IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

217 CWP-7204-2023 Date of Decision: February 26, 2026 Satnam Singh and others .....Petitioners VERSUS State of Punjab and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARPREET SINGH BRAR Present : Mr. Bhavesh Ola, Advocate for Mr. Parvez Chugh, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Vikas Sonak, AAG, Punjab.

Mr. Navkesh Singh, Advocate for respondent No.3.

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HARPREET SINGH BRAR, J. (Oral)

1. The present civil writ petition has been filed under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to grant the salary in the higher scale to the petitioners for the posts of SDO and Junior Engineer for the period they had worked on the said posts as Additional Charge and all consequential benefits by revising their salaries and pay to them the arrears so accruing to them with interest thereon. A further writ in the nature of mandamus is sought directing the respondents to decide the legal notice dated 23.02.2023 (Annexure P-8) within some stipulated time period.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioners inter alia contends that the petitioners are employees of the Respondent No.3 - Board. Petitioner No.1, was working on the regular post of Junior Engineer and was given additional charge of SDO on 28.03.2019. He worked as SDO (additional charge) till 12.12.2022 and was regularized as SDO on 13.12.2022. Petitioner No.2, was working on the regular post of Pump Operator and was given additional charge of Junior Engineer on the basis of his Diploma in Civil Engineering on 29.01.2014 and is still working as Junior Engineer (additional charge) till date. Petitioner No.3, was working on the regular post of Pump Operator and was given additional charge of Junior Engineer on 29.01.2014 and was regularized as Junior Engineer on 28.10.2021. Petitioner No.4, was working on the regular post of Plumber and was given additional charge of Junior Engineer on 29.01.2014 and was regularized as Junior Engineer on 19.08.2016. Petitioner No.5 was working on the regular post of Assistant Engineer and was given additional charge of SDO on 31.05.2017 and was regularized as SDO on 01.04.2021.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioners further submits that the claim regarding the grant of higher salary for the period the petitioners discharged duties of a higher post, in the writ petition is squarely covered by a settled proposition of law, that once an employee is promoted or is given additional charge of a higher post and actually discharges the duties of that post, he becomes entitled to the salary attached to such higher post for the entire period during which he performed those duties. It is further submitted that there is no justification for denying the salary of the higher post in the absence of any statutory rule permitting such denial, and that any administrative condition to the contrary would be unsustainable in law. Learned counsel in this regard places his reliance on the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Smt. P. Grover v. State of Haryana, 1983 AIR SC 1060 and Arindam Chattopadhyay and others v. State of West Bengal and others, Civil Appeal No.25021 of 2013, wherein it has been authoritatively laid down that an employee working on a higher post cannot be denied the salary attached thereto. Learned counsel further submits that despite the settled legal position, the respondents have failed to grant the petitioners the salary of the higher post for the periods they worked on additional charge basis, compelling the petitioners to serve a legal notice dated 23.02.2023 (Annexure P-8). Since the said legal notice has not been decided, the petitioners have been left with no alternative but to approach this Court by way of filing the present writ petition.

4. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondents submits that the petitioners have an alternative statutory remedy by way of an appeal to the State Government under Section 42 of the