R. S. A. No. 1688 of 2010 (O&M) 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. Case No. : R. S. A. No. 1688 of 2010 (O&M) Date of Decision : July 15, 2010 State of Haryana and another .... Appellants Vs. Raj Kumar .... Respondent CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE L. N. MITTAL * * * Present : Mr. Narender Singh, DAG, Haryana for the appellants. * * * L. N. MITTAL, J. (Oral) : C. M. No. 5080-C of 2010 : For reasons mentioned in the application, which is accompanied by affidavit, delay of 375 days in filing the appeal is condoned. Main Appeal : This is second appeal by defendants – State of Haryana and Executive Engineer, having remained unsuccessful in both the courts below. Raj Kumar – respondent herein filed suit against the appellants alleging that he was appointed as Lab Attendant in the year 1984 by the defendants. His services were regularized w.e.f. 01.04.1993. He possesses R. S. A. No. 1688 of 2010 (O&M) 2 matriculation qualification. Accordingly, the plaintiff claimed pay scale of Rs.950-1500 w.e.f. 01.04.1993 and consequential benefits. The defendants pleaded that the plaintiff was engaged as Chowkidar on daily wages on 02.05.1986. However, it was admitted that the plaintiff was regularized as Lab Attendant on 01.04.1993. It was also pleaded that the State Government, vide notification No. GSR 39/Cons/Art/309/87 dated 29.04.1987, allowed the pay scale of Rs.750-940 w.e.f. 01.04.1993 and the plaintiff is therefore not entitled to scale of Rs.950-1500. Learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), Rohtak, vide judgment and decree dated 24.12.2008, decreed the plaintiff's suit holding that he is entitled to pay scale of Rs.950-1500 w.e.f. 01.04.1993 until revised, but arrears were restricted to three years preceding the filing of the suit i.e. w.e.f. 15.06.2002 along with interest @ 6% per annum till actual payment. First appeal preferred by the defendants stands dismissed by learned District Judge, Rohtak, vide judgment and decree dated 08.04.2009. Feeling aggrieved, defendants have preferred the instant second appeal. I have heard learned counsel for the appellants and perused the case file. It is undisputed that the plaintiff was regularized as Lab Attendant w.e.f. 01.04.1993. It also stands proved from his matriculation certificate (Ex.P-1) that plaintiff is matriculate. Defendants have R. S. A. No. 1688 of 2010 (O&M) 3 themselves alleged in their written statement that pay scale of the plaintiff is governed by notification dated 29.04.1987 mentioned herein above. The said notification is regarding the Haryana Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 1987 (in short – the Revised Pay Rules). Learned counsel for the appellants contended that according to Sr. No. 1 of Part-A of Ist Schedule to the Revised Pay Rules, the plaintiff is entitled to scale of Rs.750-940. The contention is completely devoid of merit. The said revised scale was provided for all posts which carry pre-revised scales of Rs.300-430, Rs.300- 430 (TS) and Rs.350-500 (SG). However, there is nothing on record to depict that pre-revised scale of the post held by the plaintiff was any of the said pre-revised scales mentioned against this serial number. On the contrary, Sr. No.1, under Part-E of the Ist Schedule to the Revised Pay Rules, provides that Lab Attendant (Matriculate) shall be entitled to scale of Rs.950-1500. The plaintiff is squarely covered by the said entry in the rules and has been rightly held so by the courts below. The plaintiff is Lab Attendant (Matriculate) and is therefore entitled to scale of Rs.950-1500, as rightly found by the courts below. Faced with the aforesaid situation, learned counsel for the appellants came with a very strange contention that these rules are not applicable to the plaintiff's case because these rules are applicable only to those employees, who stood recruited before 01.01.1986 i.e. the date since when these rules came into force. The contention is completely absurd and R. S. A. No. 1688 of 2010 (O&M) 4 untenable. These Revised Pay Rules prescribe revised pay scales not only for the existing employees, but also for employees, who were recruited on or after 01.01.1986. Even otherwise, there could not be two different pay scales for employees recruited prior to 01.01.1986 and for those employees, who were recruited after 01.01.1986. On the contrary, even the defendants in their written statement, themselves pleaded that the plaintiff is covered by the Revised Pay Rules notified by notification dated 29.04.1987. According to said rules, the plaintiff is clearly entitled to pay scale of Rs.950-1500. Learned counsel for the appellants also contended that Haryana Public Works Department, Public Health Branch, Circle Cadre Mechanical (Group – D) Service Rules, 1995 (in short – Service Rules) were notified vide notification dated 24.11.1995 and pay scale for Laboratory Attendant as per Appendix `A' to the said rules is Rs.750-940 and therefore, plaintiff is entitled to the said scale only. The contention cannot be accepted. These rules were framed vide notification dated 24.11.1995 and were published in Haryana Government Gazette dated 12.12.1995. Consequently, these rules could not be applied retrospectively to the plaintiff, who stood regularized w.e.f. 01.04.1993. The Service Rules were not given retrospective effect. Even otherwise, pay scale of the plaintiff could not be reduced to his disadvantage by the new Service Rules. For the reasons aforesaid, I find that there is no merit in the instant second appeal. The courts below have taken correct view of the R. S. A. No. 1688 of 2010 (O&M) 5 rules applicable to the plaintiff. No question of law, much less substantial question of law, arises for determination in the instant second appeal. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed in limine. July 15, 2010 ( L. N. MITTAL ) monika JUDGE