IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

201 CWP-6490-2001 Date of Decision:07.04.2026 Ram Dia Gupta and another .....Petitioners VERSUS Haryana Urban Development Authority and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARPREET SINGH BRAR Present : Mr. Jagbir Malik, Advocate for the petitioner (Amicus Curiae).

Mr. Arvind Seth, Advocate for the respondents-HUDA.

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HARPREET SINGH BRAR, J. (Oral)

1. The present writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking issuance of an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to grant the benefit of additional increments and higher standard pay scales to the petitioners upon completion of 8/18 years of service, by counting their work-charged service rendered prior to regularization towards the total qualifying service from the dates of their initial appointment, without any further delay. The petitioners further seek extension of the same benefits as have been granted in CWP No. 10933 of 1997 and to similarly situated employees of HUDA, wherein work-charged service has been counted for the said purpose. A further prayer has been made for grant of Assured Career Progression (ACP) scales to the petitioners in terms of the Haryana Civil Services (Assured Career Progression) Rules, 1998.

PETITIONERS’ CONTENTION

2. Learned counsel for the petitioners, inter alia, submits that the petitioners were initially appointed on a work-charged basis on 23.11.1977 and 04.03.1976, respectively, and their services were subsequently regularized on 20.10.1988 and 24.02.1984, respectively. It is contended that vide instructions dated 07.08.1992 (Annexure P-1), the Government of Haryana decided to grant additional increments to Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ employees on completion of 8/18 years of regular satisfactory service, which instructions were duly adopted by the respondent-authority. Thereafter, vide instructions dated 08.02.1994 (Annexure P-2), higher standard pay scales were introduced on completion of 10/20 years of service. Further, the Government of Haryana, vide instructions dated 07.01.1998, introduced the Assured Career Progression (ACP) Scheme w.e.f. 01.01.1996, granting benefits on completion of 10/20 years of service.

2.1 The primary grievance of the petitioners in the present writ petition is that their work-charged service has not been counted towards qualifying service for the purpose of grant of additional increments, higher standard pay scales, and ACP benefits. It is further submitted that similarly situated employees had approached this Court by way of CWP No. 10933 of 1997, seeking identical relief, and the said writ petition was allowed. In compliance of the said judgment, the concerned employees were granted the aforesaid benefits after counting their work-charged service, as is evident from Annexure P-3.

2.2 It is also contended that the petitioners have submitted several representations, followed by a legal notice, however, no action has been taken by the respondents. Learned counsel further places reliance upon the judgment passed by the Division Bench of this Court in Parmod Kumar and others versus State of Haryana and others (CWP No. 10984 of 2001 decided on 22.01.2002), in support of the claim of the petitioners.

RESPONDENTS CONTENTION

3. On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondents– authority, while opposing the claim of the petitioners, places reliance upon the instructions dated 07.08.1992 (Annexure P-1) issued by the Government of Haryana and submits that a bare perusal thereof makes it abundantly clear that the benefit of additional increments is admissible to Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ employees only upon completion of 8/18 years of regular satisfactory service. Learned counsel further submits that the aforesaid instructions do not envisage or permit counting of past work-charged service for the purpose of grant of additional increments or other consequential benefits. It is, thus, argu