SECRETARY FINANCE DEPARTMENT Vs. WEST BENGAL REGISTRATION SERVICE ASSOCIATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE three appeals by special leave arise out of the judgment and order dated 28/06/1989 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Calcutta and from the subsequent orders dated 16/03/1990 and 4/04/1990 made in pursuance thereof. The brief facts giving rise to these three appeals may be stated as under.

(2.) THE West Bengal Registration Service comprising the Sub-Registrar's post was administered by the Judicial Department of the State. Under the West Bengal (Revision of Pay and Allowances) Rules, 1951 (hereinafter called 'the ROPA Rules') the scale of pay for the said post was fixed at Rs. 100-250. By a resolution dated 22/05/1952 the said post of Sub-Registrar was directed to be regarded as Gazetted with effect from 1/04/1952 and thereafter by notification dated 17/07/1953 the Governor, in exercise of powers conferred by Rule 188 of the Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules read with Arts. 313 and 372 of the Adoption of Laws Order, 1950 and all other related powers, declared that the West Bengal Registration Service comprising (i) Registrar of Assurances, Calcutta, (ii) Inspectors of Registration Offices, (iii) Departmental District Sub-Registrars, (iv) Sub-Registrar of Assurances, Calcutta (v) District Sub-Registrars, and (vi) Sub-Registrars shall, with effect from 30/01/1953, the date of constitution of the said service, be deemed to be included in the State service. THE respondents who belong to the said service contend that after the issuance of the said notification a commitment was made by the State Government that SubRegistrars would be accorded all the privileges admissible to officers belonging to the State service. Notwithstanding the said commitment the respondents contend that their pay scale was not revised to Rs. 200-400 which was the lowest pay scale admissible to State service officers. THEreafter pursuant to the recommendation of the Pay Committee, the pay scale underwent an upward revision but the Sub-Registrars were placed in the revised scale of Rs. 200-400 which corresponded to the old scale of Rs. 100-250, even though the minimum scale for State service employees was raised to Rs. 250-550 under the ROPA Rules, 1961. THE First (State) Pay Commission was then constituted in 1967. That body examined the grievance of this service and observed that it was an extremely ill-paid service. After evaluating the job requirements, recruitment standard and and responsibilities attached to the post belonging to the said service it recommended a scale of Rs. 425-825 for Sub-Registrars and corresponding higher scales for other posts, the highest being Rs. 850-1600 for Registrar of Assurances, Calcutta and Inspectors of Registration Offices. It appears that this recommendation did not find favour with the State Government. This is obvious from the fact that under the ROPA Rules, 1970, the pay scale for the post of Sub-Registrar was fixed at Rs. 300-600 only. Pursuant to the recommendations of Second (State) Pay Commission the pay scale for the post was revised to Rs. 425-1050 under ROPA Rules, 1981. This was Scale No. 11. According to the respondents they ought to have been placed in scale No. 17 which carried a pay scale of Rs. 660-1600 but, contend the respondents, grave injustice was done to them because of the biased and negative attitude of the Finance Department of the State Government. It was contended that since the basic minimum pay scale for State service officers was fixed at Rs. 660-1600, there was no valid reason to deny the same to the Sub-Registrars and to deny higher pay scales to officers above the level of Sub-Registrars in the West Bengal Registration Service. Feeling aggrieved by the decision of the State Government the respondents, therefore, filed a Writ Petition No. 1993 of 1987 in the High Court of Calcutta under Art. 226 of the Constitution for a Mandamus to award to the Sub-Registrars the pay scale No. 17 of Rs. 660-1600 with all other privileges admissible to State service officers. In the said writ petition the learned single Judge of the High Court passed certain interim orders against which an appeal No. 498 of 1988 was preferred before a Division Bench of the High Court. At the hearing of the said appeal the Division Bench felt that it would be proper to dispose of the writ petition itself on merits and accordingly it heard the writ petition by consent of parties instead of disposing of the appeal against the interim order and leaving the hearing of the writ petition to the learned single Judge. THE Division Bench of the High Court allowed the writ petition and directed that the SubRegistrars should be placed in the pay scale of Rs. 660-1600 with effect from 1/04/1981 and their pay scales should be fixed notionally on that basis without paying the difference in salary up to 1/01/1986. THE arrears of salary for the subsequent period was, however, directed to be paid within 8 weeks from the date of the judgment. Certain other directions were also given but it is not necessary to notice them.

(3.) THE history of the West Bengal Registration Service has been traced by the High Court right from 1826 but it is unnecessary to re-state the same. Suffice it to say that except the top post of the Registrar of Assurances, Calcutta, the remaining cadres in the said service belonged to the Subordinate Services of the State. Generally speaking the West Bengal Services were divided into (i) Provincial Services, and (ii) Subordinate Services leaving out certain special categories of posts. Subordinate Services comprised certain minor administrative, executive and ministerial posts to which appointment could be made by the Local Government or by an authority subordinate thereto, specially empowered. THE other cadres and posts belonged to the Provincial Service. By a notification dated 25/11/1949 recruitment rules were framed which provided that recruitment of Sub-Registrars shall be made through West Bengal Civil Service Examination. THE minimum educational qualification for SubRegistrars was prescribed as 'gradaute of a recognised University'. Subsequently, by a resolution dated 22/05/1952 it was provided that Sub-Registrars shall be regarded as Gazetted Officers with effect from 1/04/1952. Soon thereafter by a notification dated 17/07/1953 the West Bengal Registration Service was included in the State Service. Thus according to the respondents the position that emerged after the notification of 1953 can be summed up as under: