Balbir Singh Boken vs State of Haryana and others

Augustine George Masih, J.—Petitioner has approached this Court praying for issuance of writ of mandamus, directing respondents to

enhance his pay at par with that of Charan Dass, retired Deputy Food and Supplies Officer, who belongs to the reserved category and admittedly

was junior to the petitioner as Junior Analyst from which post he was promoted earlier to the post of Head Analyst and thereafter, Assistant Food

and Supplies Officer and subsequently as Deputy Food and Supplies Officer. It is the contention of the counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner

was entitled to stepping up of his pay equal to that of his junior Charan Dass as Head Analyst upon his promotion to the said post from the date his

junior was promoted. This prayer of the petitioner has been accepted by the respondents, vide order dated 1.2.2012 (Annexure-P-2). He

contends that Shri Charan Dass had filed CWP No. 1490 of 1999 in this Court, seeking promotion to the post of Assistant Food and Supplies

Officer from a prior date, which writ petition was allowed by this Court and in compliance thereto, he stands promoted to the post of Assistant

Food and Supplies Officer with effect from 7.11.1996 and had been granted notionally benefits. Since the petitioner also was entitled to promotion

to the post of Assistant Food and Supplies Officer from the date his junior had been promoted, he is entitled to the promotion as well the grant of

stepping up of his pay equal to that of his junior. This contention of the counsel for the petitioner cannot be accepted as before passing of any order

in the case of the petitioner, he stood retired on 28.2.2006 as Head Analyst. Since he has not been promoted to the post of Assistant Food and

Supplies Officer, he cannot claim the stepping up of his pay at par with that of Charan Dass, who had been promoted to the post in question. The

claim of stepping up of pay at par with the junior, who belongs to reserved category, by a general category is only available in case he catches up

on a higher post on which junior to him had been promoted on the basis of reservation, which is not the case in hand.

In view of the above, finding no merit in the present writ petition, the same stands dismissed.