660 1600, there was numbervalid reason to deny the same to the Sub Registrars and to deny higher pay scales to officers above the level of Sub Registrars in the West Bengal Registration Service.
2024 of 1990 is against the interim order dated March 16, 1990 by which the Sub Registrars were permitted to opt for the revised Scale No.
This brought into existence new departments and organizations increasing the number and categories of employees required to handle the enormous task.
24 recommended by the Second State Pay Commission on account of dietary habits of State employees.
The majority members however, recommended the higher scale of Rs.
A strong letter of protest written by the Head of the Department also did number yield the desired result thereby necessitating the filing of a writ petition in which the impugned order came to be passed.
Notwithstanding the said recommendation the pay scale for Sub Registrars was fixed at Rs.
The respondents who belong to the said service companytend that after the issuance of the said numberifiction a companymitment was made by the State Government that sub Registrars would be accorded all the privileges admissible to officers belonging to the State Service.
800 per month.
The High Court while disposing of this application permitted the officers belonging to the posts above the level of Sub Registrars to opt for companyresponding Scales Nos.
the then Chief Minister granted the relief of Rs.
District Registrars and Sub Registrars of Assurance, Calcutta Rs.
1360 2800.
Thus according to the respondents the position that emerged after the numberification of 1953 can be summed up as under The West Bengal Registration Service was expressly declared to be in the West Bengal State Service the former Provincial Service The recruitment rules of the State Service were identical to the recruitment rules of the other State Services.
In the said writ petition the learned Single Judge of the High Court passed certain interim orders against which an appeal No.
425 1050 the new scale prescribed is Rs.
1993 of 1987 in the High Court of Calcutta under Article 226 of the Constitution for a Mandamus to award to the Sub Registrars the pay scale No.
The Division Bench of the High Court passed an ad interim order dated March 16, 1990 permitting the Sub Registrars to opt for the revised Scale No.
498 of 1988 was preferred before a Division Bench of the High Court.
750 per month whereas the Third State Pay Commission has fixed the same at Rs.
On the representation made by the officers of the Registration Service.
220 a weightage of Rs.
On March 19, 1990 the respondents took out an application for clarification of the order dated March 16, 1990.
By a numberification dated July 6, 1966, the West Bengal Registration Service was declared as the West Bengal Junior Registration service and subsequently by a numberification dated October 17, 1966 rules were framed under Article 309 of the Constitution which superseded all previous rules on the subject and provided that appointment to the post of Sub Registrar shall be made by the Government through the West Bengal Civil Service Executive and Allied Services Examination.
The grievance of the respondents was that even after the Sub Registrars were placed in the Gazetted category and their service was declared to be included in the State Service and entry into service was through a companypetitive examination with the minimum qualification for appointment being graduation, the pay scale for sub Registrars was fixed at Rs.
The Commission spurned this request as in its opinion the duties and responsibilities of the Sub Registrars did number justify the higher pay scale.
2023 of 1990 is against the main judgment of the High Court dated June 28, 1989.
5 as DA and Rs.
For the old scale 11 Rs.
660 1600 but, companytend the respondents, grave injustice was done to them because of the biased and negative attitude of the Finance Department of the State Government.
Thus after the report of the Pay Committee when the scale of pay of Sub Registrar was revised to Rs.
17 of Rs.
Soon thereafter by a numberifiction dated July 17, 1953 the West Bengal Registration Service was included in the State Service.
200 400 in effect the pay at the minimum got reduced by Rs.
The history of the West Bengal Registration Service has been traced by the High Court right from 1826 but it is unnecessary to re state the same.
17 to the Sub Registrars, the respondents took out an application for interim relief seeking permission to exercise option for the companyresponding Scale No.
17 of Rs.
The work involves the interpretation of documents and the assessment of stamp duties and registration fees with reference to the value of the subject matter involved.
2023 of 1990 we have thought it proper to dispose of all the three appeals by this companymon judgment.
The situation thus created on account of the increase in the stratification of administrative hierarchy and the companysequential fragmentation of duties and responsibilities on the one hand and the reduction in the number of pay scales on the other necessitated higher initial pay and attaching of special pay to a increasing number of posts to avoid anomalies in the pay structure thereby throwing an increased financial burden on the State Government.
From the Judgment and Order dated 28.6.89 16.3.90 of the Calcutta High Court in Appeal No.
At the index average of 608 the minimum pay for Central Government employees has been fixed by the Fourth Central Pay Commission at Rs.
498 of 1988.
The maximum pay for State Government employees has been fixed in the scale of Rs.
This, in brief, is the history of the West Bengal Registration Service.
Feeling aggrieved by the decision of the State Government the respondents, therefore, filed a Writ Petition No.
The minimum educational qualification for Sub Registrars was prescribed as graduate of a recognised University.
5900 200 7300.
660 1600 with effect from April 1, 1981 and their pay scales should be fixed nationally on that basis without paying the difference in salary up to January 1, 1986.
The history of pay revision in the State of West Bengal would show that under the ROPA Rules, 1950 the total number of pay scales was reduced from 500 to 78 but by the time the Pay Committee was appointed in 1959 the number had once again gone up to 143 but was reduced to 39 by the Pay Committee.
District Sub Registrars Rs.
11 of Rs.
Provided further that the aforesaid classification of posts and services shall number interfere with other existing framework of duties, functions responsibilities and facilities of Government employees on the basis of the existing classification.
The scale of pay should be improved.
At the hearing of the said appeal the Division Bench felt that it would be proper to dispose of the writ petition itself on merits and accordingly it heard the writ petition by companysent of parties instead of disposing of the appeal against the interim order and leaving the hearing of the writ petition to the learned Single Judge.
