Case: P. SINGARAVELAN AND ORS.ETC. ETC Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR, TIRUPPUR AND DT AND ORS. ETC ETC

5. It has come to our attention that several Benches of this Court have dismissed SLPs against decisions of the High Court fixing pay scales of the concerned drivers therein at Rs. 5000- 8000 for the Selection Grade and Rs. 5500-9000 for the Special Grade in terms of G. O. Ms. No. 16212. Indeed, the genesis of the entire dispute lies in the fixation of Selection and Special Grade pay scales of certain drivers by certain local departments as per Serial No. 8 of Schedule II. Pursuant to this, the Joint Secretary to the Government, Finance Department, issued Letter No. 96900/PC/98-2 dated 31.12.1998 to all Secretaries to the Government and Heads of Department, on the basis that such fixations were erroneous and needed to be reviewed, with a direction to effect recoveries wherever excess payments had been made13. In 2006, the Secretary, Personnel and Administrative Reforms (E) Department rejected the representation of the Tamil Nadu Government Department Drivers Central Association seeking fixation of Selection Grade and Special Grade pay scales at Rs. 5000-8000 and Rs. 5500-9000 respectively, vide the proceedings in Lr. No. 13921/K/2005-1 dated 25.04.2006. This was challenged by the drivers association before the High Court in W.P. No. 34800 of 2006, which was allowed on the ground that the said proceedings did not refer to G.O. Ms. No. 162. The association was directed to make a fresh representation before the Finance Department, to be decided in accordance with G.O. Ms. No. 16214. Such representation, however, was also rejected by the Finance Department vide letter No. 63685/CMPC/2006-1, dated 01.10.2007, which states as follows:3. Therefore, the Drivers are entitled for the Selection GradeSpecial Grade scales of pay as ordered in Schedule-II of G.O. Ms. No. 162, Finance (PC) Department, dated 13-4-98, based on the ordinary grade scale of pay granted to the posts of Drivers. As such all categories on par with Drivers in the Ordinary Grade of Rs.3200-4900 are entitled for the Selection Grade of Rs.4000-6000 and Special Grade of Rs.4300-6000 respectively. The above Government Order has been issued based on the recommendations of the Official Committee, 1998 and the Drivers are not denied the benefits ordered in the Government Order cited. Hence, your request has no merit to consider as requested15. A batch of writ petitions challenging the above order was subsequently filed before the High Court. These writ petitions were allowed by the High Court vide judgment dated 30.09.2008 in W.P. No. 4288/2008 and connected matters thereto, with a direction for the fixation of pay scales in accordance with G.O. Ms. No. 162. This was affirmed by the Division Bench of the High Court vide judgment dated 01.09.2009 in W.A. Nos. 383-391/200916. Subsequently, several other writ petitions were filed by other similarly situated drivers seeking the benefit of the same higher pay scale. These petitions were also allowed on the basis of the previous decisions discussed above, with the notable exceptions of the judgment dated 18.11.2013 passed by the Single Judge of the High Court in W.P. No. 1418/2001 and matters connected thereto, and the impugned judgment herein. This merits a closer reading of the decisions of the Single Judge in W.P. No. 4288/2008 (supra) and of the Division Bench in W.A. Nos. 383-391/2009. As discussed above, the principal issue before the Courts in these decisions was the validity of the order dated 01.10.2007 passed by the Finance Department rejecting the claim of the drivers association for Selection Grade and Special Grade pay scales of Rs. 5000-8000 and Rs. 5500-9000 respectivelyCIVIL APPEALS @ SLPs [Diary No. 42301/2017]CIVIL APPEALS @ SLP (CIVIL) NOS. 5395-5399 OF 2016; CIVIL APPEALS @ SLP (CIVIL) NOS. 5605-5613 OF 2016; CIVIL APPEALS @ SLP (CIVIL) NOS. 5391-5393 OF 2016, AND CIVIL APPEALS @ SLP (CIVIL) NOS. 5367-5375 OF 20163. These appeals arise out of virtually the same factual background as those disposed of above. W.P. No. 2363 of 2013 was filed by the concerned drivers employed with the High Court of Madras, seeking quashing of paragraph 5 of Letter No. 63305/Pay Cell/2010-1 dated 08.11.2010 issued by the State Government, on which basis the Government had denied them the benefit of Selection and Special Grade pay scales as per Serial No. 8 of Schedule II of the 1998 Rules under G.O. Ms. No. 162. The petitioners therein also sought a direction to the State Government for appropriate fixation of pay scales in the above terms4. The Division Bench allowed the writ petition on the ground that the drivers were not entitled to any promotional avenues, and hence were entitled to the full benefits of the appropriate pay scale under Schedule II of the 1998 Rules. It was further found that the drivers were entitled to benefits under Serial No. 8 of the said schedule, looking to the disposal of similar matters by the High Court and this Court. The review application filed against the same also came to be dismissed by the High Court6. Be that as it may, it must be noted that all the above orders of this Court were passed at the stage of admission itself. Even the order dated 25.02.2015, passed by a 3-Judge Bench of this Court while dealing with a batch of appeals having SLP (C) No. 35969/2009 as the lead matter, stated as follows:UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following ORDER Dismissed.

