Jiya Lal Bhardwaj, Judge (Oral)

The petitioners by way of present petition have prayed for the following substantive reliefs:-

“(i). That the orders dated 24.10.2017 (Annexure A-9) of Respondent No.2 may kindly be quashed and set aside.

(ii). To direct the Respondents to step-up of the Applicants to a stage/figure equal to the pay as fixed for their junior-Shri Ashok Kumar with effect from the date he started drawing more pay on promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer(Mechanical) with consequential benefits including retiral.”

The facts which emerge from the pleadings are that petitioners No.1 & 2 were appointed as Junior Engineers (Mechanical) on 16.02.1981 and 21.03.1980, respectively and later on, they were promoted to the post of Assistant Engineers (Mechanical) w.e.f. 14.10.2011 and their pay fixation was done as per office orders dated 30.01.2012 (Annexure A-1) and 04.01.2012 (Annexure A-2), respectively. Petitioners No.1 and 2 were fixed at Rs.29,750/- and Rs.30,340/- respectively. As per the instructions dated 27.09.2012 (Annexure A-3), which were in continuation of earlier instructions dated 09.08.2012, the Career Progression Scheme for Junior Engineers was restored with effect from 27.08.2009 and Junior Engineers, who had completed 20 years of regular service, were granted Pay Band of Rs.15600-39100 + Grade Pay of Rs.6600/-. According to this Notification, one Ashok Kumar who was admittedly junior to the petitioners was fixed at Rs.30,670/-, w.e.f. 01.10.2012 (Annexure A-4). This person was subsequently promoted to the post of Assistant Engineer vide Notification dated 05.11.2013 and his pay was fixed, vide office order dated 22.04.2014 (Annexure A-5) at Rs.33,520/-. Since the petitioners were getting less pay, though admittedly senior to the aforesaid person namely Sh. Ashok Kumar, they made representation dated 15.11.2012, for stepping-up of their pay and when no decision was taken by the respondents, they had approached the learned erstwhile Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal (for short ‘the Tribunal’) by way of an Original Application(M) No.197 of 2016, praying therein to grant them benefit of Assured Career Progression (for short ‘ACP’)/grade pay of Rs.6600/- after completion of 20 years of service as Junior Engineer. The said Original Application was disposed of on 03.04.2017, when a direction was issued to respondent No.2 to consider and take a decision on the representations dated 15.11.2012, made by the petitioners for stepping-up of their pay. After passing the order by the Tribunal, respondent No.2 passed an order on 24.10.2017 (Annexure A-9), whereby the claim of the petitioners came to be rejected by holding that they are not entitled to the grade pay of Rs.6600/- w.e.f. 01.10.2012. The reason which weighed with respondent No.2 to reject the claim was that petitioners No.1 & 2 were promoted as Assistant Engineers on 20.10.2011 and 19.10.2011, respectively. The grade pay of Rs.6600/- was granted to the Junior Engineers after completion of 20 years of regular service and since the petitioners were promoted as Assistant Engineers prior to 01.10.2012, they were not entitled to the same. The benefit granted to their junior namely Sh. Ashok Kumar was given since he was working as Junior Engineer as on 01.10.2012 and promoted as Assistant Engineer only on 08.11.2013. Thus, the case of the petitioners is entirely different from that of Sh. Ashok Kumar.

The petitioners feeling aggrieved by the said order dated 24.10.2017 (Annexure A-9) have preferred the present petition claiming the benefit of stepping-up on the plea that once the junior officer has been promoted later than the petitioners, and drawing more pay than them, their pay has to be stepped-up to the figure equal to his pay. It is settled principle of law that senior cannot be paid less than his junior even if anomaly in senior’s pay is due to difference of incremental benefits granted to junior.

The respondents filed reply to