SITA RAM SONI Vs. RAJASTHAN STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL these petitioners herein have sought a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order on direction to the respondents for granting advance increments on completion of ten years of service after taking into account the period which they had spent as an apprentice. The admitted case of the parties is that the petitioners were initially appointed as apprentice under the Apprenticeship Act, 1961 and after satisfactory services under the Apprenticeship Act, they were appointed on regular basis under the Rajasthan State Electricity Board (RSEB. for short) Ministerial Staff Regulations, 1962. Consequently they became members of the service of the RSEB from the date of their appointment on regular basis. However, the petitioners have claimed that their length of service of 10 years will be computed from the date of their appointment as an apprentice and hence, they have claimed that since they have completed 10 years of service on September 1, 1986, the respondents are tinder an obligation to give them an advance increment from Septmber 1, 1986 according to their own order.

(2.) THE case of the petitioners is unrepresented in this Court, but the claim as laid down in the writ petition is contested on behalf of the respondents and, in support of this case, it has been stated that the petitioners are entitled for incre- merit only on completion often years of service which will be counted from the date of their regular appointment in terms of the RESB Regulations, 1962 and not from the date from which they were appointed as apprentice. According to the respondents,the date of appointments as apprentice is not the date of their appointment under the Regulations of 1962 and hence the services rendered by the petitioners as apprentice under the Apprenticeship Act, 1963 cannot be taken into considerations while counting their service under the Ministerial Staff Regulations 1962 for granting any benefit.

(3.) IN support of the plea of the respondents' it has next been submitted that under the Act of 1961, as per Section 11, the employer is under an obligation to provide appenticeship training and during the period of training, the apprentice is entitled only to a stipend which is prescribed. from time to time and, as such, the service rendered by the petitioners in the said capacity cannot be taken into consideration for grant of advance increment under the Rajasthan Civil Service ( Revised Pay Scales) Rules 1987 which the petitioners claim. It has further been clarified that at some point of time a doubt was raised whether the period of pre-service training under the Apprenticeship Act, 1961 is to be counted for the purpose of computing continuous service under Rule 4 of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay Scales) Rules, 1987 and the clarification was given to the following effect:-