IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.18582 of 2009 Dinesh Kumar Singh Versus The State Of Bihar & Ors 3/ 25/08/2011 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the State. The petitioner was appointed as laboratory attendant in the Indian College of Engineering at Motihari. Subsequently, the college came to be taken over by the State Government by promulgation of the Bihar Private Engineering College (Taking over) third ordinance, 1990. Relevant for the present discussion is Section-5(3) of the same which reads as follows:- “5(3). The State Government on receipt of report of the Committee or Committees, as the case may be, shall determine the strength of teaching and other categories or employee and the staffing pattern and shall decide in respect of each member of the teaching and other categories of employee on the merit of each case whether to absorb him in Government service or to terminate his service or to allow him to continue on ad-hoc basis for a fixed term or on contract and shall where necessary redetermine the rank, pay, allowances and other conditions of service.” Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that his services were wrongly terminated on 19.7.1991 in stead of being absorbed under the aforesaid provision. He along with others came to this Court. This Court set aside the termination order. It led to issuance of an order by the Department of Science and 2 Technology dated 19.7.1997 reinstating him protecting his service conditions. Formal orders were then issued by the Director on 30.6.1999. The submission therefore is that when the petitioner was reinstated in pursuance of the orders of this Court, the respondents had taken a policy decision under the aforesaid provision to protect his pay-scale. The respondents now cannot reduce it. Learned counsel for the State opposing the writ application submitted that Section-5(3) reserved the right in the State Government to re-determine the rank, pay, allowances and other conditions of service while making the absorption. The impugned order dated 1.12.2009 adequately states that the pay-scale granted to the petitioner was not permissible under the Rules of the State Government as applicable to government engineering colleges. There is no challenge to Section-5(3) in the present writ application. The provision reserves the right in the State Government to re-determine the rank, pay, allowances and other conditions of service of those retained in service from the erstwhile private institution. There can be no two opinions that by virtue of the same there can be no automatic right in the petitioner to claim continuance of the pay-scale that he may have been getting prior to take over. 3 In C.W.J.C. No.1316/91 the question for consideration by the Court while interpreting Section- 5(3) was the legality of the termination of the employees of the erstwhile college in the manner done held to be contrary to law. The question of the legality of the right of the State Government under the statutory provisions to re-determine the rank, pay, allowances and other conditions of service did not come up for consideration at all. Under the aforesaid provision it is the State Government which has to take a further policy decision in the matter. If while reinstating the petitioner in pursuance of the order in C.W.J.C. No.1316/91 the Department of Science and Technology through its Secretary stated that conditions applicable prior to take over shall continue to apply does not amount to a policy decision of the State Government granting him pay protection. That was a limited compliance under the order of this Court as an interim measure. The order does not even state that it was being issued in the name of the Governor to enable this Court to hold that preserving his service conditions as existing under the erstwhile private college was a decision of the State Government in exercise of statutory powers. Matters of fixation of pay-scale are issues 4 primarily for the employer to decide and not for the Courts to determine. If the impugned order gives a reason that the pay-scale given to him as an interim arrangement was not commensurate with that paid to any laboratory attendant of any engineering college under the State Government it shall not be the jurisdiction of this Court to sit in judgment over the same as an administrative authority. There is no merit in this application. It is accordingly dismissed. KC ( Navin Sinha, J.)