HC orders pay parity for senior employee, upholds ‘catch-up rule’

Nearly 13 years after an employee retired upon attaining the age of superannuation, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed Haryana to step up his pay and grant other benefits after ruling that seniors cannot be denied their rightful pay, position, or recognition simply because a junior colleague was promoted earlier under the reservation policy. Justice Sandeep Moudgil asserted rightful claims must not be “buried under bureaucratic delay or administrative omission”.

“The petitioner’s grievance is not merely about monetary parity, it is, in essence, a plea for recognition, for dignity, for fairness in the twilight of a long and honourable career in public service,” Justice Moudgil observed.

The Bench added that the petitioner was seeking to restore “balance to a life spent in silent contribution to the functioning of the State and to deny him this parity, when the law is so clearly in his favour, would be to allow technicalities to overshadow justice”. The court asserted the Constitution did not permit indifference, as equality under Article 14, and fairness in service under Article 16, demanded more than token acknowledgment.

The assertions came on a petition filed by Kailash Chander, who held the post of zilledar from 2010 till his retirement in 2012. “At this stage in life, when the petitioner seeks not future promotion but retrospective affirmation, this Court cannot look away since justice must not only be done, it must reach the doorstep of the petitioner with the quiet assurance that the law has not forgotten him,” the court said.

The Bench observed “in cases where a general category employee attains the same post as his junior who had earlier been promoted under the reservation policy, the 'catch-up rule' must be applied. This restores the senior’s rightful position and protects against what may otherwise constitute reverse discrimination”. The “catch-up rule” principle automatically applied once a senior reached parity with the junior, irrespective of formal seniority lists.

Elaborating, the Bench asserted the principle of equality demanded that “once parity in position is achieved, the originally senior general category employee should not be prejudiced in matters of pay, status, or further advancement. Any deviation would erode the constitutional commitment to fairness, and compromise the larger objective of balanced and inclusive governance”.

The Bench added the system – while promoting inclusion – must not become a source of alienation for those who, despite sustained performance and seniority, found themselves displaced by virtue of reservation-based acceleration alone.