RAJESH CHAUDHRY Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner possesses the degree in Chemical Engineering. Haryana Agro Industries Corporation Limited-respondent No. 3 (in short 'respondent-Corporation') is registered under the Companies Act, 1956. The employees of respondent-Corporation are being considered at par with the employees of Haryana Government in respect of their pay scales and service conditions. Respondent-Corporation is under the control of Haryana Government. The services of Manager (Food Processing), Assistant Engineer/District Managers are governed by the Punjab Civil Services Rules, as applicable to the Haryana Government employees. The petitioner was appointed as a Manager (Food Processing) in respondent-Corporation on 17.8.1993 on the basis of advertisement dated 19.7.1993 in the pay scale of Rs. 2000-3500. According to the petitioner, the post of Manager (Food Processing) is equivalent to the post of Assistant Engineer of respondent-Corporation (now designated as District Manager) as well as post of Assistant Engineer of other corporations and departments of Government of Haryana. The petitioner has also completed his MBA degree in the year 2000. According to the petitioner, the pay scales of the employees of respondent-Corporation were revised and kept at par with the pay scales of the equivalent post of other corporations and Haryana Government employees. The pay scales of respondent-Corporation were fixed and revised by the Haryana Government, with the prior approval of respondent No. 2-The Bureau of Public Enterprises, Haryana (in short 'the Bureau'). The pay scales of Assistant Engineer were revised from Rs. 350-900 to Rs. 900-1700 with effect from 1.4.1979 and the pay scales of Assistant Engineers of respondent-Corporation were also accordingly revised with effect from 1.1.1986. The pay scales were revised from Rs. 900-1700 to Rs. 2000-3500. On the representation made by the Graduate Engineers of various departments, the Government of Haryana, vide Circular dated 2.6.1989, removed the anomaly in the various pay scales of Graduate Engineers and revised their pay from Rs. 2000-3500 to Rs. 2200-4000 and scale of Rs. 3000-4500 applicable after rendering five years' service and revised the pay scale to Rs. 4100-5300 after rendering twelve years' service. The pay scales became effective from 1.5.1989. Respondent-Corporation also removed the anomaly in the case of District Manager (earlier designated as Assistant Engineer) and granted them pay scale of Rs. 2200-4000 with effect from 1.5.1989 at par with Assistant Engineer/Sub Divisional Engineer of Haryana Government. The pay scale of Manager (Food Processing) and the pay scale of Assistant Engineer (now District Manager) of respondent-Corporation and the pay scales of other Assistant Engineer of other departments as well as other corporations were equal till 1.5.1989. The State Government, vide circular dated 2.6.1989 (Annexure-P-1), removed the anomaly in the pay scales of HCMS Doctors, Deputy Superintendents of Police and Superintending Engineers and revised their pay scale from Rs. 2000-3500 to Rs. 2200-4400 with effect from 1.5.1989. The same benefit was not extended to the petitioner. The petitioner, while giving details of qualifications of Manager (Food Processing) and Assistant Engineer with respondent-Corporation and other departments pressed that he is also entitled to the equivalent scale as that of Assistant Engineers as mentioned above. It was further stated that the Board of Directors of respondent-Corporation in its meeting held on 14.8.1997, approved the revision of pay scale of the petitioner i.e. Manager (Food Processing) from Rs. 2000-3500 to Rs. 2200-4000, but it was subject to approval of respondent No. 2-the Bureau. However, respondent No. 2-the Bureau, vide letter dated 21.2.2000, asked respondent-Corporation to send the proposal in the form of agenda. The matter was again placed before the Board of Directors of respondent-Corporation in its meeting held on 22.3.2000 and the same was again referred to respondent No. 1-State of Haryana, vide letter dated 11.5.2000, for onward transmission to respondent No. 2-the Bureau. It also comes out that the petitioner had resigned from the service on 1.5.2015. He claims that he had been sending representations to respondent-Corporation in the intervening period, vide letters dated 23.3.2001, 12.9.2002, 10.12.2002, 28.4.2004, 4.5.2006 and 28.9.2012. He also submitted detailed representation to respondent-Corporation on 13.1.2014 and thereafter approached this Court by filing CWP No. 7147 of 2014, titled as Rajesh Chaudhry v. State of Haryana and others, which was disposed of by this Court on 25.8.2015 (Annexure-P-6), directing respondent No. 2 to consider and take a decision on the resolution dated 22.3.2000. As the needful was not done within stipulated period of three months as mentioned, the petitioner filed COCP No. 30 of 2016, titled as Rajesh Chaudhry v. Dr. R.S. Dhillon. During the pendency of the said petition, the impugned order dated 21.1.20016 (Annexure-P-7) was passed by respondent-Corporation, vide which the claim of the petitioner for higher pay scale was denied. Hence, in the present writ petition, the petitioner seeks setting aside of impugned order dated 21.1.2016 (Annexure-P-7). The petitioner also seeks the removal of alleged anomaly and revised the pay scale of Rs. 2200-4000 with effect from 1.5.1989 and subsequent revised pay scale with effect from 1.6.2006, as allowed to the similarly situated engineers working with respondent-Corporation.

(2.) In the written statement, respondents took the plea that the post of Manager (Food Processing) was sanctioned for the first time by the Standing Committee on Public Enterprises in the meeting held on 30.11992 in the pay scale of Rs. 2000-3500, vide proceeding dated 30.11992 (Annexure-R-1). In pursuance to the same, advertisement dated 19.7.1993 was issued and the petitioner was appointed on 17.8.1993 in the pay scale of Rs. 2000-3500. The petitioner joined the duty on 26.8.1993 as Manager (Food Processing). The post of Manager (Food Processing) was never treated equivalent to the post of Assistant Engineer. As per circular dated 6.1989 (Annexure-P-1). the pay scales of Assistant Engineer have been revised to Rs. 2200-4000 with effect from 1.5.1989, whereas the post Manager (Food Processing) was sanctioned/created by the Haryana Bureau of Public Enterprises much later on 30.11992 with the pay scale of Rs. 2000-3500. Therefore, the claim of the petitioner that the post of Manager (Food Processing) is equivalent to the post of Assistant Engineer is without any substance. There is no order of any authority equating the post of Manager (Food Processing) with the post of Assistant Engineer (now designated as District Manager). The petitioner later on resigned from the service of respondent-Corporation on 1.5.2015. He first time approached this Court by way of CWP No. 7147 of 2015. It was admitted that the same was disposed of with a direction to respondent No. 2-the Bureau to consider and taken a final decision on the claim of the petitioner, vide order dated 25.8.2015. The passing of the impugned order was not denied. It was asserted that the same was correctly passed. Respondents pleaded that the pay scales of the Government employees are prescribed keeping in view the various factors, which are reproduced as under :-

(3.) It was stated that there was no anomaly in the pay scales allowed to the petitioner and the Assistant Engineer. The word 'anomaly' is defined in 'Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary' to mean 'abnormality, irregularity, deviation from the regular arrangement, general rule or the usual method'. It was further stated that as per the rule of the business of the Government of Haryana, there are certain matters, which are mandatorily required to be referred to the Finance Department. Following Rule 7 was relied upon in the written statement :-