N G MEHTA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Ms. Mamta Vyas learned advocate for the petitioner and Mr. Urshit Oza learned Assistant Government Pleader for respondents.

(2.) BY invoking Article 226 of the Constitution of India, challenge is made to the order passed by the Commissioner of Mid-day-Meals and Schools, Gandhinagar dated 13th March 2002. The petitioner claimed the stepping up of his pay against that of one Mr. M.J.Master, who was claimed to be junior to the petitioner and was drawing more pay. This request was rejected by the authorities vide order dated 13.3.2002, which is challenged in this petition.

(3.) HAVING heard learned advocate for the petitioner and having gone through the record I find that, the stepping of the pay is claimed on the basis of pay anomaly, which petitioner claims, has crapped in because of revision of pay which came to be effected from January, 1996. From the impugned order itself it is evident that even prior to January 1996 petitioner was drawing pay less than Mr.Master. On 1st January 1986, in the pay scale of Rs 1400-2600, pay of the petitioner was fixed at the stage of Rs 2000/- and that of Mr. Master was Rs.2250/-. Even earlier, in the year 1973, in the pay scale of Rs330-560 the pay of the petitioner was at the stage of Rs. 392/- whereas the pay of his junior Mr. Master was at the stage of Rs.455/-. Thus it is not that the petitioner was drawing more pay than his junior from time to time and only because of the pay fixation pursuant to revision of pay, the petitioner started drawing less pay and pay anomaly cropped up.