Civil Writ Petition No. 12022 of 2011 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Civil Writ Petition No. 12022 of 2011 Date of decision:-13.07.2011 Kulwant Kaur (Retd.) and others ...Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE RITU BAHRI Present:- Mr. Sunny Singla, Advocate for the petitioners. RITU BAHRI J.(Oral) Notice of motion. On asking of Court Ms. Anu Pal, AAG Punjab accepts notice on behalf of respondents. Counsel for the petitioners is directed to supply copy of petition to State Counsel today itself during the course of the day. The petitioners are working/retired as teachers, Masters/Headmasters in the Department of Education, Punjab. Pay-scales of the employees revised w.e.f. 01.1.1986 under the Punjab Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 1988 vide notification dated 13.9.1988. The employees were to exercise the option for the existing scales of pay or revised scale of pay so that benefit of periodical increments may be kept intact by the employees. On 31.5.1989 a notification was issued inserting Clause (ee) in Rule 3 of the Revised Pay Rules, 1988 incorporating the change in pay-scales. The petitioners have already opted the option when this mere Rule was incorporated. On 24.12.1992 the master scale was further revised. A number of writ petitions were filed including Writ Petition No.953 of 1996 for directions to change of options Civil Writ Petition No. 12022 of 2011 -2- exercised earlier upto 31.12.1987. These writ petitions were disposed of on 21.3.1996 directing the Government to issue instructions to enable the petitioners to revised their option. Similar orders were passed by this Court in Writ Petition No.9765 of 2010 with the following directions :- “Consequently, the writ petition is allowed in part to the extent that while the respondents are directed to permit the petitioners to exercise their options afresh in terms of the Finance Department's Circular dated 24.12.1992 (Annexure P-2) within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order, no resultant arrears of pay shall be paid to them and they shall be entitled to only the notional pay fixation only w.e.f. 01.01.1986, 01.01.1996 and 01.01.2006, as the case may be. The petitioners, however, shall be paid emoluments/pension alongwith arrears as per their re-fixed pay w.e.f. 01.03.2010 onwards. Ordered accordingly. Dasti.” Subsequently arrears were released by the Finance Department on 24.1.2011, which was followed by another instructions dated 07.2.2011 whereby directions have been issued to the Director, Education Department (SE) Punjab, Chandigarh for implementing the judgment of this Court and allowing the concerned employees to exercise option as per the Government decision. Vide order dated 17.3.2011 in Writ Petition No.14954 of 2010 this Court has held that the petitioners will be entitled to exercise their option in view of Finance Department letter and circular dated 07.2.2011. Petitioners have been held to be entitled to re-fixation of pay w.e.f. 01.3.2010. Counsel for the State states that in view of the order passed by this Court, the petitioners shall be given opportunity to exercise their option once again. This writ petition is disposed of by giving a direction that after Civil Writ Petition No. 12022 of 2011 -3- giving the option to refix their salary as per instructions dated 07.2.2011 their pay may be re-fixed w.e.f. 01.3.2010. In view of the Full Bench Judgment of this Court in Budh Ram and others v. State of Haryana and others (C.W.P. No.2799 of 2008 decided on 22.5.2009) reported as 2009(3) PLR 511, respondents are directed not to make any recovery in respect of any benefit received by the petitioners before 24.1.2011. Liberty is granted to the respondents to verify the records and if it is found that the petitioners had misrepresented the facts or played any fraud to gain monetary benefits, they may seek review of this order within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order. July 13, 2011 ( RITU BAHRI ) Vijay Asija JUDGE