- (1.) THE respondent was appointed as an Inspector in the Food and Supplies Department in the year 1972. He was promoted to the post of Chief Inspector in the Food and Supplies Department in the year 1985 and his pay was fixed in the scale of 425-1050 under Pay Scale 11 of the Revision of Pay & Allowances Rules 1981('ROPA Rules 1981' for short). He approached the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal in the year 1988 praying that Pay Scale 13 (Rs.470-1230) granted to Chief Inspectors in the Relief & Welfare Department should be extended to him. The said petition was disposed of on 7.9.1990 with a direction to consider his representation.
(2.) ON 12.1.1990, the Govt. of West Bengal, accepting the recommendations of the Third Pay Commission, framed the ROPA Rules 1990 with retrospective effect from 1.1.1986. The said rules prescribed the following scales for Food and Supplies Department: (i) Scale 10 (Rs.1390-2970) for Chief Inspector (Grade I) (ii) Scale 9 (Rs.1260-2610) for Inspectors (Grade II) (iii)Scale 6 (Rs.1040-1920) for Sub-Inspectors (Grade III). The first respondent exercised his option for pay Scale 10 and his pay was refixed in the Scale of Rs.1390-2970. It may be mentioned that ROPA Rules 1990 merged Scales 10 and 11 prevailing till then and renumbered them as 'Scale 10'. In the year 1990, two Inspectors (Abhijit Kumar Samaddar and another) in the Food & Supplies Department approached the High Court (C.O.No.1895 (W) of 1990) seeking the benefit of Scale 10 for Inspectors, Food & Supplies. During arguments they contended that the Secretary, Finance Department had made recommendations to the State government on 9.11.1992 stating that the Pay Review Committee set up by the department for examining anomalies in the pay scales had already recommended grant of higher scale of 10 for Inspectors, Food & Supplies and, therefore, the same should be given to them. Even before the government could consider the said recommendation, a learned single Judge of the High Court, disposed of their writ petition by a short order dated 5.1.1993 extracted below: "Pursuant to the order passed by this Court on September 13, 1991, the Finance Secretary, Government of West Bengal has considered the matter and passed an order recommending appropriate scale for the petitioners. In view of the said petition, the concerned respondent authorities are directed to implement the decision of the Finance Secretary within eight weeks from the date of communication of this order. Petitioner will be entitled to consequential benefits in accordance with law under R.O.P.A. Rules 1981." In view of the said order, the State Government made an order dated 20.8.1993 granting the said two writ petitioners the benefit of higher pay scale (Rs.1390-2970) notionally from 1.1.1986, and in effect from 1.1.1988.
(3.) ANOTHER set of 50 Inspectors, Food and Supplies (namely, Pinaki Ranjan Gupta and others) also approached the High Court in C.O.No.20188 (W) of 1994 for extending them the benefit of pay scale of Rs.425-1050 with effect from 1.4.1981 on the ground that the two Inspectors were granted such relief. The said petition (numbered as TA No.987/1996) on transfer to the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal, was allowed on 10.7.1997 directing that the petitioners therein be given the same scale of pay as has been given to Abhijit Samaddar and another in case No. 1895(W)/1990 on the same terms and conditions.;