Himachal High Court quashes govt decision to deny pay scale benefits to vets

Legal Correspondent

Shimla, March 3

The HP High Court has quashed the decision of the state government to deny the benefits of the four-tier pay scale to veterinary doctors from the initial date of appointment on a par with medical officers.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Virender Singh yesterday directed the state to count service rendered by the petitioners on a contract basis before regularisation of their jobs for the purpose of benefits under the four-tier pay scale on the same pattern as had been extended to medical officers (Generalist and Dental) and veterinary officers (Regular).

Besides, the court directed the government to pay monetary benefits to the petitioners within 90 days from the date of the judgment, failing which it would be liable to pay interest @ 7.5 per cent thereon till its realisation.

The court passed the order on a batch of petitions filed by veterinary doctors, seeking the quashing of the government decision denying them the benefits of the four-tier pay scale from the initial date of appointment on a par with medical officers.

The court observed, “We have no hesitation in concluding that the state, while denying the benefits of the four-tier pay scale to the petitioners from the initial date of appointment on a par with medical officers, has indulged in hostile discrimination and thereby violated Article 14 of the Constitution of India.”

It stated, “There are other reasons to hold the action of the state to be discriminatory. Firstly, the state itself had extended the benefits of the four-tier pay scale to medical officers serving under the HP Health Services Class-I (Generalist) from the initial date of appointment. However, similar benefits were not extended to medical officers serving under the HP Health Services Class-1 (Dental).”

It is worthwhile to mention here that according to the length of service, the placement of each officer was to be determined on the basis of the completion of four, nine and 14 years (four-tier pay scale) of service counted from the initial date of regularisation of services.

However, the state while counting such service ignored the service rendered by the petitioners serving on a contract basis prior to the regularisation of their jobs unlike their counterparts, who fall in the categories of the HP Health Services Class-I (General List) and the HP Health Services Class-I (Dental), constraining the petitioners to file these writ petitions before the court.

Directs to pay benefits within 90 days

The court has directed the government to pay monetary benefits to petitioners within 90 days from the date of the judgment, failing which it would be liable to pay interest @ 7.5% thereon till its realisation.