SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J. - (1.) THE two private respondents before us joined the service with the Railways in the different categories as Apprentice Boiler Attendant and Apprentice Fitter in the year 1986 and 1984 respectively and were promoted as Grade II in pay scale of Rs.1200 -1800, which subsequently stood revised to Rs.4000 -6000. The Loco Steam Shed in the Railways was closed and consequently, the said two respondents, amongst other employees, were declared surplus. In order to rehabilitate and re -deploy them, options were called from the employees, who had been declared surplus. The two private respondents gave identical option for Commercial Clerk. Not only that, they expressed their willingness to join in the scale of Rs.1200 -2040 (which was a higher grade in which they were at that time) in Grade I, while simultaneously expressing their willingness to join in the earlier pay scale of Rs.975 -1540 in Grade II. In pursuance to the option, they were re - deployed as Train Clerks in pay scale of Rs.950 -1500 on 16.05.1997. They earned their promotions as Senior Train Clerks in August 1999.
(2.) HOWEVER , it was for the first time in November 2001 that the two private respondents sought to raise grievance qua their deployment, by filing OA No. 1135/PB/2001 dated 01.11.2001, which was disposed of with direction to the Department to take a decision on their grievance in terms of order dated 01.11.2001. The request of the two private respondents was rejected on 22.07.2002, which gave rise to OA No. 1303/PB/2002. This OA was allowed by the impugned order dated 31.10.2003, which is assailed in the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The case sought to be set up by the two private respondents is that there were vacancies existing in the pay scale of Rs.1200 -1800, but despite that, they were re -deployed as Train Clerks in the pay scale of Rs.950 -1500. It is also their grievance that their seniority has been effected on account of the fact that the employees, who were originally working in the pay scale of Rs.950 -1500 and were re -deployed in the same pay scale in March 1996, were promoted as Senior Train Clerks in April 1996, which in turn, had caused to the loss of seniority to the two private respondents.
(3.) IN the OA filed, the specific example given of deployment in the higher pay scale is of one Shri Uma Shankar, who is stated to have given option like the private respondents and was placed in the pay scale of Rs.1200 -2040, even though his original pay scale was Rs.1200 -1800 prior to the deployment. The second example given is of Shri Bhagwant Singh, who was stated to be working in the scale of Rs.1320 -2040 as Turner Grade I, prior to being declared as surplus and was re -deployed in a lower pay scale of Rs.1200 -1800, which stood revised to Rs.4000 -6000 w.e.f. 01.01.1996. His case was reviewed and he was re -deployed in the pay scale of Rs.4500 -7000 under the recommendations of Fifth Pay Commission. The private respondents thus pleaded discrimination.;