C.W.P. No. 4054 of 2009 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH C.W.P. No. 4054 of 2009 DATE OF DECISION: November 23, 2009 Lakhwinder Singh and Others .........PETITIONER(S) VERSUS State of Punjab and Another ......RESPONDENT(S) CORAM:HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AJAI LAMBA Present: Mr. Kapil Kakkar, Advocate, for the petitioners. Mr. B.S. Chahal, DAG, Punjab. AJAI LAMBA, J. (ORAL) This order shall dispose of four civil writ petitions namely CWP No. 4054 of 2009 titled Lakhwinder Singh and Others Vs. State of Punjab and Another, CWP No. 10220 of 2009 titled Harpreet Pal Singh Singh and Others Vs. State of Punjab and Another, CWP No. 13285 of 2009 titled Daler Singh and Others Vs. State of Punjab and Another, CWP No. 14361 of 2009 titled Rajpal Singh and Others Vs. State of Punjab and Another as common questions of facts and law are involved. For reference to facts, CWP No. 4054 of 2009 titled Lakhwinder Singh and Others Vs. State of Punjab and Another is being taken up. This civil writ petition has been filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India praying for issuance of a writ in the nature of C.W.P. No. 4054 of 2009 2 mandamus directing the respondents to grant pay scale of Rs.5,000-8,100 as has been granted to other Physical Training Instructors (for short 'PTI') working in Punjab Education Department possessing the same qualification and performing similar duties. It has been pleaded that in response to advertisement published on 21.10.2006 inviting applications for Physical Training Instructors, the petitioners applied in various categories on the basis of their merit and were selected as PTI teachers. One of the letters of appointment has been placed on record as Annexure P-2. It has been pointed out that in the advertisement Annexure P-1, the pay scale permissible has been provided as Rs. 4,550-7,220 whereas PTI teachers working in the Department were getting pay scale of Rs. 5,000- 8,100. Director, Public Instructions was approached in regard to this anomaly. The matter, however, was not resolved. In the letter of appointment, the pay scale provided is Rs. 4,550-7,220. Aggrieved by this action of the respondents, the petitioners submitted representations to correct the pay scale as same post in the department for the same cadre cannot have two pay scales. Be that as it may, learned counsel for the respondents has pointed out that in para no. 3 of the short reply, it has been conceded that the petitioners are entitled to the pay scale of Rs. 5,000-8,100 and, therefore, the matter has been rendered infructuous. In para no. 3 of the short affidavit, the following has been recited:- “In this regard, it is respectfully submitted that the petitioners were recruited as a PTI Teachers through C- C.W.P. No. 4054 of 2009 3 DAC in the year 2006. At that time, through an inadvertence and unintended error the pay scale of 4550- 7220 was mentioned in the advertisement in response to which the petitioners had been appointed. After having examined the point in issue raised in the present petition, a clarification vide Memo No. 12/86-2009 Estt-3 (3), dated 31-8-2009 has been given to all the Circle/District Education Officers (SE) in the State of Punjab to the effect that the sanctioned pay scale of PTI Teachers is Rs. 5000- 8100 w.e.f. 01-01-1996. It has also been stated in the said clarification that the petitioners are entitled to the pay scale of Rs. 5000-8100 which became effective from 01-01-1996 and pay of the PTI teachers who were appointed in the year 2006, like the petitioners, be fixed accordingly. A copy of Memo dated 31-8-09 is being appended as Annexure R-I/T hereto for the kind perusal of this Hon'ble Court.” In view of the above, the matter having been rendered infructuous is disposed of as such. The respondents are directed to release the arrears of pay, if not already released, within a period of four months of receipt of certified copy of the order. 23.11.2009 (AJAI LAMBA) shivani JUDGE 1. To be referred to the reporters or not? 2. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest?