IBRAHIM MOLLAH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners of this writ petition are employees of the respondent No. 2 Coal India Ltd. which is a Government of India Undertaking and are posted with the respondent No. 4 Central Coalfields Ltd. which is a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd. The petitioners are governed by the rules and regulations issued by the Coal India Ltd. (respondent No. 2) as well as the directives and policy decisions taken by said respondent. The petitioners were initially appointed in the non-executive cadre and were subsequently promoted to the executive cadre. As we get it from the affidavit-in-apposition, the petitioner No. 1 was promoted from the non-executive post of Accountant to the post of Accounts Officer in E-2 grade of the executive cadre on 7th August, 1987 and the petitioner No. 2 was promoted to the said grade of the executive cadre from the non-executive post of Accountant on 7th March, 1987. The executive cadre of the Coal India Ltd. (CIL) and its subsidiaries comprises different grades from E-1 to E-9 with varying pay scales for such grades. Although non-executives are promoted to executive cadre direct recruitment is also made in the executive cadre. Pay revisions are made from time to time by the Coal India Ltd. The pay revision in respect of non-executives is termed as National Coal Wage Agreement (NCWA) and that in respect of executives is simply termed as pay revision. Earlier the NNCWA III was enforced with effect from 1st January, 1983 and the Third Pay Revision for executives was enforced with effect from 1st August, 1982 although the NCWA III for non-executives was promulgated on 11th November, 1983 and the Third Pay Revision for executives was promulgated on 28th May, 1984. Subsequently, NCWA IV was promulgated on 27th July, 1989 introducing new pay scales for the non-executives with effect from the list January, 1987 and the Fourth Pay Revision was promulgated on 5th April, 1991, introducing new pay scales for the executives with effect from the 1st January, 1987. It may be noticed that both the petitioners were promoted to the executive cadre after the 1st January, 1987 but long before the promulgation of the NCWA IV on 27th July, 1989 as well as the promulgation of the Fourth Pay Revision on 5th April, 1991. It is needless to mention that both the pay revisions for the executive and non-executive cadres made upward revision of pay scales of both the cadres.

(2.) The office Memorandum dated the 5th April, 1991 issued by the Coal India Ltd. which is Annexure-A to the writ petition contains the revised pay scales for the different grades of the executives under the Fourth Pay Revision. It is stated therein that the revision shall be effective from the 1st January, 1987. Paragraph No. 1 of the said office Memorandum enumerates both the existing pay scale and the revised pay scale of each grade of executives and also mentions in column-4 thereof fitment amount in respect of each grade of executives varying from Rs. 400/- to Rs. 1200/-. In paragraph No. 2 of the said office Memorandum, it is stated that the fit meat amount would be admissible to the executives who were on the rolls of CIL and its subsidiaries as on 31st December, 1986 and continued to be on roll thereafter. The result is that no fitment amount becomes admissible to those who were promoted to the executive cadre on or after the 1st January, 1987. Paragraph No. 3 of the said office Memorandum prescribes the method of fitment. According to that method the basic pay in the revised pay scale is to be fixed by adding the first ad hoc relief to the basic pay in the existing scale of pay as on the 1st January, 1987 and adding thereto the industrial D.A. as on the said date plus fitment amount as applicable. On the aggregate arrived at thus the pay is to be fixed in the revised scale and where the total does not fit in a stage of the revised scale of pay, the pay is required to be fixed at the next higher stage. Paragraph No. 4 of the said office Memorandum relates to direct recruits. to the executive cadre appointed on or after the 1st January, 1987. It is stated therein inter alia that all executives appointed on or after the 1st January, 1987 would be deemed to have been appointed in the revised scales of pay and no fitment amount would be admissible to them. Paragraph No. 5 of the said office Memorandum provides that in so far as the case of executives promoted from non-executive to executive grades on or after the 1st January, 1987 is concerned, the matter was under examination and the orders would be separately issued shortly. In view of this paragraph No. 5 the said office Memorandum dated the 5th April, 1991 does not become applicable to executives promoted from the non-executive cadre on or after the 1st January, 1987 so far it relates to fixation of pay in revised pay scale.

(3.) Thereafter the Coal India Ltd. issued the office Memorandum dated the 11th April, 1991 which is Annexure-D to the writ petition regarding the fixation of pay of the executives promoted from the non-executive cadre on or after the 1st January, 1987. The said office Memorandum was accompained by certain statements of examples regarding fixation of pay. Soon thereafter however, Coal India Ltd. issued office Memorandum dated the 23rd April, 1991 by which certain arithmetical errors detected in the statements accompanying the earlier office Memorandum dated the 11th April, 1991 was corrected. Ultimately, however, the Coal India Ltd in supersession of the pay fixation formula contained in the said Memoranda dated the 11th April, 1991 and the 23rd April, 1991 prescribed a new formula for the fixation of pay of the executives promoted from non-executive category to grade E-l or E-2 of the executive category on or after the 1st January, 1987. The grievance of the petitioners is precisely against this office Memorandum dated the 30th May, 1991 regarding the pay fixation formula prescribed for executives promoted from the non-executive cadre on or after the 1st January, 1987 which is radically different from the pay fixation formula made applicable under the office Memorandum dated the 5th April, 1991.