HC upholds doctors’ rightful pay, raps state for arbitrary action
The Punjab and Haryana High Court reaffirmed the entitlement of assistant professors in the state’s medical education service to their rightful pay scales, as per the Punjab Medical Education (Group-A) Service Rules of 2016. The Division Bench, comprising Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Lapita Banerji, dismissed the State of Punjab’s appeal, which had challenged a Single Bench ruling directing compliance with the prescribed pay scales.
In its judgment, the Bench criticised the state’s “capricious and irrational” actions, noting that the arbitrary handling of the matter had forced the doctors to seek judicial intervention. “Doctors ought to be treated with respect and dignity and given their lawful dues under the rules,” the court stated.
The case stemmed from the denial of the statutory pay scales to doctors appointed as assistant professors under the 2016 rules. Instead, the state had applied lower central pay scales, an action the doctors successfully contested in the Single Bench. The court emphasised that the executive instructions issued by the state could not override statutory provisions, and that any deviation from the established pay scales would require an amendment to the rules, a process the state had not undertaken.
The Division Bench further clarified that the pay scales outlined in the 2016 Rules were binding, and the state’s advertisement and appointment letters, which specified a lower pay scale, could not alter this entitlement. “Executive instructions cannot override statutory rules,” the court affirmed.
The ruling is significant as it reinforces that statutory provisions must prevail over conflicting executive orders and highlights the need for the state to amend the rules if it intends to introduce alternative pay scales. The State’s appeal, which was delayed by 40 days, was ultimately dismissed for lacking merit, with the court upholding the Single Bench’s order that mandated compliance with the statutory pay scales.
