1. The petitioners herein have challenged the judgment and order dated 27.01.2000 passed by the Gujarat Civil Service Tribunal, Ahmedabad in Revision Application No. 495/95 whereby the order dated 29.11.1990 passed by the respondent no. 1 is quashed and set aside which was confirmed by the petitioner no. 1 vide order dated 11.10.1999 passed in Appeal No. 1/99.
2. It is the case of the petitioners that the respondent was initially appointed vide order dated 01.12.1971 on adhoc basis as Laboratory Technician in the pay scale of Rs. 200-430. It is the case of the petitioners that as the respondent was only B.Sc. Pass Class his pay fixation was to be done on the pay scale of Rs. 200-425 but by mistake he was fixed in the pay scale of RS. 425-700 which was the pay scale of a Laboratory Technician having qualification of B.Sc Honours, B.Sc. With three years experience and B.Sc. With one year experience. The said mistake continued and he was paid salary in the pay scale of Rs. 1350-2200 as per ROP 1977. However, vide order dated 29.11.1990 the petitioner no. 1 passed the order of putting the respondent in the pay scale of RS. 380-600 as per ROP rules 1975 and in the pay scale of RS. 1350-2200 as per ROP Rules 1987 and the recovery was also effected by the petitioners.
2.1 Being aggrieved and dissatisfied by the order passed by the petitioner no.1, the respondent preferred appeal before the petitioner no.2 being Appeal No. 1/91 and the same was dismissed vide order dated 11.10.1995. The respondent thereafter preferred appeal before the Gujarat Civil Service Tribunal Gandhinagar being Appeal No. 498/95 and the Tribunal vide order dated 15.01.2000-27.01.2000 allowed the said appeal by quashing and setting aside the orders passed by the petitioner and the appellate authority. The said order dated 15.01.2000-27.01.2000 passed by the Tribunal is under challenge in the present petition.
3. Mr. Shastri, learned advocate appearing for the petitioners submitted that the Tribunal has materially erred in allowing the appeal by considering the fact that the respondent has acquired further qualification of training during the service which entitles the respondent in the pay scale of Rs. 425-700 and RS. 1400-2600 without appreciating the fact that the prescribed training which is required in qualification prescribed for recruitment and not any other training.
4. Learned advocate appearing for the respondent has supported the order passed by the Tribunal and submitted that the same is just and proper and therefore does not call for any interference by this Court.
5. This Court has gone through the materials produced on record of the case, more particularly, the impugned order passed by the Tribunal. The Tribunal in paras 4 & 5 has observed as under:
“4. The department has argued that as the initial appointment was given on ad-hoc basis and finally it was regularized on 11-4-78. Thus the entitlement under R.O.P. Rules 1973 came into effect on that date when he was not possessing the requisite qualification. However, earlier confirmation made through Panchayat Service Selection Board in the pay scale of RS. 425-700 was not corrected and the same has been rectified later on while implementing the Fourth Pay Coimmission recommendations and the excess amount of Rs. 34,700/- whichhad been paid to him was recovered at the time of payment of the gratuity, in pursuant to the order of the Dist. Health Officer passed on 29-11-90. The order is ex-facie not sustainable as from the record it clearly transpires that while fixing the pay under R.O.P. Rules, 1975 his pay was already fixed under higher timescale of Rs. 425-700 and then on further revision in the scale of RS. 1400-2600 and was also paid till he retired. It is also clear from the application of the appellant, initially made on 3-1-78, against the refixation and cancellation of the earlier fixation that after joining service in 1971, he had undergone a departmental training on 7 counts. They are as under:-
(1) N.F.C.P. Unit Surat for Filaria Technician from Aprial to Dec. 71.
(2) Malaria Technician Trianinga at Godhra as per certificate dated 19-2-72.
(3) T.B. Training vide certificate dated 30-3-73 from R.B. Officer.
(4) Leprosy Training from Supriya Ansuya Leprosy Hospital, Vadodara vide certificate dated 13-12-75.
(5) Microscopic Training service as per the certificate issued by the Regional Director Health and Medical Services, Vadodara on 30- 6-89.
(6) S.T.D. Training and Demonstration Centre Safdarjang Hospital at New Delhi as per certificate.
(7) Certificate from Technical Education Dept.
Gujarat State, for Micro analysing work.
5. Under the situation the entire order gets vitiated on all counts like the appellant did nto possess the requisite qualification. In fact, he not only possessed the same but also he had acquired further qualifications through training during the service which have not been taken into account by the department before ordering the recovery of such a huge amount under the guise that at the time of initial entry to the department he was not qualified. It must be remembered that at the same time there were no separate timescales. The time-
scales were divided into two later on when the appellant had already qualified himself for the higher sub-timescale.”
6. Considering the aforesaid observations made by the Tribunal in the impugned order, this Court does not find any infirmity in the impugned order. There is no misrepresentation on the part of the respondent. The fixation of the respondent's pay at the fag end of his service is not proper. This court is in complete agreement with the reasonings adopted and findings arrived at by the Tribunal and therefore do not see any reason for causing interference.
7. In the premises aforesaid, petition deserves to be dismissed and is accordingly dismissed. Rule is discharged. The amount deposited by the petitioners pursuant to the interim order passed by this Court shall be refunded to the respondent along with interest accrued thereon. No costs.
(K.S. JHAVERI, J.) Divya//