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The argument of Mr. Manglam and Mr. Thakur, learned counsel for the petitioners, has been rather vehemently contested by the learned counsel for the State and Mr. Anuj Kumar, learned AC to GP-24, while appearing for the State in C.W.J.C.No. 18433/2016 has chosen to question the very grant of pay scale to the petitioners which according to the learned counsel was not in tune with the scheme of compassionate appointment. Simply reiterating what is stated in the counter affidavit filed on behalf of respondents no. 2 and 3 and respondent no.1 respectively, it is stated that these petitioners have been granted a pay scale to which they were not entitled. Learned counsel has made reference to the submission of respondents no. 2 and 3 at paragraph 8 onwards of the counter affidavit filed on their behalf in support of his submission.

Mr. A.K. Rastogi, learned AAG-10, has appeared on behalf of the respondents in C.W.J.C.No. 18971/2016 and while supporting the stand as advanced by Mr. Anuj Kumar he submits that the pay scales granted to these petitioners was not in tune with the policy decision on compassionate appointment. Similar stand has been adopted by Mr. Ranjan Kumar Singh, AC to PAAG-2 appearing in C.W.J.C.No. 19239/2016 with reference to the counter affidavit filed in C.W.J.C.No. 15678/2016.

The Secretary (Expenditure), Finance Department by a third decision bearing Memo No. 8083 dated 7.10.2016, a copy of which has been placed on record vide Annexure P-11, has in reference to its earlier resolution dated 8.1.2016 placed at Annexure P-9 and 30.6.2016 placed at Annexure P-10 issued clarification to the Accountant General that the benefit of progression under the Assured Career Progression Rules would only be extended to the direct appointees and not to those who had been appointed on the post of Accounts clerk by way of compassionate appointment, absorption or upgradation, which would be guided by the Finance Department Circular No. 867 dated 1.1.2015.

Once an incumbent joins a cadre, be it by way of compassionate appointment or by absorption or by upgradation of post, he/she forms an integral part of the cadre which can neither be bifurcated to form a sub-class nor can be treated as a class apart. The attempt of the Finance Department to treat the compassionate appointees and those who occupy the post by way of upgradation/ absorption as a class apart, is arbitrary, per se discriminatory as it is based on no intelligible differentia to support such opinion.