Gurmeet Singh And Ors. Etc vs The State Of Punjab

2024 INSC 872 NON-REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO(S). 17529-17530 OF 2017

GURMEET SINGH AND ORS. ETC. .…APPELLANT(S)

VERSUS

STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS. ….RESPONDENT(S)

JUDGMENT

Mehta, J.

1. These appeals arise from the judgment dated 17th August,

2012 rendered by the Division Bench of High Court of Punjab and

Haryana whereby, the intra-court appeals1 preferred by the

appellants herein were dismissed and the judgment dated 11th

August, 2011 passed by the learned Single Judge of the High Court

was upheld. The Learned Single Judge rejected the Civil Writ

Petitions2 preferred by the appellants for grant of benefits under

the Proficiency Step-up Scheme, 1988 and Assured Career Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by SWETA BALODI Date: 2024.11.18 16:43:50 IST Reason:

1 Letters Patent Appeal No. 2309 of 2011 and Letters Patent Appeal No. 2306 of 2011. 2 C.W.P. No. 17985 of 2008 (O&M) and C.W.P. No. 6623 of 2004 (O&M).

1 Progression Scheme, 1998, by accounting for their entire service

period including that in the work charged establishment.

2. Shri P.S. Patwalia, learned senior counsel appearing on

behalf of the appellants, vehemently and fervently contended that

the Government of Punjab has on its own volition, extended the

very same benefits of Proficiency Step-up to other employees

situated at par with the appellants, and thus, the differential

treatment meted out to the appellants tantamount to hostile and

subjective discrimination, which is violative of Article 14 of the

Constitution of India. In this regard, learned senior counsel drew

the attention of this Court to the Policy Circular dated 13th March,

1996, issued by the Department of Irrigation and Power (Irrigation

Personnel-III), Government of Punjab, whereby, it was decided that

the Government Policy contained in the letter dated 7th May, 1993

would be relaxed and the services of the work-charged staff of

Ranjit Sagar Dam would be regularised. He submitted that clause

(a) of the said Policy Circular clearly provided that the past services

rendered by the employees on work charged/daily basis will be

treated as qualifying service for pensionary and all other

consequential benefits.

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3. Learned senior counsel further referred to various

communications and circulars, more specifically to the Circular

dated 12th April, 2005 issued by the Chief Engineer, Irrigation

Department, Punjab, whereby, it was communicated as below: -

“All the aforementioned judgements which have been allowed by the Hon’ble Courts in favour of the petitioners were filed by various categories of employees for counting of their work charge service rendered prior to regularisation of their services for granting 8/18 years of proficiency step-up(s). In this regard this be informed that how many similar employees of different categories had left who are entitled for the grant of proficiency step up(s) for 8/18 years after counting their work charge service rendered prior to their regularisation. After clarifying the position, the complete report be sent to this office within 15 days. In addition to aforesaid, this be also conveyed that by doing so from which date the official will be entitled for the grant of 8 and 18 years of proficiency step-up(s) and how much financial burden will have to be bore by the government. You will solely be liable for not sending the complete report as required aforesaid within the stipulated time.”

4. Learned senior counsel for the appellants, thus, submitted

that the appellants herein are entitled to reliefs sought for in these

appeals by reversing/modifying the judgment rendered by the

learned Single Judge of the High Court as upheld by the learned

Division Bench.

5. During the course of submissions, Shri P.S. Patwalia had

restricted the claims of the appellants to the benefits under the

Proficiency Step-up Scheme, 1988.

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6. Per contra, Shri Shadan Farasat, learned AAG representing

the State, vehemently and fervently contested the submissions

advanced by the counsel for the appellants and urged that the

benefits under the Proficiency Step-up Scheme, 1988 to employees

situated at par with the appellants herein were extended only in

the cases where such employees were granted the said relief in

compliance of the orders passed by the courts in judicial

proceedings. Nonetheless, Shri Farasat was not in a position to

dispute the fact that the Circular dated 12th April, 2005 issued by

the Chief Engineer, Irrigation Department, Punjab, clearly

provides for the grant of Proficiency Step-up(s) to employees of

different categories who were left out after the various judgments

of the courts, without any court orders being in force qua such

employees.

7. We have given our thoughtful consideration to the

submissions advanced at the bar and have perused the impugned

judgments. With the assistance of learned counsel for the parties,

we have thoroughly examined the material available on record.

8. The primary issue that arises for consideration before this

Court is whether the service rendered by the appellants herein as

work charge employees prior to regularisation is to be accounted

4 towards the grant of benefits under Proficiency Step-up Scheme,

1988, in view of the fact that other similarly situated employees

have already been granted the same benefit.

