Govt of Punjab School Education Department vide order No. SO (SE-III) 7-473/2010 dated 19th July 2013 has given its decision on the petition No. 26022.
The main points of the petitioner’s petition are as under:
The ARA drawn between 19-10-2009 and the date of issuance of orders of their regularization by the appointing authorities may not be recovered.
Protection of Previous Pay
Counting of Previous Service
Grant of Annual Increment for the Year 2009
The committee constituted on the said matter gave the following recommendations:
The Adhoc Relief Allowance discontinued on their appointment on regular basis was later merged in the Revised Pay Scales 2011 and the petitioners were in receipt of benefit. However the amount of Adhoc Relief erroneously but in good faith drawn by then even after their regular appointment may not be recovered. Finance Department may be approached for appropriate orders to that effect.
The issue relating to inter se seniority of the petitioners stood resolved by Notification No. SO (SE-III) 2-16/2007 dated 19-10-2009 and later on even number dated 03-08-2010.
The petitioners were not entitled to the annual increments for the year 2009 because at the relevant time (1st December 2009) they did not possess the requisite minimum regular service of 6 months. Any dispensation in their favour was discriminatory vis-à-vis a large number of other employees.
Govt of Baluchistan was an independent Provincial Govt and any policy decision taken by that Govt did not bind the Govt of Punjab. Similarly Punjab Workers Board was an autonomous body and paid salary and allowances from its own sources. Any decision of the board could not serve as precedent for the Govt Employees. The two precedent quoted by the petitioners were of no avail inter alia because any such award would be discriminatory vis-à-vis other Govt Employees similarly placed.
Any illegal dispensation by Higher Education and Health Department was also of no help to the petitioners because one legal wrong would not justify the perpetuation of the wrong. Finance Department must advise the Higher Education and Health Department to rectify the errors and revise the notification in accordance with law.
The Chief Secretary Punjab accordingly disposed of all the writ petitions referred to him by the Honourable Court in term of recommendations of the committee. Accordingly the case of the petitioners is also disposed of in terms of the committee.
