STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANR. versus KULDIP SINGH AND ANR.

Citation: [2002] SUPP. 1 S.C.R. 39 · Decided: 08-07-2002 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: D.P. MOHAPATRA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

I 
STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANR. 
A 
v. 
KULDIP SINGH AND ANR. 
JULY 8, 2002 
[D.P. MOHAPATRA AND BRIJESH KUMAR, JJ.] 
B 
Service Law : 
Sub-Divisional Engineer-Selection Grade Pay-<Jrant of-From the 
date when junior officers in the cadre given higher pay or from the date when C 
an employee completes I 5 years of service in the cadre-Held, as per the 
Government Circulars an employee has to complete 15 years of service to 
claim Selection Grade Pay-Government Circulars-Interpretation of 
Officers junior to respondents-Sub-Divisional Engineers were D 
granted higher ·pay. Respondents filed writ petition praying for Writ of 
Mandamus directing the State Government to grant selection grade pay 
scale with effect from_ the date when officers juniors to them were granted 
higher pay. Appellants contended that the respondents could not be given 
the selection grade pay before they completed 15 years of service which 
is the eligibility condition for such benefit under the Government E 
Circulars. High Court allowed the petition. 
In appeal before this Court appellants contended that the judgment 
passed by the High Court is unsustainable and is liable to be set aside as 
it is contrary to the circulars prescribing the eligibility criteria for the 
purpose of grant of selection grade pay. 
F 
Allowing the appeal, the Court 
HELD: 1.1. As per the relevant Go_:ernment Circulars an employee 
in order to be eligible to get the selection grade pay has to complete 15 
years of service and he is not to be given such scale of pay before he fulfils G 
the said eligibility criteria. It follows as a consequence that no employee 
can claim selection grade pay before completing 15 years of service on 
any ground including the ground that an employee junior to him has 
already been given such grade of pay. The position is further clarified in 
a circular that in the event of a junior employee getting the selection grade H 
39 
40 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2002) SUPP. l S.C.R. 
A pay earlier the post in the said grade may be kept vacant for the senior 
employee who may be given the benefit of the pay prescribed for the 
selection grade only after he completes 15 years of service. The interest 
of the senior employee in such cases is safeguarded by making the 
provision in the inter se seniority between the two employees which will 
B remain undist.urb~d despite the junior employee getting the selection grnde 
pay earlier than the senior employee. (43-G, H; 44-A, BJ 
1.2. !he claim of an employee for a selection grade post was to be 
dealt with only in accordance with the provisions in the circular. The 
reasons state~ -in the judgment of the High Court that the respondents 
C were entitled to the higher grade pay with effect from the date when the 
employees _junior to them were granted such pay is .extraneous and 
irrelevant for the purpose. High Court overlooked the provisions in the 
circulars while directing the appellants to grant selection grade pay to the 
respondents before they completed 15 years of service and thus was clearly 
in error in' i~uing a Writ of Mandamus apparently against the 
D Government Circulars which were binding on the parties. [44-C, D) 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 3643 of 
2002. 
From the Judgment and Order dated 25.3.1998 of the Punjab and 
E Haryana High Court in CWP 15263/97. 
P.P. Rao, H.S. Munjral and Rajeev Sharma for the Appellants. 
Jitendra Sharma, A.S. Chahil, Ms. S. Janani, P.N. Jha and R.D. 
Upadhyay (N.P.) for the Respondent. 
F 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
D.P. MOHAPA TRA, J. L~ave is granted. 
This appeal filed by the State of Punjab, through the Secretary in the 
G P.W.D. (B & R) Mini Secretariat and the Chief Engineer, P.W.D. (B & R) 
Branch, is directed against the judgment/order dated 25.3.1998 of the High 
Court of Punjab and Haryana allowing Civil Writ Petition No.15263 of 1997 
filed by the respondents herein. The controversy raised in the case relates to 
the date from which the respondents are entitled to get Selection Grade Pay 
as Sub Divisional Engineers in the Public Works Department of the State; 
H whether it is with effect from 1.1.1978 when Shri Devender Singh Sekhon, 
STATE v. KULDIP SINGH [D.P. MOHAPATRA, J.] 
41 
. 
a Sub Divisional Engineer junior to them got the Selection Grade Pay or A 
from the date when the respo-ndents completed 15 years of service in the 
cadre. in the judgment under challenge the High Court took the view that 
since Sh

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