders in accordance with law, within a period of twelve weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.”

3.Pursuant to the direction given by this Court, the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, DMS Campus, Teynampet, Chennai - 6 vide order dated 30.01.2020 rejected the petitioner's request for stepping up pay. Questioning the same, the respondent filed W.P.(MD)No.6692 of 2020. The said writ petition was allowed by the learned Single Judge vide order dated 29.06.2022 in the following terms:-

“4.In G.O.(D).No.917, Health and Family Welfare (L1) Department, dated 11.09.2014, Rule 10(b) of the Tamil Nadu Public Health Subordinate Service Rules came to be amended, whereby the scale of pay for the Leprosy Inspector was revised at Rs.4500-7000. Thus, when the post of Health Inspector Grade I B was redesignated as Health Inspector Grade I, both the petitioners, as well as his junior viz., Mr.Mohammed Ameen were brought under the same scale of pay at Rs.4500-125-7000.

5.Admittedly, the petitioner is senior to Mohammed Ameen. Thus, there appears to be a parity in the pay scale with effect from 1997, whereby his junior was drawing a higher scale than the petitioner herein. By applying Rule 22B Rulings (2) of the Fundamental Rules of the Tamil Nadu Government, it can be said that since the re-designation of the post from Health Inspector Grade I B to Health Inspector Grade-I, both the petitioner as well as his junior would be deemed to be in the same cadre and in the same post from 01.08.1997 onwards.

6.The respondents seems to have misconstrued the facts and have made an attempt to compare the earlier cadre held by both the petitioner and his junior. What requires to be considered here is, after the integration of Health Inspector Grade I B as Health Inspector Grade -I, which post the petitioner was also holding at that point of time, there cannot be any parity in the pay scale between the senior and junior, since both were holding the post of Health Inspector Grade-