Sandeep Mehta, J. - (1.) ALL these three writ petitions involve a common controversy and have been preferred seeking the same relief and are thus being decided by one order.
(2.) THE petitioners have approached this Court with the following prayer: - - "It is, therefore, most humbly and respectfully prayed that this writ petition may kindly be accepted and allowed and by an appropriate writ, order or direction respondents may kindly be directed to fix the petitioner's in the pay scale Rs. 1640 -2900 w.e.f. 25.1.1992 and to revise the pension accordingly and to pay the arrears of Salary/Pension became due on grant of selection pay scale Rs. 1640 -2900 along with interest @ 18% p.a. from the day when the same became due." The petitioners herein were appointed as Vaccinators in the respondent department in the year 1964. The grievance of the petitioners is that another employee named Mr. Shyam Sunder who was appointed as a Vaccinator after the petitioners and was junior to them in length of service was given a higher pay scale from an earlier date as compared to the petitioners. The petitioners submitted numerous representations to the concerned officials for removing the disparity in the pay scale being offered to them and Shri Shyam Sunder. The grievance raised by the petitioners was noticed by the departmental authorities and an order/communication Annexure P -13 dated 17.6.2004 came to be issued which has a material bearing on the fate of the instant writ petition. The relevant portion of the order/communication dated 17.6.2004 is quoted hereinbelow for the sake of convenience: - -
(3.) THE respondents have filed a reply to the writ petition wherein, basically the objection of delay is taken. On merits, it is mentioned that the pay scale of Sector Supervisor was higher than that of a Vaccinator, and as Shyam Sunder was given the pay scale of Sector Supervisor much before the petitioners, he was rightly kept in a higher pay scale as compared to the petitioners.;