JATINDER KESER Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners are engineering graduates. They have been appointed junior Engineers in Technical Education department. Their grievance is that as per schedule I to the J&K Industrial Training (Subordinate Service Recruitment Rules 1979) the post of Junior Engineer in category of Executive carriers the pay scale of Rs. 2000 -3400. They were thus wrongly appointed to a non existing grade although the Junior Engineers Executive in the Technical Education department have all -along been appointed to the pay scale of 4650 -2800 which was revised to 5200 -3400 vide SRO 75 of 1992. The relief prayed by the petitioners is that they be deemed to have been appointed in the pay scale of Rs. 2000 -3400 and grant the arrears also from the date they were appointed,

(2.) THE stand of the respondents is that vide SRO 75 of 1992 dated 23 -03 -1992 all Junior Engineers working in the pay scale of Rs. 1300 -2550 were placed in the higher pay scale of 1760 -3200. It further provided that fresh recruitment of Junior Engineers would be in the pay scale of Rs.1400 -2300. The maintainability of the petition is also challenged on the ground that the petitioners having applied for the post advertised in the pay scale of Rs. 1400 -2300, and after being selected accepted the appointment cannot claim higher pay scale.

(3.) THE contention of Mr. Bhardwaj is that SRO 75 of 1992 does not repeal or modify the recruitment rules of the Service to which the petitioners belong. His further contention is that Rule 9 (f) and Pay Rules issued vide SRO 75 of 1992 does not apply to the petitioners as they are not members of Engineering service.