RAMESHWAR PD SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order will govern all the writ petitions which have been heard together as the facts and points involved in these cases are common.

(2.) THE prayer of the petitioners is to quash the notifications dated 24.6.1996, issued under the signature of Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Government of Bihar, as contained in Annexure -1, and the other dated 27.6.1996, issued by the same authority, as contained in Annexure -2. whereby, the decision of the State Government dated 21.6.1996 as notified, recalling the services of petitioners from the posts of Block Development Officers, Rural Development Department because against such posts only those officials of Agriculture Department or Rural Development Department were required to be posted, who were placed in the scale of the Deputy Collector i.e. Rs. 2200 -4000 whereas the petitioners were admittedly in the scale of Rs. 2000 -3800. A prayer has. also been made to direct the respondents to pay the scale of Rs. 2200 -4000, which is a revised scale of Rs. 1000 -1820, already made available to the officers of different recognised State services including 1423 Agriculture Inspectors, who were upgraded by a notification of the State Government dated 18.12.1989 with effect from 18.9.1987, although initially getting the same scale of Rs. 1000 -1820 as also to grant the time bound scale of Rs. 3000 -4500/ -. In alternative, the prayer is to declare since the petitioners have already completed the tenure, which entitles them for time bound promotion in the scale of Rs. 2400. -4150 therefore, the decision of the State Government to recall their services from the post of Block Development Officers was highly illegal and improper.

(3.) BEFORE adjudicating the reliefs sought for by the petitioners, it would be appropriate to have a brief survey of some of the facts. Prior to 1981 the posts of Agriculture Inspector and its equivalent posts, such as. Surveillance Inspector, Seed Inspector, Junior Research Assistant etc. were Class III Non -gazetted posts in the pay scale of Rs. 355. -555, the higher post being Block Agriculture Officer/Assistant Agriculture Officer in the scale of Rs. 400 -660. Accordingly, promotions were used to be given from Class III Non -gazetted to Class III Gazetted posts. On the recommendation of the 4th Pay Revision Committee in the year, 1981 the State Government took a decision to place Agriculture Inspectors in the same scale of Rs. 850 -1630. Admittedly, the posts of Block Agriculture Officers continued to be gazetted while the posts of Agriculture Inspectors etc. remained non -gazetted. In the year, 1987, the State Government upgraded 1423 posts of Agriculture Inspectors from the scale of Rs. 850 -1360 to Rs. 1000 -1820, to give them parity of the scale with Sr. Agriculture Extension Officers, the scale which was also available to Class II posts. Later the scale of those 1423 Agriculture Inspectors was also revised along with other Government servants pursuant to the recommendation of the 5th pay Revision Committee vide resolution of the Finance Department dated 18.12.1989 to Rs. 2200 -4000 with effect from 18.9.1987.