SURENDRA PRASAD SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Finance Secretary is personally present as directed by order dated 3.7.2001 and a show cause is also filed on his behalf.

(2.) HOWEVER , on going through the records of this case and after hearing the counsel for the parties, I feel sorry and disturbed that this contempt petition was allowed to proceed to a stage where the Finance Secretary of the State Government was personally summoned by this Court. The order for the alleged disobedience of which the prayer is made to initiate a contempt proceeding against the Finance Commissioner required him to put up the petitioners claim for a higher scale of pay before the Pay Anomaly Removal Committee within a period of one month from the date of filing of the representation by the petitioner. The order was passed in March, 1998 and it is undeniable that at that time, there was no Pay Anamoly Removal Committee in existence in this State. In the year 1998, the Fitment Committee has submitted its report relating to the 5th Pay Revision of the State Governments employees and an Appellate Committee to consider the objections against the recommendations of the Fitment Committee was set up by the State Government much later, in the year 1998, therefore, there was no body/ authority in existence to whom a dispute of pay scales could be referred by the Finance Commissioner.

(3.) MOREOVER , the petitioner on his own showing, is an employee of one of the Universities in this State and his claim for a higher scale of pay therefore could not be examined by a Pay Revision Committee/ Pay Anomaly Removal Committee set up for fixing/ revising the scales of pay of the State Government Employees.