9. The fact that the appellants herein were regularised in service

and the period spent by them in the work-charged establishment

was ordered to be counted for qualifying service for pensionary and

all other consequential benefits is not in dispute as the same is

clearly discernible from the Policy Circular dated 13th March, 1996

referred to supra.3 However, a significant bulk of litigation in the

form of writ petitions4 had ensued on behalf of the employees

engaged in the work-charged establishment, who claimed that the

services rendered by them as work charge employee should be

counted for the grant of benefits under the Proficiency Step-up

Scheme, 1988 and the Assured Career Progression Scheme

(ACPS), 1998 and their claims were accepted by the High Court of

Punjab and Haryana but were restricted to only the Proficiency

Step-up Scheme, 1988. Out of these writ petitions5, the order

passed in C.W.P. No. 219 of 2003, was challenged by the State of

Punjab before this Court in SLP(C) No. 7798 of 2004, which stands

3 Refer, Para 2.

4 C.W.P. No. 5738 of 1999, C.W.P. No. 17315 of 2001 and C.W.P. No. 219 of 2003. 5 Supra, Note 4

5 dismissed vide order dated 28th April, 2004 and the order of the

High Court was affirmed.

10. A perusal of the impugned judgments would reveal that the

Division Bench treated the Proficiency Step-up Scheme, 1988 and

the Assured Career Progression Scheme (ACPS), 1998 to be at par.

However, on a perusal of the judgment passed by the learned

Single Judge which has been affirmed by the Division Bench, it is

clear that the learned Single Judge took note of the earlier

judgment of the High Court, in relation to the same controversy

passed in Principal Secretary, Irrigation Department, Punjab

and Anr. v. President Sri Natha Singh, Thein Dam Workers

Union (CITU) & Anr.6, which had approved the claims of the work-

charge employees in respect of the Proficiency Step-up Scheme,

1988.7 Nevertheless, the learned Single Judge while relying upon

the judgment in the case of Punjab State Electricity Board and

Ors. v. Jagjiwan Ram & Ors.8, denied the relief to the appellants

herein.

6 C.W.P. No. 20422 of 2005. 7 This order was challenged before this court in SLP(C) No. 12754 of 2006 and the said SLP

was dismissed vide order dated 19th October, 2010. 8 (2009) 3 SCC 661.

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11. On examining the judgments rendered by the learned Single

Judge and the Division Bench of the High Court, we find that the

precise connotations of the Government Circular dated 1st

December, 1988, which had introduced the Proficiency Step-up

Scheme were not considered in an apropos manner. The

fundamental distinction in the present case is that the Policy

Circular whereby, the services of the appellants were regularised,

gave a clear mandate that the services of the work charge

employees would be regularised, and the past services of such

employees would be treated as qualifying service for pensionary

and all other consequential benefits. The High Court seems to have

overlapped the Assured Career Progression Scheme (ACPS), 1998

and the Proficiency Step-up Scheme, 1988 for denying relief to the

appellants which is not justifiable by any stretch of imagination.

12. This controversy was examined in a reference made to the

Industrial Tribunal, Punjab9 in the case of President, Thein Dam

Workers Union (CITU), Shahpur Kandi (Pathankot) v.

Principal Secretary, Irrigation Department, Punjab & Anr.10

The Tribunal vide its order dated 10th August, 2005 held that in

9 Hereinafter, referred to as “Tribunal.” 10 Reference No. 39 of 2004. 7 view of the regularisation policy dated 13th March, 1996, the work

charge service of an employee before his regularisation is liable to

be counted for grant of Proficiency Step-up(s). A writ petition11 filed

by the State against the said order of the Tribunal was dismissed

by the Division Bench of the High Court and the SLP12 preferred

challenging the same, has been rejected by this Court vide order

dated 19th October, 2010. Thereafter, the Irrigation Department of

the Government of Punjab vide order dated 9th November, 2010

unconditionally decided to implement the decision of the Tribunal.

13. In view of discussion made above and in the peculiar facts

and circumstances of the instant case, we feel that the differential

treatment could not have been meted out to the appellants herein

who formed a part of the same establishment and were similarly

situated to the employees who were granted the benefits under the

Proficiency Step-up Scheme, 1988.

14. Resultantly, we hereby direct that the appellants shall be

entitled to have their services in the work-charged establishment

counted as qualifying service for Proficiency Step-up(s) in

accordance with the Proficiency Step-up Scheme issued vide

11 Supra, Note 6.

12 SLP(C) No. 12754 of 2006. 8 Government Circular dated 1st December, 1988. The monetary

benefits flowing from the above direction shall be paid to the

appellants within a period of six months from today.

15. The impugned judgments are reversed and set aside

accordingly. The appeals are allowed in the above terms. No orders

as to costs.

16. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.

………………….……….J. (PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA)

………………………….J. (SANDEEP MEHTA) New Delhi;

November 18, 2024

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