PRAMATH PATNAIK,J. - (1.) In the captioned writ application, prayer has been made for quashing order as contained in memo dated 24.09.2008 whereby the claim of the husband of the petitioner for allowing him the annual increment w.e.f 20.07.2001 has been rejected and; further prayer has been made to direct the respondents to allow the financial up-gradation under A.C.P Scheme w.e.f 20.07.2000 and 20.07.2001 and to fix his pay at Rs. 8125/- on 20.07.2000 and accordingly revise his monthly pension, the amount of gratuity and leave encashment and to pay arrears thereof with statutory and penal interest.
(2.) The facts, in brief, is that the husband of the petitioner joined as Lower Division Clerk on 20.07.1960 and retired on 31.07.2001 on attaining the age of superannuation of 58 years on 31.07.2001 from the post of Head Clerk-cum-Accountant. It has been averred that the Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms & Rajbhasa, Government of Jharkhand adopted and implemented the ACP Scheme w.e.f 09.08.1999 for its officers and employees vide resolution dated 14.08.2002 and has decided to allow the benefit of financial up-gradation to its officers and employees in the next higher scale of pay on completion of 12 and 24 years of service. But when such benefit was not extended to the husband of the petitioner, he knocked the doors of this Court by filing W.P. (S) No. 6816 of 2006, which was disposed of vide order dated 01.12.2006 with a direction to Deputy Commissioner, Ranchi and the Accountant General, Jharkhand to consider the claim of the petitioner and do the needful. Pursuant thereto, the husband of the petitioner represented before the concerned authorities. In response thereto, the office of Deputy Commissioner, Ranchi vide letter dated 05.07.2007 fixed the pay of the petitioner at Rs. 8300/- but thereafter reduced it to Rs. 8125/- w.e.f 31.07.2001 and accordingly pension papers were sent to Accountant General, Jharkhand for further action. Since, the order passed in W.P. (S) No. 6816 of 2006 dated 01.12.2006 was not fully complied with, the husband of the petitioner filed Contempt Case (Civil) No. 626 of 2007, in which, the State brought the copy of letter dated 23.02.1988 wherein it is provided that the next date of annual increment shall be the same date on which it was being allowed prior to 01.03.1986. Accordingly, the contempt case was dropped. However, the husband of the petitioner again submitted an application dated 23.08.2008 before the Deputy Commissioner, Ranchi for re-fixation of pension and gratuity, which was declined vide order dated 24.09.2008, which is impugned in this case.
(3.) Heard Mr. Naresh Prasad Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Sreenu Garapati, A.C to S.C. (Mines) and Mr. Sudarshan Srivastava, learned counsel for the respondents- Accountant General.;