Rajesh Kumar Verma And Others vs State Of Uttarakhand And Others

Pankaj Purohit, J

By means of this writ petition, petitioners have sought indulgence of this Court for a direction to respondents to grant benefit of selection/promotional pay scale by counting the service rendered by the petitioners before grant-in-aid.

Brief facts of the case are that the petitioners are working as a Lecturer (Hindi, History and Arts) respectively in the grant-in-aid institution. After having completed 10 years of service, as such, they are entitled for selection pay-scale/grade by the respondent- Department, but despite there being clear-cut provisions enumerated in the Government Order dated 04.03.2014 for grant of selection grade after putting in 10 years' continuous satisfactory service and grant of promotional pay scale on completion of 12 years service in the selection grade, they have not been given the said benefit.

Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that subject matter of the present writ petition is covered by a judgment rendered by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in WPSS No.1955 of 2015, Munendra Singh Rana & others vs. State and connected petitions decided on 27.03.2017, which was upheld by the Division Bench of this Court vide judgment dated 30.08.2018 passed in SPA No.279 of 2018, State Vs. Harish Singh Bora & others and batch. This fact has also been admitted by learned State Counsel.

In this view of the matter, the present writ petition stands allowed in terms of the judgment and order passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in WPSS No.1955 of 2015, Munendra Singh Rana & others Vs State of Uttarakhand & others and connected petitions decided together on 27.03.2017, which was later on upheld by the Division Bench of this Court vide judgment dated 30.08.2018 passed in SPA No.279 of 2018, State vs. Harish Singh Bora & others and batch.

Accordingly, respondents are directed to release Selection Grade/Time Pay Scale to the petitioners counting their service from the date of their initial appointment in the said Institution, within a period of eight weeks from today along with arrears. The petitioners are also entitled to get interest @ 9% per annum on the arrears.

It is made clear that if arrears are not released within aforesaid period, petitioners shall be entitled to get interest @18% per annum.