IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 415 OF 1996 Shri S.S. Patil and 25 others .. Petitioners Versus 1. State of Maharashtra 2. Zilla Parishad, Sangli .. Respondents Mr.Sachin Manale i/b Mr.S.S. Pakale for the Petitioners. Mr.R.D. Rane, Additional Government Pleader for the Respondents. Respondent No.2 is served. CORAM : H.L. GOKHALE & SMT.NISHITA MHATRE, JJ. DATE : 23RD SEPTEMBER 2004 ORAL JUDGMENT ORAL JUDGMENT ORAL JUDGMENT : (Per Gokhale, J.) 1. The petition seeks to challenge the reduction in the payscales of the Extension Officer (Education) Grade-II engaged by the Respondent No.2 - Zilla Parishad. The Government had decided to reduce their payscale from Rs.1640 - 2900 to Rs.1400 - 2600 with retrospective effect from 1st January 1988. 2. This decision is challenged in the present petition. The petition came up before a Division Bench - 2 - for admission on 4th September 1996 when it came to be admitted and ad-interim relief in terms of prayer (c) came to be granted, which prayer was made absolute later on on 27th November 1996. This prayer stayed the effect of the Government decision dated 29th June 1994 which had reduced the payscale as stated above. Similar petitions were admitted in the High Court Benches at Aurangabad and Nagpur and there also orders of status quo came to be passed. 3. When this petition reached before an earlier Bench on 10th August 2004, the Division Bench inquired as to whether the Government is keen on this decision to reduce payscale or whether it has reconsidered it. Mr.Rane, learned Additional Government Pleader, has placed on record a Government decision dated 2nd September 2004 which has been arrived at in consequence of the above referred query from the Court. The Government has now decided that the payscale of Rs.1640- 2900, which was the payscale under the Fourth Pay Commission, its equivalent under the Fifth Pay Commission being Rs.5500 - 9000, will be continued for the Extension Officer (Education) Grade-II working in the Zilla Parishad. Thus, the Government has given up - 3 - its earlier decision and agreed to continue the employees concerned on the higher payscale. This being the Government decision, it satisfies the grievance raised in the petition. The petition is disposed of accordingly. (H.L. GOKHALE, J.) (SMT. NISHITA MHATRE J.)