Hemant Gupta, J. - (1.) The challenge in the present writ petition is to the amendment in the Chandigarh Union Territory Subordinate Courts Establishment (Recruitment and General Conditions of Service) Rules, 1997 (for short 'the Rules') whereby the Stenographers were permitted to switch over to the Ministerial/Supervisory Cadre after completing minimum period of 10 years. The relevant offending extract of the Rule reads as under: - "Note. - The Stenographers may be permitted to switch over to ministerial/supervisory cadre after they have completed a minimum period of ten years service subject to the condition that the option once exercised shall not be revoked." The petitioner was appointed as a Clerk in the District and Sessions Court, Chandigarh on 19.08.1997 and promoted as Assistant/Reader to Civil Judge (Senior Division)/Chief Judicial Magistrate upon the said post falling vacant on 15.02.2014.
(2.) The service condition of the petitioner and that of Stenographers in the District Courts, Chandigarh are governed by Punjab Subordinate Courts Establishment (Recruitment and General Conditions of Service) Rules, 1997 as extended to Chandigarh. The service condition of the employees of the subordinate Courts came up for consideration before the Shetty Commission, the First National Judicial Pay Commission, appointed to consider the service conditions of the staff of the subordinate Courts. The Shetty Commission inter -alia recommended as under: - "We, therefore, recommend that the Stenographers may be permitted to switch over to ministerial/supervisory cadre after they have completed a minimum period of service as determined by the High Court, subject to the condition that the option once exercise shall not be revoked."
(3.) It appears that on the basis of such recommendations, the cadre of some of the Stenographers working in the Chandigarh District Courts was changed on 19.05.2009. Such change was challenged in CWP No. 8630 of 2009 titled Swaran Lata and others v/s. Punjab and Haryana High Court and others. The said writ petition was allowed on 04.03.2010 holding the minimum period of service required to be completed by Stenographers in their cadre for permitting switch over to the Ministerial/Supervisory cadre has not been determined by the High Court. The Court set aside the order of switch over of the Stenographers to the Ministerial cadre but issued the following directions: - "The Punjab and Haryana High Court -respondent No. 1 has chosen not to file reply to the present writ petition. However, it has been brought to the notice of the Court that the matter with regard to the determination of the minimum completed period of service in the Stenographers cadre for permitting to switch over to the Ministerial/Supervisory cadre, is pending consideration with respondent No. 1..... XX XX XX A perusal of the above indicates that the Hon'ble Supreme Court has directed that the High Court on the Judicial/Administrative side will ensure implementation of the recommendation of the Shetty Commission within a reasonable period of one year. Despite the recommendation of the Shetty Commission, which has been reproduced above, permitting Stenographers to switch over to the Ministerial/Supervisory cadre, the right which has accrued to the Stenographers on the acceptance of the recommendation by the States of Haryana, Punjab and Union Territory of Chandigarh, they have been deprived of the fruit due to non -determination of the completed minimum period of service in the cadre of Stenographers. In the light of the order dated 07.10.2009 passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, a direction is issued to the Registrar General to personally pursue the matter to ensure that expeditious decision can be taken with regard to the minimum period of completed service in the cadre of Stenographers for permitting switch over to the Ministerial/Supervisory cadre so that the staff of the subordinate Courts are not forced to file writ petitions in this Court for implementation of the recommendations of the Shetty Commission.";