K. RAVINDRANATH PAI AND ANR. versus STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ANR.

Citation: [1995] 2 S.C.R. 121 · Decided: 20-02-1995 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: KULDIP SINGH · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

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Judgment (excerpt)

K. RAVINDRANATH PAI AND ANR. 
A 
v 
STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ANR. 
FEBRUARY 20, 1995 
[KULDIP SINGH, B.L. HANSARIA AND S.B. MAJMUDAR, JJ.) 
B 
Service Law: Kamataka State Civil Service (Classification of Scale of 
pay of non-graduate Junior Engi.neers of the Public Works Department) Act 
1975 ·: Graduate Engi.neers and Dip,oma Engi.neers-Appointed as Junior 
Engi.neers and Suprevisors respectively-Later merged into one cadre of Junior c 
Engineers-Again bifurcated into Junior Engi.neers Divisions I & II with effect 
from 9.1.1974-Diploma Engi.neers initially appointed as supervisors later ac-
/ 
quiring engi.neering Degree prior to 9.1.1974-Entitlement to become Junior 
Engi.neer and the scale of pay attached theret~eld, entitled to from 9.1.1974 
and not earlier-Directions gi.ven to treat them as such and to give all conse-
D 
quential benefits. 
The appellants were initially diploma holders in Engineering and 
-,,k 
were recruited as Supervisors in the years 1960 and 1961 in the State 
Public Works Department. Later on, appellant nos. 1 and 2 acquired 
Engineering degrees in 1967 and 1970 respectively. The relevant recruit-
E 
ment rules at the time of their recruitment, stipulated that only degree 
holders were entitled to be appointed as Junior Engineers while diploma-
holders could be appointed as supervisors. In 1969, this position was 
changed and both the cadres of Junior Engineers and Supervisors were 
merged into one cadre of Junior Engineers. 
F 
In 1971, the State Government extended identical pay scales to both 
graduate and diploma bolder Junior Engineers, with retrospective effect 
from 1.1.1957. 
~' 
In 1974, the State Government bifurcated the State service into two G 
cadres namely Junior Engineer (Division I) & Junior Engineer (Division 
Il), comprising of degree holders and diploma holders respectively. 
--i~ 
'lbe Karnataka State Civil Service (Classification of Scale of Pay of 
,,. 
non-graduate Junior Engineers of the Public Works Department) Act 1975 
was enacted providing for classification and scale of pay admissible • 
H 
121 
122 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1995] 2 S.C.R. 
A' non-graduate Junior Engineers of State PWD. These Scales were also given 
retrospective effect from 1.11.1956. 
This bifurcation of cadres was challenged before the High Court, 
during the pendency of which the above said Act came into force. The High 
Court held that bifurcation of the combined cadre of Junior Engineers 
B which was holding the field from 1969 to 1974 could be operative from 
9.1.1974 for the purpose of separate pay scales of graduate and non-. 
graduate junior Engineers. However, the High Court invalidated the 
· retrospectivity given prior to 9.1.1974. Thus, the High Court restrained the 
respondents from recovering any part of the salary received by non-
C graduate Junior Engineers for any period prior to 9.~.1._974 and also 
directed the State Government to pay the salary which accrued to them 
a:pto 9.1.1974 which had not been paid. 
Therefore, the appellants approached the High Court by way of Writ 
Petitions for treating them as Junior Engineers (Division I) in the light of 
D the existing qualification of graduation. The writ petitions were transferred 
to the Tribunal which was established in the meantime. The Tribunal 
dismissed the same. Hence these appeals. 
E 
Allowing. the appeal in part, this Court 
HELD: 1. There is no question of treating the appellants as belonging 
• to bifurcated cadre of Junior Engineers (Division-I) from any date prior to 
9.1.1974 as claimed by them. The respondent authorities are directed to 
treat the appellants as belonging to the cadre of Junior Engineers (Division-
1) (Assistant Engineers, as now designated) with effect from 9.1.1974 and fax 
F the salary of the appellants in the scale applicable to Assistant Engineers 
with effect from that date and also to give to the appellants all consequential 
benefits including arrears of salary, ranking and seniority in the cadre of 
Assistant Engineer on that basis. (131-H, 132-A-B] 
2. The Tribunal is, right when it took ~e view that the said decision 
G of the High Court nowhere' expressly laid down that the Kamataka State 
Civil Service (Classification of Scale of Pay of non-graduate Junior En· 
gineers of P.W.D.) Act, 1975 was invalid in so far as it gave retrospective 
effect to the bifurcation of the common cadre of Junior Engineers with 
effect from 3.7.1969 and it was on that basis that the Tribunal non-suited 

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