Punjab-Haryana High Court
Khushpal Singh vs Central Administrative Tribunal And ... on 26 April, 2014
Bench: Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Arun Palli
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
Civil Writ Petition No.7403-CAT of 2007 (O&M)
DATE OF DECISION: 26.04.2014
Khushpal Singh
.....Petitioner
versus
Central Administrative Tribunal and others
.....Respondents
CORAM:- HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE SANJAY KISHAN KAUL,CHIEF JUSTICE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ARUN PALLI
Present: Mr. Sanjeev Pandit and Mr. B.K. Saini,
Advocates for the petitioner
Respondent No.1 formal party
Ms. Anju Arora, Standing Counsel for UOI,
for respondent No.2
Mr. Arvind Moudgil, Advocate for respondents
No.3 to 6
..
SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, CHIEF JUSTICE (Oral):
The petitioner is holding the post of a Draftsman in the Sports Authority of India which is a standalone post. The petitioner having been recruited in the scale of `1200- 2040/- in 1988 availed the benefit of the One Time Bound Promotion Scheme (OTBP Scheme) on completion of 8 years' service and, therefore, was granted the scale of `1400-2300/- with effect from 14.8.1996. The petitioner was of the view that he was entitled to scale of `1640-2900/- from 23.2.1996 Chand Parkash 2014.04.28 14:53 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document CWP-7403-CAT-2007 - 2 -
and claims to have made a representation against the order fixing his pay scale. Thereafter, the petitioner appears to have remained silent over this issue and that should have put the matter at rest.
However, the petitioner sought to re-agitate the issue on a stated different premise vide a representation dated 9.10.2000 by seeking to link it to the earlier representation. This representation is predicated on two documents - letter dated 12.2.1998 and office order No.26/98 of December, 1998, stating to have approved the pay scales applicable to Draftsman. In terms of this office order, it was pleaded, that the next higher pay scale of `1200-2040/- was `1640-2900/-. This was followed by another representation dated 6.11.2003, after three years, and it is that representation which was rejected on 27.11.2003, making a cause for filing of an application before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench in the year 2004. This application being Original Application No.529/PB/2004 has been dismissed on 6.9.2006 which order is sought to be assailed before us in the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
We have heard learned counsel for the parties and find no merit in the petition.
It must be appreciated at the threshold itself that the post of the petitioner is a standalone post and the Chand Parkash 2014.04.28 14:53 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document CWP-7403-CAT-2007 - 3 -
benefit of OTBP Scheme was already availed of by the petitioner. The scale as admissible under the OTBP Scheme was granted to the petitioner of `1400-2300/- with effect from 14.8.1996 which was accepted by the petitioner for almost two years. The factum of there being some subsequent office order in 1998 would not change this position. This office order of 1998 mentioned two scales of pay of Draftsman and from there the petitioner seeks to contend that the next higher scale is of `1640-2900/- and not `1400-2300/-. If at all this office order was to apply, it could not change the situation, the petitioner having already availed of the benefit under the OTBP Scheme.
There is also a second aspect of the matter as emerges from the documents filed on record and the order impugned before us. There is, undisputedly, no amendment to the recruitment rules for the post of Draftsman creating two categories of Draftsman, an aspect also stands clarified from Annexures A/3 and A/4. The recruitment rules provided for the initial scale. There is no promotional avenue for Draftsman for a next scale. It is in these circumstances, in the impugned order, it has been opined that this was an obvious mistake. The matter was clarified in the following terms:
"After examining Annexure A-3 & A-4 which is the scales as given by 4th Central Pay Commission adopted by S.A.I. with the approval of the Government indicates that the next available scale was Rs.1400-2300 and not Rs.1640-2900. Annexure A-5 is a letter circulated by S.A.I. Chand Parkash 2014.04.28 14:53 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document CWP-7403-CAT-2007 - 4 -
explaining as to what next higher scales of pay are to be given under the time bound promotion to the employees of S.A.I. under the Scheme and for the scale of Rs.1200-2040, the scale of Rs.1400- 2300 has been very clearly mentioned."
We are in complete agreement with the aforesaid conclusion as in the absence of there being any two categories of Draftsman, the next higher scale of promotion being clarified as `1400-2300/-, post of Draftsman being a standalone post and the petitioner having obtained a benefit of the OTBP Scheme, there is no merit in the writ petition.
Dismissed.
( SANJAY KISHAN KAUL )
CHIEF JUSTICE
26.04.2014 ( ARUN PALLI )
parkash* JUDGE
Chand Parkash
2014.04.28 14:53
I attest to the accuracy and
integrity of this document