Civil Writ Petition No. 12169-CAT of 2004 1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH
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Civil Writ Petition No. 12169-CAT of 2004
Date of decision: 20.01.2009
MES No. 373412 Shashi Pal and others ........Petitioners
Versus
Union of India and others .......Respondents
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ashutosh Mohunta
Hon'ble Ms Justice Nirmaljit Kaur
-.-
Present: Mr. Pawan Kumar Longia, Advocate
for the petitioners
Mr. Vibhor Bansal, Advocate
Central Govt. Standing Counsel
for the respondents
-.-
Ashutosh Mohunta, J. (Oral)
The petitioners, who are having I.T.I. Diploma in different
Trades, filed Original Application No. 1069-PB of 2003 before the Central
Administration Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench, Chandigarh, wherein it was
ordered that the petitioners are entitled for the higher pay scale of Rs.950-
1500/- applicable to the skilled category. This plea of the petitioners was
accepted by the Tribunal, while relying upon the decision of the Central
Administrative Tribunal, Jodhpur Bench, Jodhpur in O.A. No. 279 of 1996
titled as ‘Shyam Sunder and others v. Union of India and others,’ decided
on 14.05.1999.
While deciding the case of the petitioners, the Tribunal has
restricted the claim for the arrears of the petitioners for a period of 18
Civil Writ Petition No. 12169-CAT of 2004 2
months, reckoned from the date of filing of the O.A. i.e. on 05.11.2003.
Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that although he is satisfied
with the judgment of the Tribunal in granting the higher pay scale of
Rs.950-1500/-, but is aggrieved with the restriction of the claim of the
petitioners regarding arrears to a period of 18 months only, as no reasons
have been assigned by the Tribunal, while doing so.
It is contended by the learned counsel for the petitioners that
the period for paying the arrears to the petitioners may be restricted to 38
months prior to the date of filing of the Original Application before the
Tribunal.
Learned counsel for the respondents, however, submits that
there is no reasons as to why the benefit of arrears should be paid to the
petitioners for a period of 38 months prior to the date of filing of the
Original Application before the Tribunal, and not restricted to a period of
18 months, as the limitation for filing the Original Application before the
Tribunal, is one year.
The petitioners have been agitating the matter for the grant of
higher pay scale right from 1993 onwards. In ‘Jai Dev Gupta Vs. State of
Himachal Pradesh and another,’ 1997 (5) SLR 401 (SC), Hon’ble the
Supreme Court has restricted the payment of back wages to a period of 36
months prior to the filing of the Original Application before the Central
Administrative Tribunal and held that the Tribunal was not right in
invoking Section 21 of the Administrative Tribunals Act for restricting the
difference in back wages by one year.
In view of the above, we uphold the judgment dated
Civil Writ Petition No. 12169-CAT of 2004 3
22.04.2004 of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench,
Chandigarh, vide which directions were issued to the respondents to extend
the benefits of the judgment rendered in the case of Shyam Sunder and
others (supra) to the petitioners and placed them in the grade of Rs.950-
1500 as per the Recruitment Rules of 1971 from the date of their initial
appointment. However, direction of the Tribunal vide which the claim of
the petitioners regarding arrears were restricted to a period of 18 months, to
be reckoned from the date of filing of the O A, i.e. 05.11.2003, is modified
and directions are given to the respondents to restrict the claim regarding
arrears of the petitioners to a period of 36 months, to be reckoned from the
date of filing of the Original Application No. 1069-PB of 2003 i.e.
05.11.2003. The aforesaid directions be complied with by the respondents
within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy
of the order .
The writ petition stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms.
[Ashutosh Mohunta]
Judge
[Nirmaljit Kaur]
Judge
January 20, 2009
mohan