STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH Vs. P O ATTRI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) State of Himachal Pradesh in this appeal has challenged the judgment dated May 21, 1992 of the Division Bench of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh (hereinafter referred to as the High Court) allowing the writ petition filed by certain categories of employees of the High Court seeking parity in pay scale from a particular date and redesignation of their posts with the employees of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. High Court by the impugned judgment directed the State Government "to accord and convey the approval for the redesignation and equation of the posts of Senior Translators and Junior Translators with Revisers and Translators and equate them with the posts of Superintendents Grade-II and Assistants in the Himachal Pradesh Civil Secretariat from 23-1-1975 within two months from today and on receiving this approval, the second respondent will take the consequential steps within one month thereafter and grant such other and further reliefs to the petitioners that may flow out of the same."

(2.) In coming to this decision, High Court was guided by the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the Sunder Sham Kapur vs. Honble Chief Justice, (1987) 4 Serv LR 460. On the basis of this judgment, Chief Justice Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed that the petitioners therein were entitled to the benefit of redesignation and equation of the posts of Senior Translators and Junior Translators from 23-1-1975. It was conceded before the High Court that since as per policy and practice, the State Government was adopting the pay-scales sanctioned for the officers and servants of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and accordingly the Chief Justice of the High Court had similarly recommended for the redesignation and equation of the posts in question from 23-1-1975. The aforesaid judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Sunder Sham Kapurs case (supra) has been reversed by this Court in Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh through its Registrar vs. Sunder Sham Kapoor, (1997) 9 SCC 174. This Court said that Revisers earlier designated as Translators would be entitled to revised pay-scale from 5-8-1980 as per the order dated 17-11-1987 and not from 23-1-1975. At the beginning of arguments, it was submitted before us by the respondents that they would be satisfied if this Court ordered that the respondents in the present case working in the High Court would be held entitled to similar pay scale as provided to their counter-parts in the Punjab and Haryana High Court w.e.f. 5-8-1980. We do not, however, think it is as simple as that.

(3.) The respondents before us are employees working in the establishment of the High Court as Senior Translators and Junior Translators. They are governed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court Officers and Servants (Salaries, Leave, Allowance and Pension) Rules, 1971 (for short, the Rules). Similar posts in the establishment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court are governed by Punjab and Haryana High Court Establishment (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1973. Relevant provisions of these Rules of Punjab and Haryana High Court were given effect in that High Court w.e.f. 25-9-1985 as per notification dated 23-1-1986 after receiving approval of the President of India under clause (2) of Article 229 read with Article 231 of the Constitution. As a result, posts of Senior Translators were redesignated as Revisers and equated with the posts of Superintendent Grade-II in the Establishment of the Punjab Civil Secretariat. Similarly posts of Junior Translators were redesignated as Translators and equated with the posts of Assistant in the Establishment of the Punjab Civil Secretariat. Consequent upon the redesignation of these posts in Punjab and Haryana High Court, these posts were similarly redesignated/equated in the High Court by the Chief Justice after obtaining approval from the Governor of the State. That was by notification dated 17-6-1987. Respondents were given their new designations and scale of pay from 25-9-1985.