RAMJI RUPCHAND Vs. WESTERN RAILWAY DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a revision filed by the petitioner Ramji who is a goods guard at Ratlam against an order of the Court of the District Judge, Indore, dated 26 July 1955, in appeal No. 117 of 1954 setting aside the order passed by the Authority under the Payment of Wages Act.

(2.) THERE is no dispute so far as the scale of the pay of the petitioner is concerned. It will be clear from the following narration that the dispute in this case is confined to arrears of salary which the petitioner is entitled to under orders of the President. The petitioner was in the service of B. B. C. L. Railway before 1931. In the next scale of 1931, all "c" guards were given a fixed salary of Rs. 100 per mensem. But when the petitioner was promoted to guard grade "c" he was given the pre1931 scale of pay which was Rs. 50-5-85-10-105. Subsequently, all the railways in the country were integrated and the Pay Commissioner's recommendations were accepted by the Government of India which fixed a new scale of pay, hereinafter referred to as the " prescribed scale. "

(3.) THE pre-1931 railway servants were given an option to remain in the old scale or to opt for the prescribed scale. It was mentioned that the last date of option was 1 May 1948. The employees were asked to opt before that date and to mention whether they would like to come to the prescribed scale with retrospective effect from 1 January 1947 or from 16 August 1947. The post-1931 railway servants had no option as the prescribed scale fully applied to them.