JAI SINGH SHARMA Vs. DELHI DEVLOPMENT AUTHORITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are seeking financial upgradation as was assured to them vide the DBA circular dated 14.10.1999, placed on the file as Annexure-P1. This circular followed the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission. It refers to the Government of India's Office Memo No. 35034/1/97-Estt.(D) dated 9.8.1999 and mentions financial upgradation after 12 and 24 years of regular service without creating new posts for that purpose and applicable to Group 'B', 'C' and 'D' employees as well as to isolated categories of Group 'A'. This circular then requires the concerned branches of Personnel Department to identify the categories or persons eligible for the scheme and to propose their names to Deputy Director (CR) for further action. The petitioners are Senior Stenographers. They say that they were appointed in 1981 and ever since their appointment, they did not get a single promotion in their career. They claimed that they are entitled to the Assured Career Progression Scheme (ACP) by virtue of the adaptation by the DDA of the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission, as mentioned in the Office Memo, mentioned above.

(2.) The respondent is not denying that these petitioners have not got any promotion ever since they joined the service of the DDA. However, their case is that during their career from 1981 till date there has been various occasions when these petitioners have got pay revisions as well as upgradation of the scale applicable to them by virtue of different orders and a judgment of this Court. The history as given by the respondent's counsel. is as under: Prior to 1.1.1979 there were two posts of Stenographers namely Junior Stenographer and Senior Stenographer. Junior Stenographer was entitled to the scale of Rs. 330-560/- whereas the Senior Stenographer was entitled to Rs. 425-700/-. With effect from 14.2.1979 the two scales were unified to Rs. 330-700 and all the Stenographers were designated as Stenographers. With effect from 1.1.1986 there was a revision of pay scale. The Stenographers were again bifurcated into Stenographers and Senior Stenographers. Junior Stenographers were made entitled to a time bound promotion to the rank of Senior Stenographers. It may be noted here that the petitioners having joined in 1981 joined as Stenographers and in 1986 became Senior Stenographers by virtue of re-designation following the revision of pay scales. A circular to the effect dated 28.8.1992 is on the record as Annexure-P4 to the rejoinder.

(3.) On 13.4.1987 the scale of Senior Stenographers was converted to Rs. 1400-2600/- by virtue of a resolution of the respondent. This was done in view of the fact that the Central Government had also revised the pay scales of Stenographers. On 6.9.1996 the DDA adopted the DOPT Circular No. 2/1/90-CS.IV dated 31.7.1990. In fact, the Senior Stenographers of DDA filed a writ petition before this Court claiming the pay scale of Rs. 1640-2900/- on the ground that their counter-parts in the Central Government in the pay scale of Rs. 1400-2600/- were being given the pay scale of Rs. 1640-2900 w.e.f 1.1.1986 while the Stenographers in the DDA had been conferred the benefit of the scale w.e.f. 1.1.1996.