DINESHWAR SINGH Vs. BIHAR STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ petition the petitioner is aggrieved by the order dated 12.8.1995, contained in Annexure 4, where by and where under the respondent authorities have directed for recovery of the alleged excess payment made to him by way of increments on account of non -passing of Hindi Noting & Drafting Examination (hereinafter referred to as 'the Examination ').

(2.) THE case of the petitioner is that the Cabinet Secretariat had issued a Notification dated 15.6.1968, by which passing of the Examination was made compulsory for the employees who have necessity of the Examination in their daily course of business, but in case where the employees have no connection with the Hindi noting and drafting, the said requirement was not necessary. It is stated that as the service of the petitioner is satisfactory, he got various annual increments and promotions in time. However, on 12.8.1995, the Electrical Executive Engineer, Electric Supply Division, PESU, Patna (respondent no. 2) ordered for deduction of annual increments from the salary of the petitioner on account of non -passing of the examination, though the petitioner had no connection in his daily course of business with the noting and drafting. It is asserted that the petitioner had to fill up the printed receipt and hand it over to the consumer on receipt of the electric charges and then to calculate the daily receipts only. It has been, inter alia contended that the authorities have willingly granted him annual increments every year since 1972 and there is no fraud and misrepresentation on the part of the petitioner.

(3.) /1/2013 Page 5 passed the examination. However, it is accepted that the petitioner had appeared in the examination which was held on 27.6.1999 and has been declared successful, vide letter no. 219 dated 18.12.1999 (Annexure 5). 4. Learned counsel for the Board has relied upon a Division judgment of this Court in the case of Bijay Bahadur vs. The Bihar State Electricity Board and ors. reported in Patna Law Reporter 1999 Patna 26. In the counter affidavit it is stated that the date of judgment is 19th May, 1998 and thereby it shall be applied in all such cases Murari Krishna Prasad Sinha Versus State Of Bihar where the employee/officer concerned has passed the examination after 16.7.1979, but prior to the date of judgment i.e. 19th May, 1998 and not otherwise.