DESU KARAMCHARI ADHIKAR SURAKSHA SAMITI Vs. MCD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By filing this writ petition, the petitioners are ventilating their grievances in respect of their pay scales contending, inter alia, that although the said pay scales have been revised with effect from 1/01/1978, the arrears have been paid to the petitioners only with effect from 1/07/1981. The further grievance of the petitioners is that although Additional Dearness Allowance is to be paid to the petitioners, the same is subject to the condition that the element of Additional Dearness Allowance merged in the pay at 320 points of price index as shown in column 4 of the Annexure IV of the order of the respondents dated 22nd June, 982 would be excluded from the pay. In the writ petition the petitioners, therefore, have prayed that the arrears for the period from 1/01/1978 to 1/07/1981 due to revision of pay scales with effect from 1/01/1978 be paid to them and proper and appropriate Dearness Allowance/Additional Dearness Allowance should be paid to the employees of the Delhi Vidyut Board as the present payment in respect of the same is not in order. In the petition, the petitioners have also claimed payment of the interim relief as announced by the Government of India pending 4th Pay Commission.

(2.) Pending recommendations of the 3rd Pay Commission, the Committee under the Chairmanship of T. Shiva Shankaran was constituted by the Government of India vide notification dated 14/01/1971 to examine and report the demand of Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking Engineers for grant of higher pay scales considering the nature of duties and higher risk and responsibilities as compared to their counter parts in the neighbouring States. The Committee recommended higher pay scales and on the basis of the aforesaid recommendations of the said Committee, the pay scales of the Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking Engineers were revised with effect from 1/04/1972, which were later on extended to all other employees/officers with effect from 1/04/1971. The pay scales of the said employees of the respondent/Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking were further revised with effect from 1/01/1978 by an order issued by the respondents on 22/06/1982. A copy of the said order is placed on record as 'Enclosure - I'. The said order was passed by the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, exercising the powers of the corporation under Section 490 (2)(b) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. It is stated in the said order that in exercise of the aforesaid powers, the Commissioner has approved the scale of pay of the employees/officers to be revised with effect from 1/01/1978. So far Group 'C' and 'D' employees are concerned, the revision of pay scale was shown in 'Annexure-l' to the said document where as for the Engineer/Technical Officers, the same was shown in 'Annexure-ll' and for non-technical officers, it was shown in 'Annexure-lll'. It was further stated in the said office order that Dearness Allowance would be paid to the officers/employees at the rates specified by the Central Government from time to time subject to the condition that the element of Additional Dearness Allowance merged in the pay at 320 points of price index as shown in column 4 of he 'Annexure-IV would be excluded from pay for the purpose of payment of D.A./A.D.A. It was also stated that the actual benefit of revision of pay scales would be given from 1/07/1981 and no arrears for the period from 1/01/1978 to 30/06/1981 would be paid. !t was also stated that the option to elect the existing scale or 3rd Pay Commission scale or the revised scale would be exercised by the employees in the prescribed format within two months of the date of issue of the said office order.

(3.) It is an admitted position that all the employees/officers of the Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking exercised their option for grant of revised scale pursuant to which the aforesaid scale was granted to them along with all other benefits as stated in the said order dated 22/06/1982. After obtaining the said relief in terms of the said order, the present petition was filed in this Court in the month of October, 1985 seeking for the reliefs as stated at the beginning of this narration.