U O I Vs. MAHAJBEEN AKHTAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is directed against tribunal order dated 11.9.2000 passed in respondent's OA 52/2000 directing petitioners to consider her for grant of replacement pay scale of Rs.6500-10500 from 1.1.1996 with consequential benefits.

(2.) Respondent was appointed as Technical Assistant by order dated 17.11.1978 in the Bureau of Promotion of Urdu in then pay scal of Rs.425-700. She was later promoted as Research Assistant in the pay scale of Rs.550- 900 by order dated 27.1.82 which pay scale was revised to Rs.1640-2900 on the recommendation of 4th Pay Commission from 1.1.1986.

(3.) Later it seems that it was decided to create the autonomous Body for Promotion of Urdu Language and the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) was set up to replace the Bureau. It was registered as a Society and it started functioning on 1.4.1996 and the Bureau consequentially ceased to exist from 14.9.1996. All employees of the Bureau including this respondent were transferred to NCPUL from this date on foreign service terms and conditions and were given an option either to revert to Government Service or or to get absorbed in NCPUL. Respondent opted for Government service by letter dated 10.6.1996. On this she was served with notice dated 19.8.1997 by petitioner informing her that the post of Research Assistant held by her stood abolished and that she was declared surplus and transferred to surplus staff establishment. On 28.10.1997 petitioners issued an order fixing her pay in the revised pay scale of Rs.5500- 9000 w.e.f. 1.1.1996. She was then redeployed as Librarian in the National Gallery of Modern Art and designated as Assistant Librarian/Information Assistant in the pay scale of Rs.6500-10500 by order dated 17.12.1999 passed by Director of National Gallery of Modern Art. She thereafter made several representations for placement in the pay scale of Rs.6500-10500 from 1.1.1996 which pay scale was given to other Research Assistants in the Office of Director of Adult Education, Central Hindi Directorate, CSTT, CIIL under the Department of Education. Her representations bore no fruit and she filed OA 52/2000 before Tribunal claiming pay scale on the ground that the Bureau of Promotion of Urdu was running on the some pattern as CHD, CSTT, CIIL and the pay scales on the comparative posts in these were same after the implementation of 4th Pay Commission recommendations, and that qualifications required for the incumbents for the post of Research Assistant in these were the same and so were duties and functions to be performed by them, and, therefore, since this pay scale of Rs.6500-10500 was paid to the Research Assistants in these from 1.1.1996 pursuant to 4th Pay Commission, it be also granted to her also from 1.1.1996. Her OA was opposed by petitioner on the ground that she could not demand the pay scale of Research Assistant which had ceased to exist and that the CHD, CSTT, CIIL were independent offices created for different purposes and that it was only coincidental that they had same posts with identical nominclature and that the nature of work varied in accordance with purpose and that a similar OA No. 1287/1999 claiming identical relief stood already dismissed by tribunal. The Tribunal held on this as under;