BAM DEV CHHETRI Vs. JAWAHARIAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONERS , who are care takers in respondent no.1/Jawaharlal Nehru University seek the relief of being granted the core scale of pay of Rs.1350 -2200/ - and not Rs.950 -1500/ - which has been directed to be paid to them. What is pleaded in sum and substance by the petitioners is that recommendations given for increase of the pay scales of various employees of respondent no.1/Jawaharlal Nehru University including the care takers such as the petitioners cannot entitle respondent nos. 1 and 2 i.e the Jawahar Lal Nehru University and University Grants Commission to reduce the core scale of pay of care takers from Rs.1350 -2200/ - to Rs.950 - 1500/ -, although the petitioners were enjoying a higher pay scale pursuant to various earlier orders and directions issued by the respondent no.1/University through its executive council.

(2.) THE facts of the case are that the petitioners were appointed as care takers with the respondent no.1/University in the pay scale of Rs.380 - 640/ - (revised to Rs.950 -1500/ -). Petitioners state that on account of duties and responsibilities of the post being identical to the post of care takers in the respondent no.2, the respondent no.1/University placed the petitioners in the pay scale of Rs.1350 -2200/ - by an order passed on 21.3.1996. Notional benefits were granted of the higher pay scale from 1.1.1986 without granting actual arrears for the past period. On account of grant of higher pay scale to the petitioners, certain anomalies arose in the pay structure of other posts, and as a result whereof, the respondent no.1/University brought into force schemes for one upward movement and two upward movements for other employees. Then came the Fifth Pay Commission Report. As per the Fifth Pay Commission Report, core pay scale in Central Government of care takers was fixed at Rs.950 -1500/ -. Petitioners were aggrieved on account of the fact that they were consequently on implementation of V Pay Commission Report put in a reduced pay scale of Rs.950 -1500/ - although they were already having a pay scale of Rs.1350 -2200/ -. Representations were accordingly made to the respondent no.1/University and there took place further correspondence between the respondent no.1/University and the UGC on one hand and the UGC and the Ministry of Human Resource Development on the other hand. Ultimately three letters were issued by the respondent no.2/UGC dated 8.4.1998, 10.4.1998 and 5.10.1999. The sum and substance of these letters show that Ministry was unhappy with the functioning of the JNU in that it without the consent of the UGC JNU gave higher pay scales to its various employees including the care takers such as the petitioners, and which resulted in also granting first time and second time upward movement schemes for compensation to the other employees, however, the Ministry ultimately opined that since the University was competent to do so without taking sanction from UGC, earlier pay scales granted by the respondent no.1/University to its employees including the upward movement schemes should not be touched or varied but direction was that in future the respondent no.1/University will strictly follow the pay scales as given to the Central Government employees. So far as care takers are concerned, respondent no.1/University was allowed to give the care takers the pay scale of Rs.4500 -7000/ - in terms of the letter dated 8.4.1998 and clarification as issued by the UGC dated 10.4.1998 specifying that if core scale of pay of care takers as per Fifth Pay Commission Report was lesser than pay scale of Rs.4500 -7000/ -, since earlier higher pay scales were already paid to the care takers of the respondent no.1/University, such higher pay scales (ie Rs. 4500 -Rs.7000) would be considered to be retained as personal to the employees and such higher pay scales would not be reduced for existing employees but for new recruits, the core scale of pay for care takers would be only Rs.950 -1500/ -. By the letter dated 5.10.1999, issued by the respondent no.2 on the basis of the letter dated 29.7.1999 of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, entire history of pay scales in the respondent no.1/University was commented upon and it was stated in para 4(iii) of this letter dated 5.10.1999 of the respondent No.2/UGC, that, core pay scale of a post would be the pay scale applicable to the corresponding post in Central Government. Accordingly UGC contends that petitioners cannot be granted the higher pay scale of Rs.4500 - 7000/ - because petitioners were not having a core scale of pay of Rs.1350 - 2200/ - inasmuch as core scale of pay of care takers as per the Fifth Pay Commission Report was Rs.950 -1500/ -. That is therefore the issue which is raised by the petitioners that once the petitioners enjoyed a higher scale of pay of Rs.1350 -2200/ - in terms of the order dated 21.3.1996 of the respondent no.1/University when the Fifth Pay Commission Report came into force, then, the letters of the respondent No.2 dated 8.4.1998, 10.4.1998 and 5.10.1999 do not bring about a lower core scale of pay of Rs.950 -1500/ - so far as petitioners are concerned.

(3.) THE relevant portion of the letter of the respondent no.2/UGC dated 10.4.1998 reads as under: - <IMG>JUDGEMENT_325_AD(DEL)1_20142.jpg</IMG> <IMG>JUDGEMENT_325_AD(DEL)1_20143.jpg</IMG>