VISHNU KANT MISHRA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ petition, the petitioner is aggrieved by the office order of the Executive Engineer, West Kosi Canal Division, Jhanjharpur, contained in letter no. 465 dated 30th March, 2001 (Annexure 1) whereby and whereunder his scale of pay has been reduced from retrospective effect and the alleged excess amount has been sought to be recovered.

(2.) IN short, the relevant facts are that initially there were two separate cadres for Junior Accounts Clerk and Senior Accounts Clerk, which was merged with effect from 1.5.1980, vide notification dated 18.2.1981. The petitioner, thus, was appointed as Accounts Clerk in the Water Resources Department on 1.1.1984 and later vide office order dated 6.1.1993 (Annexure 2) he was given the replacement scale of Rs. 730. -15 -820 -1080/ - in place of Rs. 535 -765/ - for holding the post of Accounts Clerk and the financial benefit has been given to him in the said scale with effect from 1.1.1984 with the condition that if any adverse order of the Government is received, excess payment, if any, made shall be recovered from him from monthly salary. The Cabinet vide its decision dated 27.7.1999, communicated vide letter no. 6389 dated 28.9.1999 of the Finance Department, contained in Annexure 9, decided to again demerge the cadre of Accounts Clerk and in sub -paragraph (3) of paragraph 3 of the said letter it has been made clear that those employees, who are already in service, shall continue to remain on the higher post and there would not be any question of their adjustment on the revived post or the newly created post in the lower grade.

(3.) LEARNED counsel submitted that in a similar matter the Division Bench, vide Annexure 15 to the reply affidavit, after noticing the decision of this Court in the case of Sarju Prasad Bhagat vs. The State of Bihar and Ors., reported in 1997(1) All PLR 154, in which similarly situated person challenged the said similar order and it was held that as no order for demerger had been passed by the State Government, the writ petitioner of that case cannot be treated to have been reverted to the lower post of Junior Accounts Clerk, held that the case of the petitioner Lal Mohan Srivastava and Ors., vs. The State of Bihar and Ors., (C.W.J.C. No. 7119 of 1991) is squarely covered by the aforesaid decision of this Court and as such the said petitioners are entitled to similar relief. Accordingly, the Division Bench directed the respondents not to treat the petitioners of the said case as Junior Accounts Clerk with effect from 1.4.1981 in the absence of any order of demerger and further directed to treat them as Accounts Clerks even after 1.4.1981 and also restrained them from initiating any proceeding for recovery of any amount which the petitioners of the said case had received as a result of merger nor to deny any promotion to them, which they are entitled as a result of the said merger with effect from 1.4.1981. In support of this, he has placed reliance on other decisions also, which are contained in Annexures 14 to 17.