STATE OF U P Vs. R K SONI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned Standing Counsel for the appellants as well as Mr. S.M.K. Chaudhary, learned Sr. Advocate for the respondents and perused the records. This special appeal arises out of the judgment and order dated 16.2.2006, passed in Writ Petition No. 4023 (S/S) of 2002, R.K. Soni and others v. State of U.P. and others, whereby the learned Single Judge has allowed the writ petition and directed the appellants to give promotional pay scale of Rs. 2200-4000 with effect from the due dates to the respondents.

(2.) The brief facts of the case are that the respondents are Assistant Lecturers in Government Govind Ballabh Pant Polytechnic, Lucknow, which is governed by the U.P. Samaj Kalyan Vibhag. In the year 1998, the respondents had preferred a claim petition before the U.P. State Public Services Tribunal with regard to grant of promotional pay scale of Rs. 2200-4000 with effect from the due date after completion of 14 and 16 years of service. The said claim petition was allowed by the judgment and order dated 1.11.2000 with a direction to the appellants to consider the case of the respondents for grant of the promotional pay scale with effect from the due dates as and when they completed 14 and 16 years of service. The case of the respondents was considered by the State Government and by order dated 8.10.2001, the State Government rejected the claim of the respondents mainly on the ground that under the U.P. Samaj Kalyan Rajpattrit Adhikari Seva Niyamawali, 1991 (hereinafter referred to as 'Niyamawali, 1991'), the Assistant Lecturers working in Government Gobind Ballabh Polytechnic, Lucknow have no avenues of promotion. Moreover, as per the Government Order dated 3.6.1989, Para-3 (10), the next promotional pay-scale is admissible to only those employees who have been regularized and have completed 6 years of satisfactory service in the selection grade. The respondents were placed in the pay scale of Rs. 1640-2900 w.e.f. 1.1.1986 and in the absence of provision of promotion the next higher pay-scale available to them was Rs. 2000-3200. By the Government Order dated 4.6.1998, the respondents have been given the said next higher scale and as such they are not entitled to get the pay scale of Rs. 2200-4000.

(3.) The said Office Order dated 8.10.2001 was challenged in Writ Petition No. 4023 (S/S) of 2002 by the respondents mainly on the ground that similarly situated persons in other Government Polytechnics controlled by the U.P. Technical Education Department have been granted the pay scale of Rs. 2200-4000 and even the persons (Instructors), who are lower in rank working in the same Polytechnic where the respondents are getting the said pay scale of Rs. 2200-4000.