Entitlement to minimum pay scale benefits attained through finality of judgment cannot be prospectively curtailed or nullified.

The appellant, an employee since 1982, sought regularization of his service via Special Civil Application No. 6769 of 2020. The High Court, in 2020, held he was entitled not to regularization but to the "minimum pay scale" upon completion of 10 years of service.

This was affirmed in LPA No. 1095 of 2022. However, the Nagar Palika (Respondent No. 2) mistakenly granted him "regular pay scales" in 2022 and subsequently issued an order on 30.10.2025 to recover Rs. 1,48,000/- in excess payments and restrict future payments to the minimum scale.

The appellant challenged this in SCA No. 17549 of 2025. The learned Single Judge’s order in that matter debarred the appellant from seeking arrears for the period following the completion of 10 years of service, leading to the present appeal.

1. Whether the learned Single Judge erred in debarring the entitlement of the appellant to arrears, thereby nullifying the earlier judicial finality regarding the grant of minimum pay scales.

2. From which date the appellant is entitled to receive the actual financial benefits of the minimum pay scale.

The court applied the principle of Res Judicata and finality of judicial orders, noting that the entitlement to a minimum pay scale had attained finality through previous litigation (SCA No. 6769/2020 and LPA No. 1095/2022).

The court applied the principle of parity in service law, referencing a Coordinate Bench decision in Special Civil Application No. 19191 of 2019, which determined that the financial benefit of the minimum pay scale should be granted from the date of filing of the petition to maintain uniformity among similarly situated employees of the same Municipality.

The court found that the Single Judge’s order "fundamentally altered" and "nullified" the rights previously concluded in favor of the appellant regarding his entitlement to minimum pay scales.

To resolve the dispute, the court balanced the appellant's long-delayed claim with the need for parity. It determined that while the benefit should be calculated notionally from 1992, the actual arrears should align with the date of filing of similar petitions (2019) to ensure consistency within the same Municipality.

The court also took into account a mutual settlement between the parties regarding the recovery of excess payments.

The Court recorded that the Nagar Palika would not press for the recovery of Rs. 1,48,000/- and the appellant would forego arrears equivalent to four months' salary. The appeal was technically dismissed as the matter was resolved by these directions, with payment ordered to be made within 12 weeks.