Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 12: Deciding bunch of petitions filed by Provincial Power Employees Union (PPEU) and Others, Division Bench of State High Court comprising Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Janak Raj Kotwal has held that Matriculate ITI diploma holders of Power Development Department are entitled to benefit of SRO 149 of 1973.
After hearing Advocates Abhinav Sharma, Veenu Gupta, D C Raina, Vikas Mangotra, Anil Verma, Sachin Sharma, Anil Khajuria and K Nirmal Kotwal for the petitioners whereas Government Advocate Ahtsham Bhat for the State, the DB observed, “it is the case of the petitioners that their services were regularized as Helpers between the years 1990 and 1996”, adding “the employees of the Home Department submitted a representation for grant of benefit under SRO 149 of 1973”.
“The employees eventually filed a writ petition and vide order dated 18.04.1996, the employees of the Home Department were held entitled to benefit of SRO 149 of 1973. Against the order, the respondents preferred Letters Patent Appeal, which was dismissed vide order dated 04.12.1997 and the order of the Division Bench was also affirmed by the Supreme Court vide order dated 21.04.1998”, the DB said, adding “thereafter, by order dated 29.07.1998, the benefit of SRO 149 of 1973 was extended to the employees of the Home Department. Similar benefit was also extended to the employees of the Medical Education Department vide order dated 27.01.2006”.
“The State Government decided to extend the benefit of SRO 143 of 1973 to the employees of the Power Development Department vide order dated 08.11.1990. However, subsequently, by an order dated 14.11.1990, the order dated 08.11.1990 was kept in abeyance. The order was challenged by the aggrieved employees in a batch of writ petitions, which was allowed vide order dated 04.06.1993”, the DB said, adding “being aggrieved by order passed in the writ petition, Letters Patent Appeal was filed, which was disposed of vide order dated 31.01.1995 with a direction to the respondents to make a representation to the State Government for grant of benefit of SRO 143 of 1973”.
“No recovery can be made of an amount from a Class-III employee or an employee who has superannuated. On this analogy also, no recovery from the employees who are either holding Class-III or have superannuated can be made. It is also noteworthy that benefit of SRO 149 of 1973 as well as subsequent pay revisions has been extended to employees of several departments like Geology and Mining and Police Department etc. who are Matriculate and have ITI diploma. If the petitioners are deprived of such a benefit, the same would be irrational arbitrary and would be violative of Article 14 of Constitution of India”, the DB said.
“For yet another reason the petitioners are entitled to the benefit of higher pay scale as the Supreme Court in the case of Chaman Lal Versus State of Harayana has held that it is permissible to link the pay scale with the qualification”, the DB.
With these observations, Division Bench quashed the impugned order dated 12.05.2016 and directed the respondents to continue to make payment of salary to the petitioners in the pay scale of Rs. 5000-8000, to whom the benefit has already been extended.
Division Bench further directed that respondents shall extend the benefit of revised pay scales to such of the petitioners to whom the benefit has not been extended within a period of four months from today with effect from the date when the same becomes due to them.
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