IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR ORDER S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.633/1995 Usha Sharma vs. State & Ors. Date of Order : : 22/1/2009 HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE MOHAMMAD RAFIQ Shri Tanveer Ahmed for petitioner. Shri Hemant Gupta, Addl. Govt. Counsel for State. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner challenging the condition no.8 of his appointment order with Rajasthan Financial Corporation according to which the petitioner was fixed at the minimum of the pay scale. The petitioner was originally appointed in the Rajasthan Land Development Corporation, which was closed down and upon its closure, the employees thereof were declared surplus. The Bureau of Public Enterprises accommodated the employees who were declared surplus by directing their absorption in different public sector undertakings. The petitioner was absorbed in the services 1 of Rajasthan Financial Corporation on the condition that his salary shall be fixed at the minimum of the pay scale. In other words, the petitioner was not granted pay protection. The pay has challenged the said condition under Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India by way of this writ petition, alleging that this is discriminatory inasmuch as this has caused severe financial loss to the petitioner which shall have recurring effect throughout his service career. Learned counsel for the respondents opposed the writ petition and submitted that condition was just and reasonable because the petitioner has been treated junior most in the absorbee Corporation where obviously he had to be fixed at the minimum of pay scale. Otherwise, if he had been granted pay protection, it would have given rise to an anomalous situation where a junior most employee would be drawing higher scale than his seniors. It was argued that petitioner otherwise was liable to be removed from service, but it was an gesture on the part of the State 2 that the surplus employees of the closed down unit were absorbed in different public sector undertakings. Learned counsel relied on the Avas Vikas Sansthan & Anr. Vs. Avas Vikas Sansthan Engineers Assn. & Ors.-2006 (4) SCC 132 and Central Cooperative Bank Ltd. & Ors. Vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors.-2007 (5) WLC (Raj.) 403. This Court in Central Cooperative Bank Ltd., supra while relying on the judgement in Avas Vikas Sansthan, supra held that absorption of employees of a closed down organsiation was only a benevolent gesture on the part of the State and that the absorbee could not insist for his absorption on higher post. The reasoning given by the respondents for not protecting the pay of the petitioner that if the petitioner being junior in the absorbee corporation cannot be paid salary higher than the seniors, cannot be faulted. Even otherwise, when the petitioner instead of being removed, has been accommodated in 3 the services of the Corporation, he cannot insist upon his pay protection I therefore do not find any merit in this writ petition, which is accordingly dismissed. (Mohammad Rafiq),J. RS/ 4