P.S. Patwalia, J. - (1.) The Courts below have held that the plaintiff would be entitled to the proficiency step up by taking the date of appointment of the plaintiff as 5.4.1966 and not as actual date of appointment as 11.2.1971. The plaintiff had served in the Indian Army before joining civil service. Accordingly under the rules he was granted a deemed date of service as 5.4.1966 after giving him the benefit of military service towards his civil employment. He had claimed that it is his deemed date of joining which should be considered to grant him the benefit of proficiency step up. The Courts had decided the claim of the plaintiff on the basis of the instructions embodied in the letter dated 5.1.1993. A translated copy of the letter reads as hereunder : "I have been directed to convey that it was clarified vide Punjab Government circular No. 7/81/90-5-PP1/B426 dated 27 November, 1990 that the service rendered in the Military service prior to joining civil post shall not be counted for the purpose of proficiency step up/increments. This matter has again been considered and it has been decided that those employees who have been granted the benefit of Military Service before joining the civil post towards seniority, their cases for the grant of proficiency step up/increments and for placement in the scale of Junior Clerk/Junior Assistant be considered from the date from which they have been assigned seniority. As such the cases of such employees be considered for the grant of proficiency step-up after 8/18 years of service, increments and for placement in the scale of Senior Clerk/Junior Assistant from the date from which they have signed seniority. 2. This letter is being circulated with the consent of Revenue Department's letter No. 6/164/91-FP-2/3250 dated 18 December, 1992. 3. This letter be acknowledged." A perusal of the letter reproduced above would show that a clear decision has been taken by the State of Punjab that for the grant of proficiency step up to those employees who have been granted the benefit of military service towards their seniority, the relevant date would be the date from which they have been assigned seniority after giving them the benefit of military service. In this view of the matter, there is no infirmity in the judgments of the trial Court and the lower Appellate Court.
(2.) The present appeal is therefore dismissed in limine. Appeal dismissed.;