BHAWANI SINGH RATHORE Vs. THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India with prayer to direct the respondents to grant pay scale of Rs. 15600-39100 in PB-3 with grade pay of Rs. 5400/- in Pay Matrix L-14 from the date of his promotion as Librarian on 9.8.2018. It has further been prayed to declare Entry No. 18 under the Heading Courts [(a) Rajasthan High Court], Schedule-II (Rule 6) of Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2017 and sub-rule (2) of Rule 21 of the Rajasthan High Court Staff Service Rules, 2002, as ultra-vires and de-hors the Constitution of India.

(2.) Brief facts giving rise to this writ petition are that the petitioner was appointed on the post of Library Restorer at Rajasthan high Court, Jaipur Bench vide order dated 01.10.2002. His service was regularized on the post of Library Restorer w.e.f 10.10.2002. On 5.6.2007, the petitioner was promoted to the post of Cataloguer-cum-Classifier and was subsequently promoted to the post of Assistant Librarian on 30.9.2013 and on 9.8.2018, he was promoted to the post of Librarian.

(3.) The case of the petitioner is that the pay scale of the post of Librarian in the Rajasthan High Court as per Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2017 is Rs. 9300-34800 in PB 2 with grade pay of Rs. 4200/- (Pay Matrix L-11), whereas the pay scale of the Librarians working in Government Secretariat, HCM Rajasthan State Institute of Public Administration as also in Lokayukta, is Rs. 15600-39100 in PB-3 with grade pay of Rs. 5400/- (Pay Matrix L-14). As per Rajasthan High Court (Conditions of Service Staff) Rules, 1953, [which although has now been repealed by the Rajasthan High Court Staff Service Rules of 2002 {hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules of 2002'}], the pay scales of the post of Librarian of Rajasthan High Court and Government Secretariat was kept at par. As per Schedule-II of the Rajasthan High Court Staff Service Rules, 2002, post of Librarian in the High Court was equated with the corresponding post in the Government Secretariat for the purpose of pay scales. It so happened that vide letter dated 23.4.1994, post of Librarian was upgraded as Sr.Librarian w.e.f. 1.4.1994, as a result of which existing post of Librarian was abolished. Subsequently vide letter dated 16.6.1998, two posts of Librarian were sanctioned by the State Government for Rajasthan High Court in the pay scale of Rs. 5500-9000. This was for the first time that the pay scale of the post of Librarian in the High Court was lowered down and they were given the pay scale of Rs. 5500-9000 instead of Rs. 8000-13500, as was being given to Librarians working in Government Secretariat at the relevant point of time. Thereafter, on 28.6.2018, one more post of Librarian in the High Court was sanctioned by the State Government in the pay scale of Rs. 9300-34,800 with Grade Pay of Rs. 4200/- (Pay Matrix L-ll) i.e. the erstwhile pay scale of Rs. 5500-9000. In this way, till 1994 parity was maintained in the pay scales of the post of Librarian of Rajasthan High Court with that of Librarian in Government Secretariat.