- (1.) Petitioners who claim to be working as senior clerks with the Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board (hereinafter referred to as 'the Board') have filed this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the action of the State Government in not granting to them the senior scale to which they say they had become entitled to in terms of office order No. 17(1991) dated January 1, 1991 passed by the Board.
(2.) By a notification dated May 22, 1973 issued by the State of Punjab under sub-section (2) (xxviii) of Section 43 of the Punjab Agricultural Produce Market Act, 1961 it was ordered that the employees of the Board and those of the market committee shall be governed by the Punjab Civil Services Rules or such other regulations or instructions as may have been or may hereafter issue by the Government from time to time. A circular letter dated April 18, 1980 (Copy Annexure P-2 with the petition) was issued by the Government of Punjab, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, to all Heads of Department and others concerned regarding bifurcation of cadre strength of clerks and issued guidelines for appointments to the posts of senior clerks. The existing cadre of clerks was bifurcated in the ratio of 50 :50 carrying the following two scales : (i) Clerks - Rs. 400-600 (ii) Senior Clerks - Rs. 510-800 Thereafter, another circular letter was issued by the State Government on April 17, 1984 laying down guidelines for appointment to the posts Senior Clerks, Para 2 of this letter which is relevant for our purposes reads as under : "2. The matter has been considered by the Government further and it has been decided that the following conditions would be a prerequisite for placement as a Senior Clerk/Steno-typist Grade-I : (i) The official should have completed three years' service in the lower scale of Clerk/stenotypist; (ii) he/she should have completed the probationary period satisfactorily; and (iii) he/she should have a satisfactory record of service. The other conditions for placement in the senior scale would remain unchanged." In the meantime, the State of Punjab on the basis of the recommendations of the Pay Commission decided to revise pay scales of its employees and made the revision effective with effect from 1.1.1986. This decision of the State Government was adopted by the Board as per its office order No. 875 of 1989 dated June 27, 1989 (Annexure P-4 with the petition). It would be pertinent to observe here that the unrevised grade of clerks of Rs. 400-600/- was revised to Rs. 950-1800/- and the unrevised senior scale of Rs. 510-800/- was revised to Rs. 1200-2100/- in the ratio of 50 : 50 as before.
(3.) All the service rules, regulations and instructions issued by the State Government from time to time were applicable to the Board as per notification dated March 22, 1973, the Board in terms of the Government circular letter dated April 18, 1980. (Annexure P-2 with the petition) designated as many as 71 clerks including the petitioners as senior clerks who fulfilled the conditions, laid down by the State Government in its guidelines dated April 17, 1984, the relevant part of which has been reproduced above. This was done by the Board as per its office order No. 17(1991) dated 1.1.1991 (Annexures P-7 with the petition). The clerks were designated as senior clerks w.e.f. the dates mentioned against their names. A bare look at this order shows that all the petitioners had been designated as senior clerks with effect from April 1, 1990 or prior thereto. In other words, the entitlement of the petitioner to be designated as senior clerk had been determined by the Board w.e.f. the dates prior to 1.4.1990. Again, by office order No. 1637 dated 28.11.89 one Sita Ram was designated as senior clerk with effect from 10.6.1988 and further by another order dated 10.9.1987, the Board designated as many as 41 clerks as senior clerks, as according to it, they fulfilled the conditions laid down in the Government circular dated April 17, 1984.;