Reasoning:
6. Be that as it may, it must be noted that all the above orders of this Court were passed at the stage of admission itself. Even the order dated 25.02.2015, passed by a 3-Judge Bench of this Court while dealing with a batch of appeals having SLP (C) No. 35969/2009 as the lead matter, stated as follows:UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following ORDER Dismissed7. It is evident that all the above orders were non-speaking orders, inasmuch as they were confined to a mere refusal to grant special leave to appeal to the petitioners therein. At this juncture, it is useful to recall that it is well-settled that the dismissal of an SLP against an order or judgment of a lower forum is not an affirmation of the same. If such an order of this Court is non-speaking, it does not constitute a declaration of law under Article 141 of the Constitution, or attract the doctrine of merger8. Applying these observations to the present case, it is clear that there has been no pronouncement by this Court constituting the law of the land as to the interpretation of G.O. Ms. No. 162. In such a situation, it is open for us to proceed to decide the instant appeals uninfluenced by the prior orders of this Court dismissing SLPs against the grant of relief to drivers placed similarly as the Appellants herein9. It is evident that the entire controversy in this case hinges on the interpretation of G.O. Ms. No. 162. Vide this order, the Tamil Nadu Revised Scales of Pay Rules, 1998 (for short the 1998 Rules) were notified, revising 25 standard pay scales on a pay scale-to-pay scale basis for State Government employees and teachers. While Schedule I to the 1998 Rules indicated the revised pay scales, Schedule II specified the Selection Grade and Special Grade pay scales applicable for each revised Ordinary Grade. Further, it was stated in paragraph 4 of the G.O. that for posts with no promotional avenues, the Selection Grade and Special Grade scales as indicated in Schedule II would be applicable10. It is not in dispute that drivers in various departments of the Government of Tamil Nadu were entitled to revised Ordinary Grade pay scales as per Schedule I. Further, since they did not have any promotional avenues, Selection Grade and Special Grade pay scales under Schedule II would become applicable as and when they completed 10 and 20 years of service respectively. The dispute here lies with respect to the entries under Schedules I and II applicable to the post of drivers17. Concluding that the drivers were not entitled to the higher claimed pay scales, these two judgments differed from the consistent view taken in the preceding judgments and orders based on a scrutiny of G.O. Ms. No. 162 and the prior history of pay scales payable to the drivers. They justified differing from the decisions of the Division Benches of the High Court on the premise that there was no specific direction by the learned Single Judge in W.P. No. 4288/2008 (supra), or the Division Bench in W.A. Nos. 383-391/2009, granting the Selection Grade and Special Grade pay scales of Rs. 5000-8000 and Rs. 5500- 9000 respectively. With respect to subsequent writ petitions granting these higher pay scales, it was noted that they had been disposed of at the admission stage itself (in some cases even without notice to the government) and could thus be disregarded18.1 The Single Judge in W.P. No. 4288/2008 (supra) and the Division Bench in W.A. Nos. 383-391/2009 both set aside the order dated 01.10.2007 based on the fact that the claimed higher pay scales had already been granted and were still being received by certain other drivers in several government departments, as per G.O. Ms. No. 162. Further, and more importantly, it was held that the letter dated 31.12.1998 wherein such higher pay scale fixations were deemed to be erroneous, would not have the effect of reducing the entitlement of drivers, as such a letter could not act as a substitute for modification of the G.O. itself. Thus, even though the Court did not give any express direction to grant the higher pay scales as per Serial No. 8 of Schedule II of the 1998 Rules, we find that the same was implicit in the Courts directions for fixing the pay scales in terms of G.O. Ms. No. 162. In other words, it cannot be said that the High Court in W.A. Nos. 383- 391/2009 did not affirm the drivers claim that they were entitled to the higher Selection and Special Grade pay scales of Rs. 5000-8000 and Rs. 5500-9000 respectively18.2 However, in the impugned judgment, the High Court only focused on the fact that the conclusion reached by the coordinate Bench in W.A. Nos. 383-391/2009 was for appropriate fixation of pay scales under G.O. Ms. No. 162 only, and there was no specific direction for grant of the Selection Grade and Special Grade pay scales of Rs. 5000-8000 and Rs. 5500-9000 respectively. On this basis, the High Court proceeded to determine the question of pay scale entitlement and took a view diametrically opposite to that of the coordinate Bench in W.A. Nos. 383-391/2009, finding that the Appellant- drivers were only entitled to the Selection Grade and Special Grade pay scales of Rs. 4000-6000 and Rs. 4300-6000 respectively. In our considered opinion, such an approach is based on a narrow reading of the decision of the coordinate Bench in W.A. Nos. 383-391/2009, as it fails to appreciate the implicit direction in this order to grant the higher pay scales to the drivers, as mentioned supra. Thus, it appears that the High Court differed from the view taken previously by a coordinate