Padam Singh vs H.P.S.E.B and Another

Deepak Gupta, J.—The short question involved in this petition is whether the Respondent-board was justified in changing the pay scale of the Petitioner from Rs. 4600-7250 to Rs. 4150-6750.

2 The Petitioner was initially appointed as JBT on daily wages with the H.P. State Electricity Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board) w.e.f. 14.4.1998. The Petitioner was brought on to the work charge establishment on 1.3.1999. Initially his salary was fixed in the scale of Rs. 4150-6750. Thereafter, the H.P. State Electricity Board issued a notification on 18.12.2000, which came into force w.e.f. 1.1.1996, wherein the salary was revised and the JBT teachers, who were earlier in the scale of Rs. 1200-2130, were granted the scale of Rs. 4600-7250. The Petitioner was placed in the same scale and was continued to be paid salary in the scale but some time in the year 2002 some audit objection was raised and apprehending that the Respondent would reduce his salary the Petitioner filed O.A. No. 600 of 2003 before the erstwhile H.P. State Administrative Tribunal. Interim directions were issued in favour of the Petitioner. On abolition of the Tribunal the matter was transferred to this Court and this Court vide its judgment dated 25.11.2009 allowed the petition but gave permission to the Board to re-fix the salary of the Petitioner after giving a hearing to the Petitioner. Now after hearing the Petitioner again his salary has been re-fixed in the scale of Rs. 4150-6750. Hence, this petition.

The grievance of the Petitioner is that once the scale of Rs. 4600-7250 had been granted to JBT teachers then he could not have been placed in the lower scale of Rs. 4150-6750. On the other hand the stand of the Board is that the notification relied upon by the Petitioner was to apply only in case of regular appointments and this scale on regular appointment has been given to the Petitioner. According to the Board the benefit of this scale could not be given to the Petitioner when he was placed in the work charge establishment and as per the board in accordance with the notification dated 22.5.1998 the corresponding scale payable to those employees who were in the pre revised scale of Rs. 1200-2200 or Rs. 1200-2130 was Rs. 4150-6750 and this was the scale payable to the work charge teachers.

In my considered view there is no merit in the contention of the Board. It is well known that the work charge employees are placed at the bottom of the scale payable to the regular employees. There is no separate scale for the work charge employees. In fact, teachers are not workmen and no teacher can be treated to be workmen and appointed on daily wages or work charge basis.

Other than the conversion table, the board has failed to place on record any material to show that some other scale was notified for work charge teachers. Furthermore the notification dated 22.5.1998 relied upon by the Board clearly states that it is not applicable to the work charge employees. If this notification is not applicable to the work charge employees then the Board cannot place any reliance upon the same. Vide notification dated 18.12.2000 the scales of JBT were revised from Rs. 1200-2130 to Rs. 4600-7250. This belies the version of the Board that work charge teachers in the scale of Rs. 1200-2130 were to be placed in the scale of Rs. 4150-6750.

In view of the above discussion the present petition is allowed, the impugned order is quashed and the re-fixation of the pay of the Petitioner is set-aside and no recovery shall be made from the Petitioner. The petition is disposed of accordingly. No costs.