INDU DEVI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, who is the wife of a late employee, viz., Shyam Kishore Jha, has approached this Court for a direction to the respondents to consider and grant benefits of the Assured Career Progression Scheme to her late husband and to also give him time bond promotion and only thereafter, fix the retirement benefit which would be given to the petitioner.

(2.) The late employee, i.e., the husband of the petitioner, joined service in a work-charged establishment as a Gauze Reader on 22/10/1968, but was regularized in the regular establishment in the Irrigation Department as Accounts Clerk on 9/7/1981 on the payscale of Rs.730.001080 in the light of 4th Pay Revision Report.

(3.) It is to be noted that in the light of 4th Pay Revision Committee Report, the concept of time bond promotion was introduced, entitling an employee to get the 1st time bond promotion after completion of 10 years of service and the 2nd time bond promotion after completion of 25 years of service, in case such employee was not allowed any regular promotion. The aforesaid scheme was dropped with effect from 1/1/1996. Thereafter, the Bihar State Employees Service Condition (Assured Career Progression Scheme) Rules, 2003 (in short the A.C.P. Rules of 2003) was brought about which also primarily aimed towards diluting the effect of stagnation in service.