Bench based on a misreading of the same. In such a situation, once it was found by the High Court that it was in disagreement with the holding of its coordinate Bench in W.A. Nos. 383- 391/2009, it should not have proceeded to decide the matter by itself, and in the interest of judicial discipline, should instead have referred the matter to a larger Bench for its consideration19. Be that as it may, in the interest of expeditious disposal of the matter, we do not deem it fit to remand the matter to the High Court for fresh consideration at this stage. Thus, we shall proceed to decide it on merits accordingly20. In our considered opinion, apart from claiming parity with similarly placed individuals, the Appellants have been unable to justify how and why they are entitled to the Selection Grade and Special Grade pay scales of Rs. 5000-8000 and Rs. 5500- 9000 as specified in Serial No. 8 of Schedule II to the 1998 Rules, in terms of G.O. Ms. No. 162. On the other hand, on perusing the series of revisions made to the pay scales applicable to drivers employed with the State Government, we find that the applicable pay scales for the Selection Grade and Special Grade would be as per Serial No. 6 of Schedule II to the 1998 Rules, i.e. Rs. 4000-6000 and Rs. 4300-6000 respectively20.1 As the High Court has also noted in the impugned judgment, the pay scales of the Appellants can be traced back to G.O. Ms. No. 666, Finance dated 27.06.1989, by which the State Government issued the Tamil Nadu Revised Scales of Pay Rules, 1989, implementing the recommendations of the V th Tamil Nadu Pay Commission. Under these rules, the original and revised pay scales of 30 common categories of posts were specified. The scale of pay for drivers was mentioned at Serial No. 11 in the first part of the Schedule to these rules, having been revised from Rs. 610-1075 to Rs. 950-150020.2 The next revision came through G.O. Ms. No. 818, Finance, dated 09.09.1989, whereby drivers pay scale was increased to Rs. 975-1660. Later, under G.O. Ms. No. 304, Finance dated 28.03.1990, Special Grade and Selection Grade scales of pay were introduced for persons who had completed 10 years and 20 years of service respectively. For the post of drivers carrying the Ordinary Grade pay scale of Rs. 975-1660, the Selection and Special Grade brackets were set as Rs. 1200- 2040 and Rs. 1320-2040 respectively20.3 Finally, when the 1998 Rules were introduced through G.O. Ms. No. 162, the post-wise determination of pay scales was replaced by a pay scale-to-pay scale basis determination. As already seen in Schedule I of the said rules, the pay scale of Rs. 975-1660 applicable to drivers was revised to Rs. 3200-4900. For this, the corresponding Selection and Special Grades specified in Schedule II were Rs. 4000-6000 and Rs. 4300-6000 respectively21. Against this backdrop, we find substance in the submission of the Respondents that the Appellants are not lawfully entitled to the claimed Selection Grade and Special Grade pay scales of Rs. 5000-8000 and Rs. 5500-9000 respectively in terms of G.O. Ms. No. 16223. In this respect, we find that the High Court in the impugned judgment was correct in concluding that the Appellants cannot claim such relief on the strength of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, when once it has been found that they are not lawfully entitled to the same. It is well-settled by now that a person cannot invoke Article 14 to claim a benefit extended to someone similarly placed if he is not lawfully entitled to such benefit in the first place. Article 14 embodies the concept of positive equality alone, and not negative equality, that is to say, it cannot be relied upon to perpetuate an illegality or irregularity. In fact, this Court has opined that this principle extends to orders passed by judicial fora as well. Thus, the jurisdiction of a higher court cannot be invoked on the basis of a wrong order passed by a lower forum24. Thus, it is evident that the Appellants cannot claim the Selection Grade and Special Grade scales of pay of Rs. 5000- 8000 and Rs. 5500-9000 respectively, solely on the strength of earlier decisions of the High Court, without showing how they, themselves, are entitled to such benefit in the first place. In such a situation, we are of the considered view that the Appellants can only be granted the benefit of the Selection Grade and Special Grade scales of pay to which they are lawfully entitled in terms of G.O. Ms. No. 162, i.e. Rs. 4000- 6000 and Rs. 4300-6000 respectively25. Therefore, in view of the foregoing discussion, we find no reason to interfere with the impugned judgment5. As discussed supra, it has not been disputed before us that the drivers concerned were not entitled to any promotional avenues. Thus, it is evident that the High Court rightly concluded that the drivers were entitled to the full benefits of the appropriate pay scale under Schedule II of the 1998 Rules. However, in light of our foregoing finding that persons employed in the post of drivers in various departments in the Government of Tamil Nadu are only entitled to Ordinary, Selection and Special Grade pay scales in terms of Serial No. 6 of Schedule II of the 1998 Rules, i.e. at Rs. 3200-4900, Rs. 4000-6000 and Rs. 4300-6000 respectively, we have no hesitation to hold that the High Court erred in directing fixation of such pay scales to drivers employed at the High Court in terms of Serial No. 8 of the Schedule II, fixing Selection Grade and Special Grade scales of pay of Rs. 5000-8000 and Rs. 5500- 9000 respectively.