- 1 - SBCWP No.3262/2005 S.B.CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.3262/2005 (Rukman Singh Gahlot vs. State & Ors.) DATE OF ORDER : 22/4/2008 HON'BLE JUSTICE GOPAL KRISHAN VYAS Mr.vikram Choudhary, for the petitioner Mr.Ravi Bhansali, for the respondent. In this writ petition, petitioner has prayed for direction to the respondent to grant him the benefit of selection scale which is available after completion of 27 years of service under the order of Finance Department of State Government dated 25/1/1992 with interest @ 18% pa and further prayed that respondent may be directed to prepare the pension case of the petitioner after extending the benefit of selection scale while computing the period of service properly. In this case, petitioner was appointed as Telephone operator in Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti, Jodhpur under the quota of ex-serviceman w.e.f. 13/5/1976. Later on, the petitioner was absorbed as LDC vide order dated 7/1/1993 in pursuance of order passed by the State Government on 25/5/1992. Said order has been placed on record as Annex.R/3/1. In the said order the date of appointment of petitioner has been shown as 13/5/1976. According to the - 2 - SBCWP No.3262/2005 petitioner he was granted benefit of selection scale after completion of 9 and 18 years of service. The grievance of petitioner is that though he was granted benefit of selection scale after completion of 9 and 18 years of service but the 3rd selection scale which is available after completing 27 years of service was not granted to him on the ground that he did not clear the written test for the post of LDC. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the State Government itself passed an order for absorption of Telephone Operator as LDC on 25/5/1992 and in that order it is no where mentioned that upon absorption on the post of LDC, the petitioner is required to pass written test. Therefore, as per the petitioner, he is entitled for 3rd selection scale on completion of 27 years of service but the same benefit has been denied to him without any rhyme or reason. In reply to the writ petition, it is submitted by the respondents in para no.5 that the petitioner did not clear the type test on absorption on the post of LDC, therefore, benefit of 3rd selection scale was not allowed to him on the ground that he was not fulfilling the requisite qualification for the post of LDC. Along with reply, respondents have filed Annex.R/1, whereby, - 3 - SBCWP No.3262/2005 the petitioner was absorbed on the post of LDC. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. The undisputed fact is that petitioner was initially appointed on the post of Telephone Operator and later on absorbed on the post of LDC by the order issued by the State Government on 7/1/1993. It is also not disputed that petitioner was granted benefit of selection scale after completing 9 and 18 years of service while calculating the initial date of service to be 13/5/1976, the date on which he was appointed as Telephone Operator. The denial of benefit of 3rd selection scale by the respondents to the petitioner on the ground that he was required to pass type test on absorption on the post of LDC, in my opinion, is unfounded. From the record, it is clear that petitioner did not make any prayer for absorption on the post of LDC. A decision was taken by the State Government on 25/5/1992 to absorb the Telephone operators working in Mandi Samiti, Jodhpur on the post of LDC. Thereafter, seniority list was also issued. Meaning thereby, due to administrative reasons the petitioner was absorbed on the post of LDC and there was no condition precedent in the order of absorption that petitioner is - 4 - SBCWP No.3262/2005 required to clear the type test. Therefore, denial of 3rd selection scale to the petitioner after completion of 27 year of service is totally illegal. In view of the above, this writ petition is allowed. The respondents are directed to grant the benefit of 3rd selection scale to the petitioner from the date he completed 27 years of service while considering his initial date of appointment to be 13/5/1976 and grant all consequential benefits including arrears and revision of pension within a period of three months from the date of submissions of certified copy of this order. It is also made clear that if compliance of this order is not made within a period of three months then petitioner will be entitled for interest @ 9% p.a. No order as to costs. (GOPAL KRISHAN VYAS), J. pankaj baweja