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Jharkhand High Court has given a very important and precedent-setting decision regarding the pay scale and service conditions of state government employees. The court has clarified that the pay scale and service conditions of any employee will not be decided from the date of issue of his formal appointment letter. Instead, the service conditions will be determined from the date of the advertisement and selection process under which the recruitment process was initiated.
A single bench of Justice Deepak Roshan has given this historic order while hearing the petitions of public servants (Gram Sevaks) of Dumka and Jamtara districts.
Candidate not responsible for administrative delays: Court
During the hearing, the court said in strong words that if a candidate gets the appointment letter late due to administrative delay or procrastination, then he cannot be punished for it at all.
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Violation of right to equality: The court made it clear that when the candidates have been selected on the basis of the same advertisement and the same merit list, dividing them into two different pay scales merely on the basis of appointment letters being issued at different stages is completely unconstitutional. This is a direct violation of the right to equality provided by the Constitution.
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District administration’s order rejected: The High Court has completely canceled the order (Memorandum No. 289) of the district administration, under which the grade pay of these employees was reduced.
Instructions to give equal salary and arrears to equivalent employees
The High Court has issued instructions to the Jharkhand government that:
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All the petitioners were given the same treatment as their batchmates appointed in the years 1990 and 1996. Rs 4000-6000 Replacement pay scale of Rs.
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Along with this, the employees will be informed about their actual seniority, outstanding arrears and MACP All consequential benefits should also be provided.
What was the whole matter? (Case Background)
This legal dispute is nearly four decades old, which had affected the financial benefits of many public servants:
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1987 advertisement: This whole matter is related to advertisement number issued in the year 1987. 26/87 Is connected to. Under this, a joint merit list (panel) was prepared in the year 1988 for the reinstatement of public servants in Dumka and other districts.
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Step by step restoration: The successful candidates of the first two rounds of this panel were appointed in the year 1990 and 1996 respectively.
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Delay in appointment of petitioners: Due to administrative reasons and slowness of files, petitioners Vishwanath Singha Roy and other candidates including Sanjit Gorai November 1999 I could get the appointment letter by going there.
Misuse of Finance Department’s resolution
Amidst this delay in receiving the appointment letter, 8 February 1999 The Finance Department had issued resolution number 660 and implemented new pay scales in the state.
The district administration considered the late appointed employees as ‘new recruits’ and reduced their pay scale to Rs 3200-4900. Whereas, their peers in the same examination and merit list continued to get the old higher pay scale. Later, on the same basis, the department had also reduced the MACP and grade pay of these employees, which has now been declared completely illegal by the High Court and ordered to be rectified.
