Punjab-Haryana High Court
Santosh Mahajan And Another vs State Of Haryana And Another on 16 February, 2012
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH.
CWP No. 6825 of 1999 (O&M)
Date of Decision: February 16, 2012
Santosh Mahajan and another
...Petitioners
Versus
State of Haryana and another
...Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.M. KUMAR
Present: None for the petitioners.
Mr. Vinod S. Bhardwaj, Addl. AG, Haryana,
for the respondents.
1. To be referred to the Reporters or not?
2. Whether the judgment should be
reported in the Digest?
M.M. KUMAR, J.
1. The petitioners were working as Assistant in Lottery Department and they were temporarily promoted as Senior Sales Officers in the office of the Haryana State Lotteries, vide order dated 28.12.1992 (P-2) along with one Ms. Kanta Kapoor, who was the junior most. According to the seniority list (P-2) there have been persons senior to them and Ms. Kanta Kapoor was sought to be reverted on account of the fact that her senior Mr. Hira Lal, who was next senior to petitioner No. 1 Santosh Mahajan, was exonerated in a departmental inquiry and Ms. Kanta Kapoor being the junior most lost the right to continue on the post of Senior Sales Officer.
2. Ms. Kanta Kapoor filed C.W.P. No. 721 of 1998 and a CWP No. 6825 of 1999 (O&M) 2 Division Bench of this Court, vide judgment dated 16.2.1999, held her entitled to the pay of Senior Sales Officer for the period she actually and physically worked on the said post. Accordingly a direction was issued to the respondents that for the period she has worked or works as Senior Sales Officer, the pay of the said post be disbursed to her.
3. The petitioners were working as Assistant in the respondent department and admittedly further promotion from the post of Assistant is to the post of Senior Sales Officer. The petitioners in the present case sail in the same boat as they are sandwiched between Ms. Kanta Kapoor and Mr. Hira Lal. They were also promoted as Senior Sales Officer. Accordingly, they would deserve to be given the same relief as has been given to Ms. Kanta Kapoor. It they were never revered then they would be entitled to pay scale of the post of Senior Sales Officer till they were regularly promoted or reverted. They have been paid salary of the higher post for a period of four months. The aforesaid observation has been made on account of the fact that the situation in the present case in one respect is different. Ms. Kanta Kapoor being the junior most Assistant have to give way to her senior Mr. Hira Lal, who was ignored from promotion on account of pendency of a disciplinary action, which ended in his exoneration. The petitioners in the present case might have continued on the post of Senior Sales Officer till the time their turn for promotion has also reached. Therefore, they would be entitled to salary of the post on which they have worked and they cannot be given the salary of Assistant merely because they were holding the post of Assistant on CWP No. 6825 of 1999 (O&M) 3 substantive permanent basis.
4. As a sequel to the above discussion, the writ petition is allowed. The petitioners are held entitled to salary for the post of Senior Sales Officer from May 1993 till the date of their regular promotion or they worked on the post of Senior Sales Officer. The needful shall be done within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
(M.M. KUMAR)
February 15, 2012 JUDGE
PKapoor