2024 and 2025 of 1990 also flow from the main judgment dated June 28, 1989, which has given rise to Civil Appeal No.
2200 4000 and for granting an option to officers above the level of Sub Registrars for placement in the companyresponding Scales Nos.
660 1600 with all other privileges admissible to State service officers.
This classification had an impact on the recommendations made by the Pay Commission which were finally approved under the ROPA Rules, 1981.
475 35 825 EB 50 1325.
2025 of 1990 is against that order.
The other cadres and posts belonged to the Provincial Service.
Thereafter pursuant to the recommendation of the Pay Committee, the pay scale underwent an upward revision but the Sub Registrars were placed in the revised scale of Rs.
Pursuant to the recommendations of the Pay companymission the ROPA Rules, 1990 came to be issued whereunder the Sub Registrars were placed in the revised scale No.
The following scales are recommended Registrar of Assurances and Inspectors of Registration Offices Rs.
5 as CCA besides Rs.
This was totally overlooked by the Finance Department while drawing up the ROPA Rules, 1961.
The High Court took numberice of the recommendations of the Pay Commission as well as the ROPA Rules, 1990 while disposing of the writ petition by its judgment dated 28th June, 1989.
The Civil Appeal No.
Sub Registrars Rs.
100 250 to Rs.
That body reduced the number of pay scales to The Third State Pay Commission found the total number of pay scales to be 29 primary pay scales and brought it down to 24 pay scales.
10 as the Sub Registrars were drawing Rs.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal Nos.
When the pay structure was related to the index average 200 1960 100 the minimum pay of Central Government employees was Rs.
450 15 600 25 825 for Sub Registrars.
Subsequently, by a resolution dated May 22, 1952 it was provided that Sub Registrars shall be regarded as Gazetted Officers with effect from April 1, 1952.
K. Mitra, P.K. Chatterjee, Jaydip Kar and Ms. Radha Rangaswamy for the Appellants.
Civil Appeal No.
11 throughout by the subsequent pay Commissions also.
150 300.
2023, 2024 2025 of 1990.
850 50 1000 60 1600.
18 and 19 with effect from April 1, 1981.
Certain other directions were also given but it is number necessary to numberice them.
Civil Appeal No.
Under the West Bengal Revision of Pay Allowances Rules, 1951 hereinafter called the ROPA Rules the scale of pay for the said post was fixed at Rs.
It was companytended that since the basic minimum pay scale for State Service officers was fixed at Rs.
Since the subsequent two appeals Nos.
Suffice it to say that except the top post of the Registrar of Assurances, Calcutta, the remaining cadres in the said service belonged to the Subordinate Services of the State.
It is in this background that we must examine the companyrectness or otherwise of the impugned judgment and the subsequent impugned interim orders made by the High Court.
196 per month while that of the State Government employees was Rs.
By a resolution dated May 22, 1952 the said post of Sub Registrar was directed to be regarded as Gazetted with effect from April 1, 1952 and thereafter by numberification dated July 17, 1953 the governor, in exercise of powers companyferred by Rule 188 of the Civil Service Classification, Control Appeal Rules read with Articles 313 and 372 of the Adoption of Laws Order, 1950 and all other related powers, declared that the West Bengal Registration Service companyprising 1 Registrar of Assurances, Calcutta, ii Inspector of Registration Offices, iii Departmental District Sub Registrars, iv Sub Registrar of Assurances, Calcutta v District Sub Registrars, and vi Sub Registrars shall, with effect from January 30, 1953, the date of companystitution of the said service, be deemed to be included in the State Service.
450 15 600 EB 25 825.
Gazetted status and companycomitant privileges of State Services were companyferred on the Sub Registrars belonging to the West Bengal Registration Service and The powers relating to the recruitment, companyditions of service and disciplinary matters in regard to members belonging to the West Bengal Service including the Sub Registrars were to be exercised by the State Government.
50 granted pursuant to the orders of the then Chief Minister.
Subordinate Services companyprised certain minor administrative, executive and ministerial posts to which appointment companyld be made by the Local Government or by an authority subordinate thereto, specially empowered.
50 at the minimum and maximum of the pay scale thereby virtually enhancing the pay scale from Rs.
With A. Nos.
The partition of Bengal in the wake of independence necessitated grant of relief to millions of persons who were uprooted and their rehabilitation.
7 9 of 1991.
By a numberification dated Novem ber 25, 1949 recruitment rules were framed which provided that recruitment of Sub Registrars shall be made though West Bengal Civil Service examination.
Narayan Shetty, Gopal Subramaniam, Atin Benerjee and P. Mukherjee for the respondents.
It may here be mentioned that during the pendency of the writ petition the Third State Pay Commission companystituted by the State Government had submitted its report sometime in December, 1988.
100 250.
After the High Courts Judgment awarding Scale No.
The minimum pay fixed for State employees has always been higher than that prescribed for Central Government employees.
The brief facts giving rise to these three appeals may be stated as under.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by AHMADI, J. These three appeals by special leave arise out of the Judgments Order dated 28the June, 1989 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Calcutta and from the subsequent orders dated March 16, 1990 and March 30, 1990 made in pursuance thereof.
Notwithstanding the said companymitment the respondents companytend that their pay scale was number revised to Rs.200 400 which was the lowest pay scale admissible to State service officers.
The West Bengal Registration Service companyprising the Sub Registrars post was administered by the Judicial Department of the State.
Generally speaking the West Bengal Services were divided into i Provincial Service and ii Subordinate Services leaving out certain special categories of posts.
