Promotion before completing 10 years of service as LDC disqualifies entitlement to revised pay scale under applicable regulations.

NAMIT KUMAR J. (Oral)

1. Prayer in this writ petition filed by the petitioner under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, is for issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus, directing the respondents to allow the petitioner a revised higher pay scale of Rs.1500-2640 w.e.f. 01.01.1986, which is admissible on completion of 10 years of services as Lower Division Clerk (LDC) as provided in Finance Circular dated 03.10.1990 (Annexure P-1), as allowed to petitioner’s junior Sh. Surinder Kumar Modgill (respondent No.4) and refix the pay of the petitioner and grant arrears thereof, along with interest.

2. The brief facts, as have been pleaded in the petition are that the petitioner was appointed as Lower Division Clerk (LDC) in the erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board (now Punjab State Power Corporation Limited) on 24.02.1975 and joined as such on 28.02.1975.

Thereafter, she cleared the departmental accounts examination in the first chance and was promoted to the post of Upper Division Clerk and she joined as such on 20.12.1983. The recommendations of the Fourth Pay Commission were implemented w.e.f. 01.01.1986 and the revised pay scale of Rs.1500-2640 was to be given to 40% of total number of posts of Lower Division Clerk (LDC) in a cadre after minimum period of 10 years of service rendered in the pay scale of Rs.950-1800 and Rs.1200-2100, taken together. The revised pay scale of Rs.1500-2640 was allowed to the cadre of Lower Division Clerk w.e.f. 01.01.1986 in the ratio of 20:40:40 and the said scale was allowed to Lower Division Clerks, who joined the duties upto 31.12.1975 and have completed 10 years of service. The Punjab State Electricity Board, vide its Circular letter No.48 of 1992, decided that the Lower Division Clerks who were directly recruited and had been promoted after qualifying the departmental accounts examination before 01.01.1986, could revise their option by treating the post of Lower Division Clerk as the induction post and they would be accordingly entitled to the benefit of revised pay scale. The petitioner also exercised the abovesaid option and, accordingly, she was allowed 16 years time bound promotional scale of Rs.1640-2925, after counting 16 years of service w.e.f.

24.02.1975, vide order dated 16.12.1992. The petitioner submitted representation dated 16.08.1994 and claimed the pay scale of Rs.1500- 2640 w.e.f. 01.01.1986, as the said scale was granted to similarly situated person namely Smt. Tripta Sood, LDC, who was junior to the petitioner and whose pay was fixed at a higher scale than the petitioner and Smt. Tripta Sood, cleared the departmental accounts examination later than the petitioner and was also promoted as Upper Division Clerk (UDC) on 04.06.1987 and was allowed the revised pay scale of Rs.1500-2640 w.e.f. 01.01.1986, however, the said benefit was not granted to the petitioner despite submitting various other representations.

3. Written statement on behalf of the respondents has been filed, wherein it has been stated as under:-

3. That the contents of this para are wrong and denied. However, the Answering Respondent Board framed its own regulation named as PSEB (Revised Pay) Regulation, 1988, vide office order No. 129/PRC/Finance, dated 11.11.1988. The said regulation was made applicable w.e.f. 1.1.1986. There was no provision for grant of scale on the ratio 20:40:40 to LDC. The Punjab State Electricity Board, vide financial circular No. 58/90 dated 3-10-1990, further revised the scales of pay of various categories w.e.f. 1-1-1986. In the ministerial establishment, the L.D.Cs. were placed in senior scales in the ratio of 20:40:40. As per the said circular, the pay scale of 950-1800 i.e. basic entry scale with the initial start of Rs. 1000/- was given to the total number of employees in the cadre minus posts which were placed in the pay scale of Rs. 1200-2100 and Rs 1500-2640. It was provided that the pay scale of Rs. 1200-2100 will be allowed to about 40% of the total number of posts