STATE OF TRIPURA Vs. DEBAPRASADNAG

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. S. Chakraborty, learned counsel for the appellants. Also heard Mr. S. Talapatra, learned counsel for the respondent.

(2.) The judgment and order dated 6.3.97 issed by the learned Single Judge of this court in Civil Rule No. 151 of 1995 is the subject matter under challenge in this writ appeal.

(3.) The writ petitioner, respondent of this appeal, had questioned the validity of the impugned Government office order/letter dated 22.7.89 (Annexure-5) to the Civil Rule No. 151/95) re-designating the post of Superintendent of Store as Store Keeper with present, modified and revised pay scale attached with the said post in the following order i.e. Rs.600-1440/- (present scale) then modified present scale of Rs.650-1595/- and Rs.1450-3710/- (revised scale) and also made a claim for his right to continue in the post of Superintendent of Store with his pay scale of Rs.750-1750/- with effect from the date of introduction of Revision of Pay Rules, 1982 (hereinafter referred to as 'the ROP Rules, 1982') and also the pay scale of Rs.2000-4410/ - with effect from the date of introduction of Revision of Pay Rules, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as 'the ROP Rules, 1988') by contending, inter alia, that the writ petitioner is a diploma holder in mechanical engineering who initially joined in the post of Supervisor Grade-I under the National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC) at Jatanbari and thereafter he was appointed to the post of Superintendent of Stores in the Polytechnic Institute (Eduction Department), Agartala with effect from 14.3.73 in terms of the related service rules/recruitment rules as seen in the document marked as Annexure-2 to the writ petition. According to the writ petitioner, the pay scale pay scale of the post of Superintendent of Stores and the pay scale of the post of Overseer of other departments have been raised to Rs. 600-1440/- as the said two posts are of equivalent nature from the very beginning. But by virtue of the impugned office order dated 22.7.89, the post of Superintendent of Stores was re-designated as Store-Keeper with a revised pay scale of Rs. 1450-3710/- and being aggrieved by this action of the official respondents the writ petitioner submitted representation to the appropriate authority against the re-designation of the post of Superintendent of Stores and the pay scale given against the said post and even the case of the petitioner was considered] by the Principal, Polytechnic Institution who forwarded the case of the petitioner in the: prescribed form to the Pay Anomaly Committee of the Government of Tripura with a recommendation for time scale of pay of Rs.2000-4410/-. But the Pay Anomaly Committee did not consider the case of the petitioner despite the submissions of a number of representations in that regard. The petitioner also compared the nature of duties of the Superintendent of Stores with that of Superintendent of Stores working under the Health & Family Welfare Department, Government of Tripura and also contended that the duties and functions discharged by the Superintendent of Stores under the Health & Family Welfare Department are quite same and similar with the duties and functions of the Store-keeper like the present writ petitioner. But the Superintendent of Stores under the Health & Family Welfare Department have been given the time scale of pay of Rs. 2000- 4410/-, but such benefit of time scale of pay is not given to the writ petitioner, the learned Single Judge of this Court examined the case of the petitioner under Civil Rule No. 151 of 1995 and finally disposed of the same under impugned judgment and order dated 6.3.97 with a direction to absorb the petitioner to the post of Superintendent of Stores for which he was initially appointed and he should also be given the pay scale of Rs 2000-4410/- with effect from the date of introduction of the ROP, 1988 within a period of four weeks. Being dissatisfied with the impugned judgment of the learned Single Judge, the State of Tripura filed this writ appeal.