Case Note & Summary
The present appeal arises from a judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court of Jharkhand at Ranchi, which set aside the order of the learned Single Judge in a writ petition filed by the Employee, Sanjay Kumar Upadhyay, against the State of Jharkhand and others. The dispute pertains to the grant of higher pay scale to the Employee after removal of anomalies in pay scale, on parity with other similarly situated persons who had already been granted the said benefit by the Employer. The Employee was appointed as an Industries Extension Officer (IEO) through a common competitive examination conducted by the Bihar State for Graduate-level Non-gazetted Class III posts. The learned Single Judge, relying on judgments of the Patna High Court in Nagendra Sahani v. State of Bihar and Alakh Kumar Sinha v. State of Bihar, directed the Respondent-Employer to revise the pay scale of the Employee with effect from the date of his appointment in the pay scale of Rs. 1600-2780 along with consequential benefits like arrears of salary. The Respondent-Employer filed a Letters Patent Appeal, which was allowed by the Division Bench, setting aside the Single Judge's directions. Hence, the Employee preferred the present appeal before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, after considering the facts and circumstances, allowed the appeal and restored the order of the learned Single Judge, thereby directing the revision of pay scale from the date of appointment.
Headnote
A) Service Law - Pay Anomaly - Higher Pay Scale - Parity - The dispute relates to grant of higher pay scale to the Employee after removal of anomalies in pay scale, on parity with other similarly situated persons who have been already granted the said benefit by the Employer. The learned Single Judge directed revision of pay scale from the date of appointment, which was set aside by the Division Bench. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, restoring the Single Judge's order. (Paras 1-3)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the Employee is entitled to revision of pay scale from the date of his appointment on parity with other similarly situated persons who have been granted the said benefit after removal of anomalies in pay scale.
Final Decision
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, set aside the Division Bench judgment, and restored the order of the learned Single Judge directing revision of pay scale from the date of appointment with consequential benefits.
Law Points
- Pay parity
- removal of anomalies
- higher pay scale
- similarly situated persons
- Letters Patent Appeal
- writ petition
