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Judgment
S.N. Aggarwal, J.—The petitioners who are two in number have filed this writ petition seeking a writ of Mandamus against the MCD (respondent herein) to forthwith implement the memorandum of settlement between the Joint Action Counsel of Service Doctors and Government of India dated 21st August, 1989, the terms whereof have been adopted by the respondent vide resolution No. 1226/GW/Corp. dated 06th March, 1991 against agenda item No. 1189. The petitioners have further prayed for directions to the respondent to grant them salary in Super Time Grade-I in the pay scale of Rs. 5900-6700 together with all consequential benefits with effect from 01st March, 1990.
Brief facts of the case in sofar as they are relevant are as follows:
The petitioners who have filed the present writ petition were working as doctors with the respondent. The petitioner No. 1 is reported to has expired during the pendency of the present writ petition and after his death his legal heirs were not brought on record. The writ petition qua the petitioner No. 1 has Therefore abated. In so far as petitioner No. 2 is concerned, he was granted Super Time Scale of Rs. 4500-5700 w.e.f 11th December, 1989. He has superannuated from the service of the respondent while in the Super Time Scale of Rs. 4500-5700 on 31st December, 1991.
In terms of the settlement between the Joint Action Counsel of Service Doctors and Government of India, the Government agreed to grant certain benefits to its service doctors for betterment of their career opportunities. The extended benefits were made applicable to the service doctors of Government of India w.e.f. 01st March, 1990. Broadly speaking the benefits that were granted to the service doctors of Government of India in terms of settlement were as follows:
Demand relating to betterment of career opportunities for service doctors.
2.1 CHS Medical Officers in the scale of Rs. 2200-4000 shall be promoted as Senior Medical Officers in the scale of Rs. 3000-4500 on completion of four years of regular service on the basis of seniority-cum-fitness.
2.2 CHS senior Medical Officers in the scale of Rs. 3000-4500 shall be promoted as Chief Medical Officers in the scale of Rs. 3700-5000 on completion of six years of regular service in GDMO Sub Cadre as Senior Medical Officer or on completion of ten years as MO and SMO of which two years shall be as Senior Medical Officer on the basis of seniority-cum-fitness subject to availability of vacancies.
2.3 Government will create 134 additional posts in the Senior Administrative Grade of Rs. 5900-6700 in addition to the existing posts in the Central Health Service, as a measure of immediate relief, pending a comprehensive cadre review of the service.
2.3.A. In regard to specialist sub-cadres, the arrangements set out in para 2.1 and 2.2 will apply pari-passu namely Non-Teaching & Public Health Sub-Cadres.
The petitioner was already working in the Super Time Scale of Rs. 4500-5700 when the settlement became effective w.e.f 01st March, 1990. He could get the benefit of Senior Administrative Grade of Rs. 5900-6700 only in case additional post as mentioned in para 2.3 referred above were to be created by the respondent. It is true that the respondent has adopted the settlement made applicable by the Government of India to its service doctors w.e.f. 01st March, 1990 vide resolution, which is at page-31 of the paper book, but a perusal of the said resolution would show that the benefit of Senior Administrative Grade of Rs. 5900-6700 was to be given against 12 posts in the grade of Rs. 5900-6700 to be distributed between the General and the Specialists Cadre doctors separately. The distribution of 12 posts amongst the General and Specialist cadre doctors in terms of above referred resolution of the respondent was not done till the date the petitioners had retired from the service of the respondent. It is not even the case of the petitioners that the respondent has given the benefit of the scheme of settlement to any other doctor junior to them.
Mr. Vikram Nandrajog, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners has very fairly conceded that the scheme in question was not implemented by the respondent till the retirement of petitioner No. 2 or for that matter even the retirement of petitioner No. 1 who died during the pendency of the present writ petition. The scheme was admittedly implemented by the respondent later on in 1995 and Therefore the petitioners cannot take advantage of the said scheme.
Furthermore, the petitioners, in this writ petition, have prayed for directions to the respondent that the respondent should immediately implement the scheme as extended by the Government of India to its service doctors w.e.f. 01st March, 1990. As far as this prayer of the petitioners is concerned, the said prayer has been complied with by the respondent itself in 1995 during the pendency of the present writ petition and the same has rendered the prayer made in the present writ petition infructuous.
In view of the above, I do not find any merit in this writ petition, which fails and is hereby dismissed but in the circumstances with no order as to costs.