CWP No.5209 of 2009.doc - 1 – HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH **** CWP No.5209 of 2009 Date of Decision: 25.02.2010 **** Parveen Kumari . . . . Petitioner VS. State of Punjab and others . . . . . Respondents **** CORAM : HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE SURYA KANT **** 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? **** Present: Mr. R.S. Roop, Advocate for the petitioner Mr. B.S. Chahal, DAG Punjab ***** SURYA KANT J. (ORAL) (1). The petitioner impugns the order dated 13.02.2009 (Annexure P3), whereby, her pay has been refixed after retrospective withdrawal of the benefit of stepping-up w.e.f. 01.01.1986 and consequential recovery has also been ordered. (2). Notice of motion was issued and in response thereto the official respondents have filed their reply-affidavit. (3). During the course of hearing, learned counsel for the petitioner confines his challenge to the extent of recovery only and he does not challenge the order qua fixation of the petitioner’s pay. He, CWP No.5209 of 2009.doc - 2 – however, submits and rightly so that since the respondents have now fixed the petitioner’s pay retrospectively w.e.f. 01.01.1986, the petitioner shall be entitled to exercise her option for the grant of pay revision/ACPs/Proficiency Step-up on completion of 4/9/14 years of regular service. (4). As regards the petitioner’s challenge to the recovery part, suffice it to observe that it is not the case of the respondents that the petitioner ever misled the authorities or played any fraud or deception in order to secure monetary gains. Applying the ratio decidendi of the decision in Budh Ram & Others vs. State of Haryana & Others (CWP No.2799 of 2008) decided by a Full Bench of this Court on 22.05.2009, it is held that no recovery can be effected from her. The impugned order qua recovery is, accordingly, quashed. The writ petition, thus, is allowed in part. (5). Since the respondents have withdrawn the benefit of Proficiency Step-up, earlier granted to the petitioner, it is directed that she will be permitted to exercise her fresh option for the grant of revised pay scales/ACPs/Proficiency Step-up on completion of 4/9/14 of regular service. The CWP No.5209 of 2009.doc - 3 – petitioner shall exercise her fresh option within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. (6). Ordered accordingly. (7). Dasti . (SURYA KANT) JUDGE 25.02.2010 vishal shonkar