IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP No.28454 of 2025 (O&M)

Date of decision: 22.09.2025 Amandeep Singh and others ....Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and others ....Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARPREET SINGH BRAR Present: Mr. Navdeep Jain, Advocate and Mr. Sunny K. Singla, Advocate for the petitioners.

Ms. Niharika Sharma, AAG, Punjab.

Mr. Vikas Chatrath, Advocate for respondents No.2 to 9.

HARPREET SINGH BRAR J. (Oral)

1. The instant civil writ petition has been filed under Articles

226/227 of the Constitution of India, claiming the following reliefs:-

(i) issue a writ in the nature of Certiorari seeking quashing of recovery initiated by the respondents against the present petitioners vide letter/order bearing memo No.203 dated 23.04.2025, memo No.1072 dated 05.05.2025, memo No.335 dated 10.07.2025 and memo No.2077 dated 09.09.2025, memo No.325 dated 03.07.2025, memo No.158 dated 17.03.2025, memo No.99 dated 17.02.2025 and Office Order No. 20 dated 16.01.2025 (Annexures P-5 to P-7) issued by respondent/Corporation being illegal, arbitrary and against the provision of law and considering the facts and circumstances of the case;

(ii) the operation of letter/order bearing memo No.203 dated 23.04.2025, memo No.1072 dated 05.05.2025, memo No.335 dated 10.07.2025 and memo No.2077 dated 09.09.2025, memo No.325 dated 03.07.2025, memo No.158 dated 17.03.2025, memo No.99 dated 17.02.2025 and Office Order No. 20 dated 16.01.2025 (Annexures P-5 to P-7) issued by respondent/Corporation and recovery proceedings against the petitioners may be stayed till the pendency of the writ petition;

(iii) issue a writ in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondents to return/refund the illegal recovery/deductions made by the respondent/Corporation from the salary account of the petitioners in view of recovery proceedings initiated by the respondent/Corporation alongwith the interest @ 18% p.a. considering the facts and circumstances of the case;

(iv) issue a writ in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondents to pay the arrears to the petitioners till date alongwith the interest @ 18% p.a. considering the facts and circumstances of the case.

2. The brief facts of the case, as pleaded in the writ petition, are that the petitioners are employees of Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL), appointed as Lower Division Clerks (LDC)/Typists pursuant to recruitment notification i.e. CRA No.290/2017 dated 20.12.2017. They joined the services with respondent/Corporation in the month of April, 2021 and completed their probation in April, 2024. The respondents, vide order dated 19.01.2022 (Annexure P-2), adopted the pay fixation principles contained in the Punjab Government Finance Department letters dated 11.06.2021 and 18.12.2020 for all the posts advertised on or after 17.07.2020.

Subsequently, vide office order dated 14.03.2022 (Annexure P-3), the pay scales of the petitioners were fixed in accordance with the 7^th Central Pay Commission (7^th CPC), however, vide Memo No.837/841 dated 16.10.2024 (Annexure P-4), the respondents/Corporation restricted the pay of the petitioners and similarly placed employees to the 5^th and 6^th Punjab Pay Commission scales, by withdrawing the earlier grant of 7^th CPC benefits. Following this, the recovery proceedings were initiated against the petitioners by various departmental memos and orders, without any prior notice or opportunity to be heard. Hence this writ petition.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioners, inter alia, contends that the respondents themselves fixed the pay of the petitioners according to th the 7 Pay Commission rules and the petitioners just accepted the same without influencing the decision. The petitioners received salaries on the th basis of 7 CPC for a long time, but suddenly, the respondents took th th back those benefits and reduced their pay to the older 5 and 6 Pay Commission scales. Thereafter, the respondents started the recovery proceedings against