CWP No. 14699 of 2011 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP No. 14699 of 2011 Date of decision : 11.08.2011 Amar Nath and others ......Petitioner versus State of Punjab and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE RITU BAHRI Present: Mr. R.K. Arora, Advocate for the petitioners **** RITU BAHRI, J. (Oral) The petitioners are seeking issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the action of the respondents in withdrawing benefit of three increments from the petitioners after their retirement which were given to them from the date of their joining The petitioners were earlier appointed in the Department of Education on the posts of JBT teachers. The petitioners possessed/acquired higher qualification of Giani/Prabhakar prior to their joining or during service and they were given the higher pay scale with advance increments in terms of Govt instructions dated 23.07.1957 and 19.02.1979 and judgment of this Hon'ble Court and Supreme Court. Thereafter, the petitioners were given benefit of higher pay scale admissible to C&V teachers as per decision of this Court in their favour or as per general instructions after the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The petitioners were retired way back in the year 2007-2009 from service. CWP No. 14699 of 2011 -2- They were paid their due retiral benefits. However, while dealing with their revised pension cases, the respondent No. 4 returned the same with the objections that the benefit of advance increments given to the petitioners from the years 1975-78 are not admissible in the light of the subsequent instructions/clarifications dated 21.04.2009 and letter dated 17.08.2009. Directions were issued to re-fix the pay of the retirees and to work out recovery to be made from them. The respondents have withdrawn the benefit of three advance increments given to the petitioners and releasing the revised pensionary benefits to them on the reduced pay. Respondent No. 4 has also issued letter dated 09.03.2011 directing the petitioner No. 1 to deposit the amount of recovery as order by the Accountant General. Learned counsel for the petitioners has argued that the aforesaid benefit of pay fixation was earlier given to the petitioners along with other similarly situated in terms of judgment of this Court upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, so, after number of years, the said benefit cannot be withdrawn from them and no recovery could be effected. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the claim of the petitioner is squarely covered in their favour by a judgment of this Court in CWP No. 738 of 2009 wherein identical question was considered by this Court and the similar objection was quashed and directions were issued to the respondents to release all the pensionary/retiral benefits to the petitioners on the basis of their pay received by them at the time of their retirement. LPA filed against the said judgment was withdrawn by the State of Punjab. The respondents have implemented the judgment vide order dated 28.04.2011 CWP No. 14699 of 2011 -3- (Annexure P-11). Issue notice of motion. On asking of Court, Mr. Praveen Chander Goyal, Addl.A.G, Punjab , accepts notice on behalf of the State. Counsel for the petitioner is directed to supply copy of the petition to the State counsel today itself during the course of the day. This writ petition is disposed of by giving a direction to the respondents to consider the case of the petitioners and fix the pay of the petitioners by granting the benefit of three increments already granted to them, in view of order dated 28.04.2011 (Annexure P-11). August 11, 2011 (RITU BAHRI) G.Arora JUDGE