1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY AT GOA Writ Petition No. 137/2004 1. Smt.Janice Flosy Gomes E Alphonso, 2. Shri Shivram B. Naik Gaonkar 3. Shri Anil. A. De Noronha 4. Shri Girish G. Prabhudessai 5. Shri Dattaprasad Dessai 6 Shri Girish A. Kenkre 7. Shri Shrikant V. Mone 8. Shri Pradeep M. Malik, 9. Shri Kishore Narayan Bhave 10. Shri Nitin Bakhale 11. Shri Anant P. Hoble, All Assistant agriculture Officer, (Group “B” Gazetted) Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Goa, having office at Panaji-Goa 12. Shri Chandrahas N. Dessai 13. Smt. Sheela Tiwari 14. Smt. Rena Menezes 15. Shri Dilip M. Paranjape 16. Smt. Shobhan Ugavekar 2 17. Shri Rajesh B. Dessai 18. Shri Sandeep B. Faldessai 19. Shri Anirudh A. Joshi 20. Shri Vithal A. Joshi, 21. Shri Shivanand A. Wagle 22. Shri Nevil I. H. Alphonso All Agriculture Officers (Group “B” Gazetted Posts) Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Goa, having office at Panaji-Goa. 23. The Secretary, Agriculture Officers Association, Fourth Floor, Vidyut Bhavan, Panaji-Goa (Registered Address) ... PETITIONERS V e r s u s State of Goa, through its Chief Secretary, having Office at Secretariate, Panaji-Goa (Registered Address) … RESPONDENT --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. M. S. Sonak, Advocate for petitioners Mr. S. Bandodkar, A.G.A. For respondent --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CORAM: S. A. BOBDE & F.M. REIS, JJ. DATE: 7 th June, 2011. 3 ORAL JUDGMENT (per S. A. Bobde, J) 1. The petitioners are graduates holding qualification of B.Sc. (Agriculture) and eligible to be inducted to the post of Assistant Agriculture Officer Group “B” (Gazetted) in the pay scale of 1640-2900 as per the Fourth Pay Commission. 2. The only prayer made by the petitioner is that the respondent be directed to grant fitment weightage of 40% on the basis of the last pay drawn by them as on 01.01.1996 under the Government of Goa Circular dated 11.04.2001. After the Fourth Pay Commission, the scales were revised with effect from 01.01.1986. For the employees in Goa, certain revisions were made upon formation of the State of Goa. This constituted a revision of pay. Therefore, the Government excluded certain benefits of interim pay revision to the employees whose pay scales were again revised subsequent to the implementation of the recommendation of the Fourth Pay Commission vide Circular dated 31.07.1996. It is not disputed at this juncture that the petitioners were denied the benefits of the interim pay since their pay scales were increased form 1400-2300 to 1640-2900 on the 4 ground that they had acquired B.Sc. qualification. Thus, the last drawn pay scale on 01.01.1996 stood at 1640-2900. 3. It is, at this stage, when the pay scales stood at 1640-2900, that the Government of Goa issued Circular in question dated 11.04.2001 whose benefits are now sought by the petitioners. The relevant part of the Circular reads as follows. “(i) Pay Fixation of the concerned employees shall be done with reference to the last pay drawn as on 1/1/1996 on the Revised/Interim Revised Pay Scales, with fitment weightage of 40% with further condition that the maximum benefit on such pay fixation as on 1/1/1996, shall not exceed Rs.500/- p.m.” We find that by this Circular, the employees are entitled to fitment weightage of 40% with reference to the last pay drawn as on 01.01.1996 at the revised/interim revised pay scales. 4. There is no doubt that the petitioner's pay scales were revised from 1400-2300 to 1640-2900 as on 01.01.1996, although, under the Fourth Pay Commission. We have, thus, no hesitation in 5 holding that the petitioners are entitled to the benefits of the said Circular i.e. fitment weightage of 40% with all the benefits under the above Circular with further condition that maximum benefit of such pay fixation as on 01.01.1996 shall not exceed Rs. 500/- per month. 5. Mr. Bandodkar, the learned A.G.A. for the respondent, submits that the petitioners were not entitled to interim pay scale under the Circular dated 31.07.1996 since on that day, their pay scales had already been revised though not under the Fourth Pay Commission. We are of the view that the applicability of the Circular dated 31.07.1996 is not in question and in any case does not determine the applicability of the Circular under which the petitioners are seeking relief i.e. Circular dated 11.04.2001. The latter Circular simply grants fitment weightage of 40% to the concerned employees but with reference to the last pay drawn by them as on 01.01.1996. There is a condition as suggested by the learned A. G. A. for the respondent that the latter Circular will apply only if the last pay drawn was increased as a result of the revision under the Fourth Pay Commission. 6 6. In the result, the petition deserves to be allowed. Rule made absolute in terms of prayer clause (A), which reads as follows. (A) This Hon'ble Court be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, commanding the respondent to extend the benefit of Circular dated 11/4/2001. The benefits shall be released to the petitioners within a period of six months from today. S. A. BOBDE, J. F. M. REIS, J. kahale