PRAKASH CHANDER SRIVASTAVA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition can be disposed of in view of the order passed by Supreme Court of India in the case of Oriental Insurance Co. Vs. National Forum of Special Assistants & Ors. C.M. No. 1573/86. decided on 14.2.95. That was a case where the Calcutta High Court was considering case of Special Assistants in Oriental Fire and General Insurance inter alia praying that they may be categorised as Superintendents. The Calcutta High Court answered the question in affirmative. The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. filed appeal before the Supreme Court of India against the judgement of Calcutta High Court.

(2.) In the case before hand, counsel for petitioners has contended that petitioners were denied their due category under the Scheme by virtue of paragraph 5(2) (b)(ii)(A) as their categorisation ought to be as Senior Assistants with consequential benefits of enhanced pay and status from 1.1.73.

(3.) It was further contended by Sh. Mishra counsel for the petitioners that the respondents have taken a curative action in November, 1976 when in recognition of the Higher Grade Assistants' right to be categorised as Superintendents along with 'Superintendents and Section Heads' were promoted and redesignated as Assistant Administrative Officers thus bringing the erstwhile higher Grade Assistants and Section Heads under the same category i.e. Assistant Administrative Officer. In reply to the said paragraph the respondents have not specifically denied the same. It has been stated in the counter affidavit that taking into consideration the educational qualification of Higher Grade Assistants they were promoted to the post of Assistant Administrative Officer. However, it was denied that the higher Grade Assistants were redesignated as Assistant Administrative Officer. Be that as it may be, the judgement rendered by the Calcutta High Court in the case of National Forum of Special Assistants & Ors. Vs. Union of India & Ors. is fully applicable to the facts of the present case and the same was not interfered by Supreme Court of India in appeal as Supreme Court of India has agreed with the reasoning and conclusions reached by the Calcutta High Court. Therefore, following the judgement of Supreme Court of India in the case of Oriental Insurance Co. Vs. National Forum of Special Assistance & Ors. (Supra), the petitioners and other belonging to the same category shall be entitled to the difference in the salary, which they were drawing as Assistants and which they would have drawn had they been categorised as Senior Assistants in the following manner: