KRISHNA KANT TIWARIversusKENDRIYA VIDYALAYA SANGATHAN & ANR.

                    [2013] 12 S.C.R. 361


                   KRISHNA KANT TIWARI                               A
                               v.
       KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA SANGATHAN & ANR.
           (Civil Appeal No. 10239 of 2013)

                    NOVEMBER 12, 2013
                                                                     B
      [H.L. GOKHALE AND KURIAN JOSEPH, JJ.]

    SERVICE LAW:

      Pay protection - Cut off date - Teacher in State               c
Government - Joining as primary teacher in Kendriya
Vidyalaya Sangathan on 23. 7. 1987 and confirmed on
23.9.1989 -- Claim for protection of pay as per O.M. dated
7. 8. 1989 which was given effect from 1. 8. 1989 - Held: It is
permissible for the Government to lay down the cut off date          0
from which the benefit would be available to the employees -
- Once it is stated that the order takes effect from 1. 8. 1989,
the clause will have to be given its plain meaning as it is
drafted -- Therefore, the employees like the appellant who was
in the State Government service earlier, will be entitled to pay     E
protection from that date i.e. 1. 8. 1989 -- He will, however, not
get the pay protection prior to that date -- Interpreted this way,
it will not amount to giving any retrospective effect to the
 Memorandum -- The last pay drawn by the claimant in State
service as on 1. 8. 1989, directed to be protected with
consequential service benefits - Government of India,                F
Department of Personnel and Training O.M. dated 7.8.1989.

    The appellant after rendering 12 years service as a
teacher in the M.P. State Service, joined the Kendriya
Vidyalaya Sangathan as a primary teacher on 23.9.1987.               G
He was confirmed on the said post on 23.9.1989.
Meanwhile, the Order/Memorandum dated 7.8.1989
granting pay protection was issued by the Central

                               361                                   H
    362      SUPREME COURT REPORTS            [2013] 12 S.C.R.


A Government, Department of Personnel & Training, which
  was to take effect from 1.8.1989.

       The claim of the appellant for his pay protection was
  declined by the respondents on the ground that he joined
  the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan on 23.9.1987 and
8
  since the cut off date was 1.8.1989, the appellant was not
  entitled to the benefit. The Central Administrative Tribunal
  as also the High Court declined to interfere.

          Allowing the appeal in part, the Court
c
       HELD: 1.1 It is permissible for the Government to lay
  down the cut off date from which the benefit would be
  available to the employees. However, in the instant case,
  the information received by the appellant under the Right
0 to Information Act, 2005 placed before this Court indicates
  that three teachers were given the benefit of pay fixation
  in spite of the fact that they had also joined before
  1.8.1989. It is also relevant to note that the cases of
  persons who were in service in Central/State1
E Autonomous/PSUs during the period from 01101111i; !" 01/
  01/96, and were selected in KVS and applied for pay
  protection, were considered and their pay was protected.
  [para 6-7] [365-F-H; 366-A, D]

      1.2 The Circular/Memorandum dated 7.8.1989 states
F that the issue of pay protection of t'he candidates
  recruited through Public Sector Undertekings, etc. has
  been engaging the attention of the Government for quite
  some time. It further states that these orders take effect
  from the 1st day of the month in which the Office
G Memorandum is issued i.e. 1.8.1989. Once it is stated that
  the order takes effect from 1.8.1989, the clause will have
  to be given its plain meaning as it is drafted. Therefore,
  the employees who were drawn from Public Sector
  Undertakings, like the appellant who was in the State
H Government service earlier, will be entitled to pay
 KRISHNA KANT TIWARI v. KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA                   363
                SANGATHAN
protection frolll that date i.e. 1.8.1989. He will, however,          A
not get the pay protection prior to that date. Interpreted
this way, it will not amount to giving any retrospective
effect to the Memorandum. [para 9] [366-H; 367-A-C]

    1.3 The respondents are directed to correct the
                                                                      8
service record of the appellant protecting his last drawn
pay in the Madhya Pradesh service as on 1.8.1989 and
give him the consequential service benefits also on that
basis. [para 1O] [367-D-E]

    CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No.                   C
10239 of 2013.

     From the Judgment and Order dated 26.02.2007 of the
High Court of Judicature at Bilaspur, Chattisgarh in Writ
Petition No. 5343 of 1999.                                            D
    Sanjiv Jha, Braj Kishore Mishra, Aparna Jha, Abhishek
Yadav for the Appellant.

     Yogmaya Agnihotri, Dharmendra Kumar Sinha for the
 Respondents.                                                         E

     The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

     H.L. GOKHALE, J. 1. Leave granted.

        2. Heard Mr. Sanjiv Jha, learned counsel in support of this   F
 appeal and Ms. Yogmaya Agnihotri, learned counsel appearing
 for the respondents. This appeal raises a short question as to
 whether the appellant was entitled to pay protection on the
 basis of his earlier service as a Teacher in the State of Madhya
 Pradesh after joining the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. The          G
 appellant's case is that under the concerned Government
  Memorandum dated 7th August, 1989, he is entitled to the pay
  fixation on the basis of the last pay drawn by him in the earlier
  service.
                                                                          H
    364     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                (2013] 12 S.C.R.


A      3. The facts leading to this appeal are this wise. The
  appellant was working as a Teacher in the M.P. State Service
  and he had put in a service of about 12 years whereafter he
  joined as a Primary Teacher in the Kendriya Vidyalaya
  Sangathan on 23.9.1987. He was confirmed on the post of
B Primary Teacher on 23.9.1989. In the meanwhile, the Order/
  Memorandum dated 7th August, 1989 granting pay protection
  was issued by the Central Government, Department of
  Personnel & Training. Paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Order/
  Memorandum read as follows:
c       "2. The question as to how pay protection can be given in
        the case of candidates recruited from Public Sector
        Undertakings, etc. has been engaging the attention of the
        Government fro sometime. The matter has been carefully
        considered and it has been decided that in respect of
D       candidates working in Public Sector or Autonomous
        bodies, who are appointed as direct recruits on selection
        through a property constituted agency including
        department authorities making recruitment directly, their
        initial pay may be fixed at a stage in the scale of pay
E       attached post so that the pay and DA as admissible in the
        Govt. will protect the pay plus DA, already being drawn by
       them in their parent organization. In the event of such a
       stage not being available in the post which they have been
       recruited, they pay may be fixed at stage just below in the
F      scale of the post to which they have been recruited so as
       to ensure a minimum loss to the candidates. The pay fixed
       under this formulation will not exceed the maximum of the
       scale of the post to which they have been recruited. The
       pay fixation is to be made by the employing Ministries/
       Departments after verification of all the relevant documents
G
       to be produced by the candidates who employed in such
       organizations.
       3. These orders take effect from the first day of month in
       which the office memorandum is issued i.e. 1st August,
H      1989."
  KRISHNA KANT TIWARI v. KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA                   365
        SANGATHAN [H.L. GOKHALE, J.]
     4. The appellant continued in the service of the Kendriya         A
Vidyalaya Sangathan until he retired some time in January,
2012. He made a representation on 17.12.1998 that by virtue
of the aforesaid Government Order/Memorandum his last pay
drawn ought to have been protected when he joined the
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. That representation was                  B
rejected by the respondents on 25.1.1999. The respondents
took the stand that paragraph 2 of the aforesaid Memorandum
dated 7th August, 1989 clearly lays down the cut off date as
1st August, 1989 from which it becomes applicable and the
appellant had joined the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan before           c
that date i.e. on 23.9.1987. Therefore, he was not entitled to
the benefit as per the said Memorandum/Circular.

      5. The appellant moved the Central Administrative Tribunal
by filing an O.A. bearing No.341/1999 and the same having
been rejected, he moved the High Court of Chhattisgarh at              D
Bilaspur by filing a writ petition. The Division Bench of the High
Court rejected Writ Petition No.5343 of 1999 by the impugned
order dated 26th February, 2007. The Division Bench took the
view that the protection was available to the employees who
joined on or before 1.8.1989. Since the appellant had joined           E
the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan prior to that date, he was
not entitled to that benefit. Hence, this appeal.

       6. If the facts were to remain as this, there was no reason
  for this Court to interfere. This is because now it is accepted      F
 that it is permissible for the Government to lay down the cut off
  date from which the benefit would be available to the
  employees. The appellant is, however, making out a case of
  discrimination by pointing out that in the case of three teachers,
  namely, that of one V.P. Sharma, P.S. Shukla and P.                  G
  Padmananabhan, they were given the benefit of pay fixation in
  spite of the fact that they had also joined prior to the aforesaid
· date i.e. before 1st August, 1989. This information was
  obtained by the appellant by making an application under the
   Right to Information Act, 2005 and the information is placed        H
    366      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2013] 12 S.C.R.

A before this Court in this appeal. The respondents were given
  an opportunity to file their counter affidavit but they have not.
  Ms. Yogmaya Agnihotri, learned counsel appearing for the
  respondents states that the old record was not available on the
  basis of which a response could be filed. She has, however,
B defended the decision of the respondents contending that as
  per the Memorandum, the benefit of pay protection could not
  be given to those who were appointed prior to 1st August,
  1989.

C         7. It is also relevant to note that a specific query was raised
    by the appellant as to whether any such persons have been
    given the benefit of pay protection during the period from 1st
    January, 1986 to 1st January, 1996 and to that question the
    following reply has been given:

D             "The cases of protection of pay who were in service
        in Central/State/Autonomous/PSUs State Govt. during the
        4th Pay Commission covering the period from 01/01/86
        to 01/01/96, who applied through proper channel and
        selected in KVS and applied for protection of pay have
E       been considered and their pay has been protected. Cases
        where there was some confusion, clarification has been
        given to all the ACs and instructions have been issued to
        consider all such left out cases."

        8. It is further submitted on behalf of the appellant that
F maybe the appellant may not get any benefit prior to 1st August,
  1989, but as on that date his pay will have to be corrected and
  will have to be brought at par at least with the last pay drawn
  by him when he was in the Madhya Pradesh service. A further
  submission was that if that is not done, t~1e effect will be that
G his juniors would be drawing salary higher than what he is
  drawing at present.

       9. We have considered the rival subm1S'SiQns The Circ;ular/
  Memorandum which is .r13lied upon, states 1n paragraph 2 that
H the issue of pay protection of the candidates recruited through
 KRISHNA KANT TIWARI v. KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA                 367
       SANGATHAN [H.L. GOKHALE, J.]
Public Sector Undertakings, etc. has been engaging the A
attention of the Government for quite some time. Paragraph 3
thereafter states that these orders take effect from the 1st day
of the month in which the Office Memorandum is issued i.e. 1st
August, 1989. Once it is stated that the order takes effect from
 1st August, 1989, the clause will have to be given its plain B
 meaning as it is drafted. Therefore, the employees who were
drawn from Public Sector Undertakings, like the appellant who
was in the Madhya Pradesh Government service earlier, will be
 entitled to pay protection from that date i.e. 1.8.1989. He will,
                                                                  c
 however, not get the pay protection prior to that date. Interpreted
 this way, it will not amount to giving any retrospective effect to
 the Memorandum.

     10. In the circumstances, we allow this appeal in part. The
O.A. No.341 of 1991 filed by the appellant will consequently
stand partly allowed. The order passed by the High Court will D
stand interfered to that extent. The respondents are directed
to correct the service record of the appellant protecting his last
drawn pay in the Madhya Pradesh service as on 1.8.1989 and
thereafter they will give him the conseq1.1ential service benefits
also on that· basis. 'The needful shall be done in three months. E
In the facts of this case, we pass no order as to costs.

 R.P.                                   Appeal partly allowed.