Naveen Kumar & Ors. vs The State Of Bihar & Ors.

“That this is an application for issuance of appropriate writ/writs, order/orders, direction/directions, commanding and directing the Respondent authority concerned to grant of pay scale of Rs.4000-6000/- i.e. grade pay Rs.2400/- in place of pay scale of Rs.3050-4500/- (Revised pay scale 5200-20200, grade pay Rs.1900) to the petitioners from the date of joining and consequential arrears of salary in the light of order passed by this Hon'ble Court in C.W.J.C. No.3353/2018 disposed of vide order dated 27.02.2018 as well as order passed in L.P.A. No. 167/2016 disposed of vide order dated 23.06.2017 passed by Division Bench of this Hon'ble Court under which in view of merger of Lower Division Clerk and Upper Division Clerk and new nomenclature as Assistant and on that basis petitioners have been discriminated. And/or any other relief or reliefs for which the petitioners are found entitled to in the facts and circumstances of this case.”

“…...82. In ultimate analysis, we proceed to answer the question referred to the larger Bench in C.W.J.C. No. 23831 of 2018 as under:-

(i)

Any person appointed on the post of Lower Division Clerk after demerger in the scale of Rs.3050-Rs.4590/- cannot claim and would not be entitled to a higher pay scale of Rs.4000-Rs.6000/-. This Court has already noticed that the judgment of the Division Bench in the case of Smt. Mosarrat Arra Khanam (Supra) was not brought to the notice of the subsequent Division Bench in the case of Avinash Kumar Chakerworty) (supra). It is further held that the principle of “Equal pay for equal work” has no application in these matters.

…..83. In C.W.J.C. No. 2804 of 2020, three questions have been referred to the larger Bench, we answer the same in corresponding terms as under:-(i) the views expressed by the Hon’ble Division in the case of Smt. Mosarrat Arra Khanam and others (supra) is the correct view. We do not approve the views expressed by the Division Bench in the case of Avinash Kumar Chakerworty and others. The case of Binit Kumar and Others (supra) deals with altogether a different issue which is not falling for consideration in the present writ applications. (ii) After Finance Department’s Resolution dated 20.12.2000, a demerger of the post of Assistant resulted in existence of three different posts i.e. (I) Lower Division Clerk (ii) Upper Division Clerk and (iii) Assistant. In terms of clause (5)(i) of the Resolution Dated 20.12.2000 the vacancies existing in the post of Assistant (prior to demerger) would be taken as the vacancies existing in the post of Lower Division Clerk which is the junior most/ lowest post available in that category. Thus, the petitioners who have been appointed after 20.12.2000 could have been appointed only against the post of Lower Division Clerk in the pay scale of Rs.3050/- Rs.4590/. (iii) All the appointees on the post of Lower Division Clerk after 20.12.2000, irrespective of their source of appointment are entitled to the pay scale of Rs.3050 – Rs. 4590/-.”