Rajasthan High Court - Jodhpur
State Of Raj. & Ors vs Nathulal Patel & Anr on 5 December, 2013
Author: Vijay Bishnoi
Bench: Vijay Bishnoi
S.B.CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.5241/2011
State of Rajasthan & Ors.
Vs.
Nathla Patel & Anr.
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN
AT JODHPUR
ORDER
S.B.CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.5241/2011
State of Rajasthan & Ors.
Vs.
Nathulal Patel & Anr.
Date of Order : 05.12.2013
PRESENT
HON'BLE MR JUSTICE VIJAY BISHNOI
Mr Anil Bissa, for the petitioners
BY THE COURT:
This writ petition has been preferred by the petitioners-State being
aggrieved with the order dated 02.02.2010 (Annexure-3) passed by the Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribunal, Jaipur, Bench at Jodhpur (for short 'the tribunal' hereinafter), whereby the learned tribunal, while allowing the appeal of the respondent No.1, has held that censure is no bar for granting the benefit of selection grade and directed the petitioners-State to grant the benefit of selection scale to the respondent No.1 ignoring the punishment of censure.
Despite service of notice, none has appeared on behalf of the respondents.
S.B.CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.5241/2011 State of Rajasthan & Ors.
Vs. Nathla Patel & Anr.
2
The learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the
controversy involved in this writ petition has been settled finally by the Hon'ble Apex Court in State of Rajasthan & Ors. vs. Shankar Lal Parmar, reported in AIR 2012 SC 1913, wherein the Hon'ble Apex Court has held that the State Government is justified in not granting benefit of selection grade to an employee for a period of one year, who had earned censure.
Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and perused the material placed on record.
The Hon'ble Apex Court in State of Rajasthan & Ors. vs. Shankar Lal Parmar (supra), while deciding the similar controversy, has held as under:
"22. In the case in hand, it is a question of grant of Selection Grade. A Selection Grade has higher pay but in the same post. A promotion post is a higher post with higher pay. A Selection Grade is intended to ensure that capable employees who may not be able to get a chance of promotion on account of limited outlets of promotion, should at least be placed in the Selection Grade to prevent stagnation at the maximum of the scale. Selection Grade was created to remove stagnation in service and consequently leading to greater efficiency. State has S.B.CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.5241/2011 State of Rajasthan & Ors.
Vs. Nathla Patel & Anr.3
permitted grant of Selection Grade to those who had good service record but for those who had earned censure, the same has been deferred by one year. Thus, according to us, it would clearly fall in the category of reasonable classification which is permissible in accordance with the mandate of the Constitution and also on account of various judgments pronounced by this Court on this topic from time to time."
In the case in hand, the learned Tribunal has held that the State Government cannot withhold the benefit of selection grade on the basis of punishment of censure and has ordered for granting benefit of selection grade to the respondent No.2 ignoring punishment of censure. The directions given by the learned Tribunal are clearly in contravention of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court in State of Rajasthan & Ors. vs. Shankar Lal Parmar (supra).
Hence, this writ petition succeeds and is allowed. The impugned order dated 02.02.2010 is quashed and set aside.
[VIJAY BISHNOI],J.
m.asif/-