Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
GABRIEL SAVER FERNANDES
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
STATE OF KARNATAKA
DATE OF JUDGMENT05/09/1993
BENCH:
(K. RAMASWAMY AND N. VENKATACHALA, JJ.)
ACT:
HEADNOTE:
JUDGMENT:
ORDER
1. Leave granted.
2. It is contended for the appellants that as per the
directions, issued by the High Court in Writ Petition No.
1173 of 1962, dated 4-3-1965, the High Court had struck down
the rules holding that there cannot be any distinction
between the Talatis and Village Accountants. They cannot be
clubbed together and they constitute different categories
and that, therefore, they are entitled to separate scales of
pay. When they claimed the scale of pay on the basis of
revised pay scales at Rs 90-200 instead of Rs 80-145, the
Tribunal has committed illegality in not considering the
distinction and that therefore, the appellants are not
entitled to the benefit of the payment of scale of pay of Rs
90-200 as per 1970 Rules w.e.f. 1-1-1970.
3. It would appear that the Government made a distinction
between Talatis and Village Accountants who possessed SSLC
qualification and those who are non-SSLC candidates. For
the candidates who are having SSLC qualification, pay scale
of Rs 90-200 has been provided for. Admittedly, the
appellants are not in that category as they are non-SSLC
candidates. The Government, therefore, thought it expedient
to make a distinction between qualified and unqualified
persons and prescribed different scales of pay. Hence, we
do not find any invidious discrimination made between the
two categories to club together and grant them same scale of
pay of Rs 90-200. However, since the appellants have
already been paid the scale of pay of Rs 90-200 while they
were in service and are retired now, it would be appropriate
that the Government may not recover from them the salary
which they had already received though they are not eligible
to the scale of pay of Rs 90-200.
4. The appeals are accordingly dismissed. No costs.