Manish Mathur, J. - (1.) Heard Sri Rajendra Prasad Shukla learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned State Counsel appearing on behalf of the opposite parties.
(2.) The present petition has been filed seeking quashing of the impugned orders dated 11th July, 2007, 13th July, 2007 and 5th July, 2007 whereby the higher scale of Rs. 4000-6000 has been refused. A further prayer not to recover the amount already paid to the petitioners in? lieu of higher pay scale has been made along with other related prayers.
(3.) As per the averments made in the writ petition, the petitioners are working on the post of Tubewell Operator/Pump Operator/Switch Board Attendants and were granted the pay scale of Rs. 4000-6000 in pursuance of an audit report. Subsequently by means of the impugned order dated 5th July, 2007 while mentioning the fact that the petitioners are working on Class IV posts for which there is no essential academic qualification required, they were wrongly given pay scale of Rs. 4000-6000 and therefore the recovery of the same was issued. Against the aforesaid orders, the present writ petition has been filed in which interim protection had been granted to the petitioners by means of the interim order dated Ist August, 2007. Subsequently, the petition was allowed by means of the judgment and order dated 17th December, 2012 against which Special Appeal (Defective) No. 897 of 2013 was filed which was allowed by means of judgment and order dated 3rd January, 2014 and the matter was remitted, although it was provided that till a final decision in the writ petition subsequent to the remand, no recovery shall be effected from the respondents. Vide judgment and order dated 3rd January, 2014, the Special Appeal had been allowed and the matter remanded primarily on the question as to whether the posts held by the petitioners required the eligibility criteria of High School with ITI certificate or some lower qualification in view of the fact that the higher pay scale of Rs. 4000-6000 would be admissible only if the qualification required for the post held by the petitioners required the eligibility qualification of High School with ITI certificate irrespective of the actual qualifications of the petitioners. It is an admitted fact that at the time of appointment of the petitioners on the said posts in the year 70's no service rules pertaining to the posts held by the petitioners in the department had been framed, due to which no eligibility or qualification was prescribed for the post which were held by the petitioners.;