JUDGMENT :

Deepak Gupta, J.

1. By way of this petition filed under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India, petitioners pray for issuance of writ in the nature of mandamus by directing respondent Nos.l and 2 to grant full monetary benefits to the petitioners for the periods during which the writ petitions earlier filed by them remained pending.

2. Petitioners were working as Sectional Officers. They were senior to respondent Nos.3 to 7. Aggrieved by the promotion of their juniors- respondent No.3 to 7 to the post of Assistant Town Planner, the petitioners approached this Court by filing CWP No.111 of 1999, which was disposed of on 16.09.2013 (Annexure P-15) in the following terms:

"Having regard to the facts in totality, I am of the opinion that the petition deserves to succeed and is, thus, disposed of in the following terms:

3. Aggrieved by the denial of monetary consequences despite being held entitled to notional promotion, petitioners assailed the abovesaid order dated 16.09.2013 by filing LPA No.1175 of 2016. However, the said LPA was dismissed vide order dated 17.10.2016 (Annexure P-18) on the ground of delay as well as merits. Feeling aggrieved, petitioners preferred Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.9608 of 2017 before Hon'ble Supreme Court, which was disposed of vide order dated 09.05.2017 (Annexure P-1) in the following terms:-

"Delay condoned.

Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that as soon as the private respondents were promoted, they had approached the High Court in a Writ Petition No.111 of 1999 against the unjust denial of promotion to the admitted seniors. The petitioners herein are admittedly seniors to those who have been promoted to the post of Assistant Town Planner is also not in dispute, as can be seen from the stand taken by the State Government in the counter affidavit before the High Court.

In such circumstances, it is submitted that at least during the period the writ petitions were pending before the High Court, the petitioners should have been granted the actual monetary benefits instead of limiting it to notional basis. This is a matter that petitioners are free to point out before the High Court.

Therefore, this special leave petition is disposed of making it clear that in case such a prayer is made in an appropriate manner within thirty days from today, the High Court may consider the same on merits."

4. Pursuant to the aforesaid order of Hon'ble Supreme Court, petitioners filed present petition seeking the monetary benefits during pendency of the CWP No.111 of 1999 and LPA 1175 of 2016.

5. The present writ petition was allowed by a co-ordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 15.02.2023, by holding the petitioners to be entitled for monetary benefits from the date of filing of the CWP No. 111 of 1999 onwards along with interest. However, the respondent- State preferred LPA No.884 of 2023, which has been disposed of on 26.07.2023, by setting aside the order dated 15.02.2023 and remanding the matter to the Single Bench for adjudication of the issue regarding the claim of the petitioners for actual monetary benefits on merits.

6. It is contended by learned counsel for the petitioners that non-grant of actual monetary benefits is not sustainable in the eyes of law, as petitioners were deprived of the promotion without any fault on their part. It is urged that if a civil servant is not offered the work, to which he is legally entitled, he cannot be deprived of the wages for the said post to which he is ultimately held entitled to. Petitioners have always been ready and willing to work and discharge the obligations pertaining to the promotional post in question but were deprived of the opportunity to work on the said post by the respondent department. Learned counsel contends further that present case is not the one, where the principle of 'no work no pay' would be applicable, because this principle applies, where an employee voluntarily abstains from discharging his duties but this principle