Salary and increment grievances fall within Bihar’s Government Servant Grievance Redressal Rules, 2019.

The petitioner sought unpaid salary for specified periods, arrears after increments from March 2001 to January 2017, and consequential benefits

The State objected that the grievance fell within the Bihar Government Servant Grievance Redressal Rules, 2019 (“Rules of 2019”)

The Court considered the Rules’ definition of a service-related complaint and the prescribed complaint-filing procedure

1. Whether the petitioner’s claims for salary and increment arrears fall within the complaints covered by the Rules of 2019.

2. Whether the petitioner should first pursue the complaint procedure prescribed by the Rules of 2019.

Rule 2(c) of the Rules of 2019 defines a “complaint” to include service matters relating to salary payment and increments, among other specified service benefits; matters already under consideration by a court are excluded.

Rule 3 provides that serving or retired State Government employees may lodge complaints online, generally filing a separate application for each subject.

The petitioner’s claims concerned unpaid salary and arrears following increments, matters expressly included within “complaint” under Rule 2(c).

The Court therefore accepted that the grievance was covered by the Rules of 2019 and directed the petitioner to use the complaint procedure, rather than determining the monetary claims on their merits.

It directed the competent authority to pass orders within the time prescribed by those Rules and disposed of the writ petition accordingly.