Point of Law : It is equally well settled that Courts should interfere with administrative decisions pertaining to pay fixation and pay parity when they find such a decision to be unreasonable, unjust and prejudicial to a section of employees and taken in ignorance of material and relevant factors.

ORDER :

Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and learned standing counsel for the respondents.

2. The petitioners approached this Court seeking relief as follows :

“to issue Writ Order or Direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus by declaring the action of the respondents in not protecting pay scales of the petitioner which were drawing prior to regularization of their services as illegal, arbitrary and violative of the principles of natural justice and consequently direct the respondents to protect the pay scales of the petitioner which were drawn prior to regularization of their services as held by the Hon’ble AP Administrative Tribunal in OA.No.2855/2012 and Batch dated 15.06.2005 as confirmed by this Hon’ble Court in W.P.No.7537/2016, dated 10.03.2016.”

3. The case of the petitioners, in brief, is as follows :

(a) The petitioners were working as Kamatees on daily wage basis in the erstwhile Gaddiannaram Gram Panchayat since, 09.08.1986 and 01.06.1988. While they are working as such, the said Gram Panchayat has been upgraded into Municipality in the year 2000 as Gaddiannaram Municipality, and then their services along with other staff have taken over.

(b) The petitioners along with other workers approached the erstwhile A.P. Administrative Tribunal by filing O.A.No.1751 of 2001 for regularization of their services from the date of completion of five years. By order dated 16.03.2001, the Tribunal had allowed the said O.A. directing the respondents to regularize their services in terms of G.O.Ms.No.212, F&P, dated 22.04.1994 and also directed to pay the pay scales attached to the said post.

(c) Against the said orders, the Commissioner, Gaddiannaram Municipality has filed W.P.No.11919 of 2001 before this Court. The petitioners along with other workers filed W.P.M.P.No.33039 of 2003, for payment of minimum time scale. By order dated 07.01.2004, this Court directed the respondents to pay minimum time scale applicable to the last grade employees w.e.f. 01.01.2004. Against the said orders, the Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration filed S.L.P. No. (CC) 2873-2875 of 2005 before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the same has been dismissed vide order dated 01.04.2005.

(d) Later, Gaddiannaram Municipality along with other surrounding municipalities were merged in Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad and constituted as Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation in the month of April, 2007 along with assets and liabilities and then their services were taken over in GHMC along with other staff. The Deputy Commissioner has sent proposals to the higher authorities vide Lr.No.C1/2010, dated 25.09.2010 for regularization of petitioners’ services along with other workers, in the said proposals their names were shown at SI.No.8 and 12. Thereafter, the Government has issued G.O.Ms.No.533, MA & UD Department, dated 29.11.2011 regularizing 306 workers working in different circles in GHMC including LB Nagar Circle. But in the said proposal dated 25.09.2010, the petitioners services were not regularized and out of 19 workers only 13 workers services were regularized.

(e) The petitioners along with other workers approached the Court by filing W.P.No.5839 of 2017 for regularization of their services from the date of completion of five years in terms of G.O.Ms.No.212, F&P, dated 22.04.1994, as it was done in the case of other workers vide G.O.Ms.No.533, MA & UD Department, dated 29.11.2011. By order dated 22.04.2019, the Court disposed of directing the petitioners to submit detailed representation to the respondents. Thereafter, the petitioner submitted a detailed representation to the respondents on 22.05.2019.

(f) Further, the Government has issued G.O.Ms.No.40, MA & UD Department, dated 20.02.2020, wherein the petitioners’ services were regularized as Kamatees. The respondents cannot reduce their pay scales which amounts to violation of the orders passed by this Court. By the order dated 15.06.2015, the Tribunal partly