VAMANA. M. S/O LATE KRISHNA NAIK Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS VIDHANA SOUDHA BANGALORE AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN these writ petitions, the petitioners have prayed for a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to refoud the entire amount of recovery from them towards arrears of salary on account of one additional increment granted to them under Rule 6 of Karnataka Civil Service Rules, 1974 with interest and consequential benefits and also for a writ in the nature of certiorari to quash the orders dated 08/09.11.2006 as per Annexure -D and 16.05.2007 as par Annexure -G. Petitioners who are all employees of Judicial department are now retired from service on superannuation. Petitioners, while in service earned one additional increment under Rule 6 of Karnataka Civil Services (Service and Kannada Language Examinations) Rules 1974. Under the impugned orders Annexures -D and G, the additional increment extended to the petitioners came to be withdrawn on the ground that they have not passed prescribed examination. Consequently the respondents have recovered the monetary benefit earned by the petitioners on account of additional increment. Hence, these writ petitions.

(2.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioners and learned Government Pleader submits that identical issue came up for consideration before a division bench of this Court in W.P. No. 41542/2003 and the same came to be disposed off on 08.11.2010. For the purpose of this case, para 6 of the judgment is relevant and the same reads as under; 6. It is sought to be mode out, as if, in addition to the Kannada language examination, it to imperative for an employee to have qualified 'the prescribed examination' set as to be entitled to one increment under Rule 6 of the 1974 Rules. This assumption at the hands of the respondents is wholly misconceived. Both in Rule 3(1) as also Rule 6 of the 1974 Rules the them 'prescribed qualification' has been qualified with the words 'if any', as such in the absence of any prescribed qualification, it would not be essential for an employee to pass any such examination before he becomes entitled to the additional increment contemplated under Rule 6 of the 1974 Rules. In our considered view, if there is no prescribed examination for any post in the service of the Government, per employee would be entitled to an additional increment merely on having passed the Kannada language examination since all the petitioners have admittedly passed or deemed to have passed the Kannada language examination saturated under the 1974 Rules far entitlement to the aforesaid increment, we have no doubt in our mind, that the claim made by the petitioners under Rule 6 of the 1974 Rules is fully justified. For the reasons stated in the order in W.P. No. 41542/2003, the following order :