SURJEET SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners, who working as Demonstrators in the Thapar Polytechnic at Patiala, pray for the issue of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the State of Punjab and the managing committee of the Polytechnic to upgrade them "as lecturers in Engineering..... and to place them" in the scale of pay sanctioned for the post of a lecturer from time to time. They also pray for the payment of arrears along with interest.

(2.) The respondents contest the claim of the petitioners. It has been averred that vide order dated September 21,1976, a copy of which has been produced as Annexure P-4 with the writ petition, the State Government had accorded sanction to the automatic revision of the pay scales/allowances of the employees of the Private Technical Institutions in the State in order to bring them at par with the pay scales/allowances of their counterparts in the employment of the State Government whenever such revisions are announced by the State Government....". It has, however, been stated that this decision added as a sort of previse and clarification does not imply that if and when the State Government re-structures the cadre at any later stage, even the Private Institutions were bound to do so. Accordingly, it has been claimed that even though the Government had sanctioned the conversion of posts of Demonstrators and Drawing Instructors into those of Lecturers, the petitioners were not entitled to an automatic appointment as lecturers.

(3.) Mr. Surya Kant, learned counsel for the petitioners has contended that the controversy has been settled by the decision of a Division Bench of this Court in Avtar Singh Saini and others vs. State of Punjab and others, (CWP 7863 of 1993 decided on February 18, 1994). Learned counsel appearing for the respondents concedes this but submits that the State Government is challenging the aforesaid decision before the Supreme Court.