IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Reserved on : 09.12.2025 Pronounced on : 15.12.2025 Uploaded on : 16.12.2025 Baljit Singh and others .....Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAMIT KUMAR Argued by : Mr. Baldev Singh Maan, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Swapan Shorey, DAG, Punjab.

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NAMIT KUMAR , J .

1. The petitioners have invoked the writ jurisdiction of this Court by filing the instant petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of certiorari for quashing and setting aside the stipulation in the appointment letter dated 03.12.2020 (Annexure P-1), whereby the petitioners have been given a pay scale lower than the pay scale granted to the identically placed employees who were selected and appointed as Surveyors in the Department of Soil Conservation through the same recruitment process based on the same advertisement No.6/2015, issued by the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board, as the said stipulation is totally illegal, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. Further, a writ of mandamus has been sought for directing the respondents to grant the same pay scale of Rs.5910-20200+2400 Grade Pay [as further revised by Punjab Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2021], which has been granted to the identically placed employees who were appointed as Surveyors in the year 2016, through the same recruitment process, to the petitioners and to fix their pay notionally with effect from the year 2016, when the same has been granted to the other identically placed Surveyors, along with interest at the rate of 12% per annum. Further, a writ of mandamus has been sought for directing the respondents to fix the seniority of the petitioners as per composite merit list prepared by the Board.

2. The brief facts of the case as have been pleaded in the petition are that on the basis of requisitions received by Punjab Subordinate Selection Board (hereinafter referred to as 'Board') from various departments of Government of Punjab, the Board issued an advertisement No.6/2015 on 29.12.2015 (Annexure P-3) through its official website, inviting online applications from eligible candidates for filling up of various categories of posts including 347 posts of Surveyors in the Department of Soil and Water Conservation, Punjab. Out of the said 347 posts, 142 were meant for general category and 45 for ex-servicemen category. The scale of pay for the post of Surveyor as mentioned in the advertisement No.6/2015 (Annexure P-3) was Rs.5910-20200+2400 Grade Pay, based on Punjab Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2009 effective from 01.01.2006, as per the recommendations of the 5th Punjab Pay Commission. This pay scale was further revised vide Punjab Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2021, based on the recommendations of the 6th Punjab Pay Commission, effective from 01.01.2016. A comparative chart showing the pre-revised and revised pay scale of the post of Surveyors is as under:-

Pre-revised pay scale based on Revised Pay scale based on Sixth Fifth Punjab Pay Commission Punjab Pay Commission w.e.f.

w.e.f. 01.01.2006 01.01.2016

5910-20200+2400 Grade Pay Rs.25600 in Level 6 of Pay Matrix

3. The petitioners who all belong to ex-servicemen category, applied for the post of Surveyor and all the candidates were asked to appear in the counselling along with their original documents, held on 29.09.2016, 30.09.2016, 03.10.2016 and 04.10.2016. The petitioners, along with other candidates, appeared in the counselling on the scheduled dates for selection to the posts of Surveyors against the post reserved for ex-servicemen category and after considering the names of all the eligible candidates, the Board declared the result of the selected candidates for appointment to the posts of Surveyors vide Public Notice dated 28.12.2016 (Annexure P-5), published on the official website of the Board. However, in para 5 of the said Public N