IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

201 Date of decision :19.12.2025 Baljinder Kaur and others ..…Petitioners V/S State of Punjab and others ....Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAMIT KUMAR Present: Mr. Rohit Sapehiya, Advocate for Mr. Rai Singh Chauhan, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Satnampreet Singh Chauhan, D.A.G., Punjab.

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NAMIT KUMAR , J. (ORAL)

1. The petitioners have filed the instant writ petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of certiorari, quashing the order dated 17.01.2007 (Annexure P-1), whereby the pay of the petitioners has been re-fixed after a period of more than 09 years and huge recoveries have been imposed on the petitioners which the respondents have started effecting @ Rs.1,000/- per month from the salary of the petitioners without affording any opportunity of hearing to them.

2. Brief facts of the case, as have been pleaded in the petition, are that the petitioners joined the respondent-Department as Clerk and at the time of their promotion as Junior Assistant, they were placed in the pay scale of Rs.1500-2700/-. Subsequently, 4^th Punjab Pay Commission gave its recommendations, vide which the pay of the employees were revised w.e.f. 01.01.1996. Consequent upon the recommendations of the Punjab Pay Commission, the State of Punjab issued notification dated 16.01.1998, vide which the pay rules were amended and pay of the petitioners (Junior Assistant) was revised w.e.f. 01.01.1996 from pay scale of Rs.1500-2700/- to Rs.5000-8100/- and the petitioners were given the said revised pay scale. Thereafter, after a lapse of 09 years, the respondents have passed the impugned order dated 17.01.2007, vide which the pay of the petitioners has been revised and they have been placed in the pay scale of Rs.4400-7000/-, whereas no such scale was existing at that time and there was no amendment made in the rules and it has been ordered that the Clerks/Junior Assistants, who were promoted w.e.f. 01.01.1996 to 19.05.1998, arrears and salary drawn by them prior to 19.05.1998 are exempted from recovery, however, recovery has been ordered to be effected for the subsequent period i.e. from 19.05.1998 onwards. In pursuance thereof, the respondents, without issuing any show cause notice and without affording any opportunity of hearing to the petitioners, have started effecting recovery from the pay of the petitioners @ Rs.1000/- per month. Hence, the instant petition.

3. On the last date of hearing i.e. 09.12.2025, the following order was passed :-

“The present petition has been filed under Articles

226/227 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of certiorari for quashing order dated 17.01.2007 (Annexure P-1), whereby the pay of the petitioners has been refixed after a period of more than nine years and huge recoveries have been imposed upon them.

While admitting the present petition and issuing notice regarding stay on 31.08.2007, further recovery from the petitioners was ordered to be stayed and the said order was made absolute vide order dated 10.01.2008.

Learned State counsel, on instructions from Ms.

Alka Chopra, Sr. Assistant, submits that all the petitioners except petitioner No.6-Balwinder Kaur Rawal, have retired from service and all the retiral dues have been released to them and the present petition qua them has been rendered infructuous.

Accordingly, the present petition stands disposed of as having been rendered infructuous qua petitioners No.1 to 5 and 7 & 8.

Learned State counsel seeks time to get instructions with regard to petitioner No.6 in view of law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of Punjab and others Vs. Rafiq Masih (White Washer) etc., 2015(1) S.C.T., 195 Adjourned to 19.12.2025”

4. Learned State counsel submits that petitioner No.6 is still in service and has been promoted to Group ‘A’ post.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioner No.6 is not questioning the re-fixation of pay, however, the action of the