Mathur, J. - (1.) This is an appeal directed against the order passed by the learned Single Judge dated 16th March, 1994 whereby the learned Single Judge has allowed the writ petition and directed that the petitioner shall be confirmed in the post of Information Officer with effect from 1st of March, 1979. It was further directed that the petitioner shall be given the pay scale of the Information Officer with effect from date all the benefits of the pay scale and revision and other incidental benefits which the petitioner would have been entitled to. It was further directed that since the petitioner has obtained the degree of Ph.D. he shall be paid the qualification pay for such Ph.D. degree within six weeks after adjusting a sum of Rs. 10,000/- which was paid to the petitioner towards qualification pay in terms of the orders of this Court.
(2.) The petitioner after passing graduation obtained a special Honours degree in Bengali in 1965 and, thereafter, obtained Masters degree in Bengali from Calcutta University and he was initially appointed on 24th July, 1967 as Assistant Translator in the Home (Political Department) and after rendering six years service, he was made permanent in the said post. The petitioner was awarded the Ph.D. degree by the Calcutta University in the year 1977. The post of Public Relation Officer of Jhargram Affairs was created in 1973 under Development and Planning Department for keeping effective liaison between officers of the different departments and the Minister-in-Charge of the tribal region. The petitioner has published certain articles on problems of Jhargram, a backward region, in some of the leading newspapers and periodicals. Therefore, the petitioner was picked up for appointment to the post of Public Relation Officer, Jhargram Affairs in the Pay Scale of Rs. 300-600/- with Special Pay of Rs. 50/- until further orders. Looking to the importance of the development of the area, the Government of West Bengal framed Rules for recruitment under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution for Jhargram region on 9th September, 1975. Thereafter, the petitioner was appointed on ad hoc basis to act temporarily in the Gazetted Post of Public Relation Officer, Jhargram region in the Pay Scale of Rs. 400-700/- with effect from July 1975. Though, the appointment of the petitioner was made for a period of 6 months, it was extended upto 12th January, 1976. The petitioner, thereafter, made representation for fixation of his special pay and allowances. The petitioner was also granted a sum of Rs. 10,500/- in order to publish his thesis in the form of a book called "Jhargram Bangla Loksahitya". The petitioner made representations from time to time for grant of higher pay scale, that is, Rs.600-880/- with a special pay of Rs. 100/- and it was also recommended by the department. However, meanwhile the petitioner's post was transferred from Jhargram Affairs to the Information Bureau under the administrative control of Information & Cultural Affairs Department with effect from 1st of March, 1979. The petitioner who was working against this post on temporary basis also joined this post. The post of Public Relation Officer and the Information Officer, according to the petitioner, are same and similar but there is a disparity in the pay scale of the post of Public Relation Officer, Jhargram Affairs and Information Officer in Information & Cultural Affairs Department. Since the petitioner was given the charge of the post of Information Officer from 1st of March, 1979, he again made representation for the same pay scale as is admissible to the Information Officer. The petitioner continued to work in this post. On 7th May, 1980, he again made a representation to the Government that he should be given incremental benefit for his Ph.D. degree. The petitioner again contended that since he is discharging the function of the Information Officer, therefore, he should be accommodated to the post of Information Officer under the Information & Cultural Affairs Department and be given the pay scale of Rs. 450-1050/-. He has also prayed that the post of Public Relation Officer should be appropriately included in the West Bengal Information Service and Assistant Information Officer in the West Bengal Junior Information Service Class-I, but that too did not yield any result. Therefore, the petitioner approached this Court by filing the present writ petition. The writ petition was opposed by the State and it was contended that the qualification pay has already been discontinued with effect from 1st of April, 1981 as per the recommendation of the Pay Commission in 1981, therefore, he is not entitled to qualification pay. It was also pointed out that the petitioner's post graduate diploma is not a degree of a special and technical nature nor this degree has been declared by the administrative department in consultation with the finance department as an added qualification which is useful for the due discharge of his official duties. It was also pointed out that the petitioner was appointed as Public Relation Officer, Jhargram Affairs under the Development & Planning Department under the Rules regulating recruitment to the Gazetted Post of Public Relation Officer, Jhargram, created in the Jhargram Affairs Branch of the Development & Planning Department, Government of West Bengal. This Rule was framed under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution on 9th September, 1975. This Rule provided the Pay Scale of the Public Relation Officer, Jhargram Affairs as Rs. 400-15-490-20-750/-and the mode of recruitment was direct recruitment or by transfer. The petitioner was appointed in this post by way of transfer. Initially, the appointment was for a period of 6 months and it was extended. However, the service of the petitioner was placed at the disposal of the Information Bureau under the Information & Cultural Affairs Department with effect from 1st of March, 1979 in the pay scale of Rs. 400-750/-. The post of Public Relation Officer, Jhargram Affairs was declared as equivalent to the post of Assistant Information Officer carrying same pay scale under the West Bengal Information Service and Assistant Information Officer in the West Bengal Junior Information Service Class-I Rules, 1975 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules of 1975). Since the Assistant Information Officer and Information and Information Officer under the Information & Cultural Affairs Department under this rule by and large perform same duty, but they carry much higher administrative responsibility, therefore, their pay scale is higher than that of the Information Officers and Public Relation Officer, Jhargram Affairs and their mode of recruitment is also separately prescribed. However, in the ROPA Rules, 1981, the pay scale for Assistant Information Officer anu Public Relation Officer, Jhargram Affairs being identical, i.e., Rs. 470-1230/-. It was pointed out that the petitioner basically holds the post of Public Relation Officer, Jhargram Affairs and he has never been recruited under the Rules of 1975 and there is no order appointing him under the aforesaid rules. Though, from time to time the petitioner has approached the authorities and the department has also made certain recommendations in his favour but no order has been passed appointing him either as Information Officer under the Rules of 1975 or as an Assistant Information Officer, Class-1.
(3.) In this background, the learned Single Judge examined the matter and found that since the petitioner performs the same duty as being performed by the Information Officer, West Bengal Information Service and Assistant Information Officer in the West Bengal Junior Information Service Class-1, therefore, he is entitled to "same pay same work" on the anvil of Article 39(d) of the Constitution. The learned Single Judge aliowed the writ petition and granted the aforesaid relief to the petitioner. Hence, the present appeal by the State.;