H C KOTHARI Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE writ petition before us is by one Shri H. C. Kothari, who is at present working as a statistician in the Agriculture Department of the Government of Rajasthan and by it he seeks a writ in the nature of mandamus against the respondent State for fixing him up as a statistician in the Civil Supplies Department with effect from 21-2-1950 in the grade 500-25-700 with a special pay of Rs. 100/- and for giving him further consequential reliefs by directing the respondents to fix the salaries for the various posts subsequently held by him on the basis of the salary to which he was entitled in the Civil Supplies Department of the State. THE case set up by the petitioner in the writ petition may be outlined as follows: THE petitioner, who entered the service of the Ex-Jaipur State was a Statistical Officer in that State on the date of the formation of Rajasthan and was getting Rs. 300/- (Local Jaipur coins) in the grade of Rs. 250-10-350. By a Government order No. 2154/c. S. R. dated 1-5-1949 his services were placed at the disposal of the Civil Supplies Department. In the Supplies Department the petitioner came to be appointed as a statistician on 21-2-1950 in a temporary capacity. THE petitioner asserts that the position of a statistician vis-a-vis a Deputy Commissioner in the Civil Supplies Department had been settled by the Government by their order dated 12-9-1949, which is Annexure I on the record. According to the petitioner as statistician he was entitled to a salary of Rs. 500/- in the grade of Rs. 500-25-700 with a special pay of Rs. 100/- like that of a Deputy Commissioner, who was equivalent to a District Collector. THEreafter the Government created a cadre of Statisticians which consisted of 3 Statistical Officers to be attached to the Bureau of Economics and Statistics and three statisticians were to be attached to the Agriculture, Civil Supplies and Labour Departments respectively. THE petitioner claims that a selection was made against the sanctioned six posts and that he was selected by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission and was declared senior most by Government order dated 30th April, 1951, which is Annexure II on the record. THE petitioner says that he continued to work as a statistician in the Civil Supplies Department upto 4-5-1954 when he was transferred to the Bureau of Economics and Statistics. He was posted in the Bureau of Economics and Statistics with effect from 5-5-1954 on a supernumerary post created by the Government by its order dated 19-4-1955. THE petitioner continued in the Bureau of Economics and Statistics Department till 31-3-1955 when he was transferred to the Agriculture Department with effect from 1-4-1955, and was posted there as a statistician in the officiating capacity, in the grade of Rs. 300-25-800. He submits that he was given the pay that he was already drawing. According to him his pay was fixed at Rs. 400/-provisionaly while he was in Civil Supplies Department. When he came to be posted as a statistician in the Agriculture Department in officiating capacity he got a salary of Rs. 425/-only. THE petitioner points out that after the formation of Rajasthan the Government made Rajasthan Civil Services (Unification of Pay Scales) Rules here-in-after to be referred as Pay Scale Rules on 12th July, 1950, which were made applicable from 1-4-1950 but according to him no provision was made in these rules for the employees of the Civil Supplies Department. THE Government, however, made an amendment of the Pay Scales rules on 5-7-1954 and thereby included the employees of the Civil Supplies Department in the schedule of the Pay Scale Rules. But the petitioner points out that here again the post of a statistician in the Civil Supplies Department was not so included. THE petitioner further points out that while making provision for the post of a Deputy Commissioner a qualification was laid down that the pay of Rs. 500-25-700 with a special pay of Rs. 100/- was admissible to only the officers drawn from the R. A. S. Cadre. After the Pay Scales Rules the Rajasthan Government framed the Rajasthan Civil Services (Rationalisation of Pay Scales) Rules, 1956 for the purpose of revising the pay scales of the Government employees but here again the grievance of the petitioner is that no benefit was conferred on him inasmuch as for the statisticians of the Bureau of Economics and Statistics it was mentioned in the schedule that the revision of pay was postponed pending organisation of a Statistical Service. A similar reservation was made in respect of the statistician in the Agriculture Department by providing that the Revised Pay Scales will not be admissible to a statistician in view of the remarks regarding the Statistical Department. It appears that as the re-organisation of a Statistical Service had taken considerable time the Government fixed the Rationalised Pay Scales for the Bureau of Economics and Statistics by the Government Order No. F. 2 (8) F. D. R. /56, dated 28th January, 1957 but the petitioner who was officiating as statistician in the Agriculture Department again did not get any benefit as this revision of pay scales applied only to the Bureau of Statistics. THE matter then proceeded further and with effect from 3-10-1960 pay scales of a statistician in the Agriculture Department were revised but it was provided that the revised scale would be admissible to present incumbent only on being properly selected for that post in the cadre. THE new scale was Rs. 500-25-700-EB-30-850. THEn came the Rajasthan Statistical Service Rules, 1958, which were published in the Gazette on 6-11-1958. By these rules the post of a statistician in the Agriculture Department had been put in the cadre of Deputy Directors. Under the rules the posts of Director and Deputy Director have been made selection posts and appointments on these posts could be made only by promotion. As the petitioner was only officiating as a statistician he was substantively fixed up as an Assistant Director on his becoming a member of the Rajasthan Statistical Service. THE post of Assistant Director, Economics and Statistics to which the petitioner had been promoted with effect from 1-7-1958 carries a grade of Rs. 300-25-800, and the petitioner has been fixed on this post by Government order dated 23-3-1962 (Annexure 9) with effect from 1-7-58. In other words he was fixed retrospectively from 1-7-1958. THE petitioner feels aggrieved on account of the postponement of his fixation from time to time and as in the mean time, according to him, the Government had recruited officers from outside and each time reservation was made in the various Government orders which resulted in denial of the benefit of higher pay scales to the petitioner. THE petitioner thus challenges that the various reservations made in the Government orders on the ground that they violated Art. 14 of the Constitution. He, therefore, submits, that these reservations be struck down as unconstitutional and the Government be directed to fix his proper salary. Apart from every thing his case is that whatever might be his substantive rank he should be given the salary of the posts on which he had actually worked from time to time even though in an officiating capacity. He also submits that he made several representations in the last 12 years but without any result.

(2.) THE petition has been opposed by the State. It is denied that the petitioner had not been properly fixed according to the rules. It is also denied that any portion of the rules including the provisions for officers of the Statistical Department were void. As a preliminary ground it is urged that the writ petition has been filed after a considerable delay, and, therefore, the petitioner should not be heard in the matter. It is pointed out that as far back as in the year 1953 the petitioner was clearly told that he was not entitled to the salary of a Deputy Commissioner in the Civil Supplies Department. It is next urged that the petitioner should have availed of the alternative remedy of a civil suit and in such matters this court should not order the fixation or payment of any salary in exercise of its extra-ordinary powers.