JUDGMENT :

SANDEEP MOUDGIL, J.

By this order, this Court shall dispose of both the aforesaid petitions, as common questions of law are involved therein. To avoid repetition, the facts are being taken from CWP-786-2022.

Prayer

1. The jurisdiction of this Court has been invoked under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India for issuance of writ in the nature of certiorari to quashing of the order dated 29/08/2014 Annexure P-2 vide which the respondent granted the benefit of 3rd ACP to the ayurvedic/unani medical officers prospectively not from the date when ACP Rule 2008 come into the force i.e 01.01.2006. Further prayer of mandamus directing to the respondents to grant the benefit of 3rd ACP to the ayurvedic/ unani medical officers from the date when ACP Rule 2008 come into the force i.e 01.01.2006 instead of the date of issue of letter i.e. 29/08/2014 Annexure P-2, with 18% interest be also revised from due dates for all intents and purposes.

The Conspectus of Facts

2. The petitioner was appointed as an Ayurvedic/Unani Medical Officer in the Department of AYUSH, Haryana on 15.04.1982 through a regular process of selection. The petitioner served continuously on the posts of Ayurvedic Medical Officer/Unani Medical Officer and also held the post of District Ayurvedic Officer, as reflected in the memo of parties. He rendered more than twenty years of uninterrupted service to the State and retired from service on 30.09.2009.

3. During his service career, the petitioner was granted the benefit of the first and second Assured Career Progression. However, the AYUSH department had extremely limited promotional avenues, with only a very small number of sanctioned posts available at the promotional level. Consequently, the vast majority of Ayurvedic/Unani Medical Officers, including the petitioner, remained stagnated on the same post and retired without obtaining any regular promotion.

4. With effect from 01.01.2006, the State Government notified the Haryana Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2008 and the Haryana Civil Services (Assured Career Progression) Rules, 2008 (in short ACP Rules, 2008). Under the revised pay structure, several pay scales were merged into common pay bands and employees were classified into “specific cadre” and “general cadre” for the purpose of ACP benefits. Ayurvedic/Unani Medical Officers were placed in the specific cadre and were made entitled to only two ACP benefits, whereas employees in the general cadre were granted three ACP benefits during their service tenure.

5. At the time of implementation of the revised pay rules, the petitioner’s pay was fixed by granting him only the first and second ACP benefits, despite the fact that he had completed more than twenty years of service. Consequently, upon retirement, the petitioner’s pension was calculated on the basis of the revised pay so fixed.

6. Subsequently, the State Government, upon considering representations and acknowledging the existence of an anomaly, issued a letter dated 29.08.2014 modifying the ACP scheme and extending the benefit of the third ACP to Ayurvedic/Unani Medical Officers. However, the said modification was made applicable prospectively from the date of issuance of the letter.

7. Since the petitioner had already retired prior to 29.08.2014, he was denied the benefit of the third ACP. As a result, the petitioner’s pay and pension remained lower than that of his juniors who continued in service and were granted the benefit of the modified ACP scheme. Aggrieved by the continued disparity, the petitioner submitted representations and also served a legal notice upon the respondents, but no relief was granted, leading to the filing of the present writ petition.

Contentions

On behalf of the petitioners

8. Learned counsel for the petitioner(s) submits that the action of the respondents in restricting the benefit of the modified ACP scheme to a prospective date is arbitrary, discriminatory and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.