2025:UHC:4103-DB HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL HON’BLE JUSTICE SRI MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI AND HON’BLE JUSTICE SRI ASHISH NAITHANI Writ Petition (S/B) No. 190 of 2019 Hem Chandra Joshi and Others -Petitioners Versus State of Uttarakhand and Others --Respondents -------------------------------------------------------------------- Presence:- Mr. Chetan Joshi, Advocate for the petitioners. Mr. Sushil Vashistha, Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The Court made the following: JUDGMENT: (per Hon’ble Justice Sri Manoj Kumar Tiwari) This Writ Petition was filed by retired Assistant/Executive Engineers from the Irrigation Department, seeking the following reliefs:- “i. a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing the G.O. dated 02.05.2018 issued by the respondent no. 1 to the extent that the cut off date for extending the benefit of upgradation of pay scle and Grade Pay has been ascertained to be 31.10.2017. ii. a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondents to extend the benefit of the upgradation of Grade Pay from Rs. 7600/- to Rs. 8700/- as has been revised for the post of Superintending Engineer, to the petitioners also and grant them the upgraded grade pay of 8700 of Superintending Engineer. iii. a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondents to grant all the consequential benefits with retrospective effect to the petitioners after upgrading and sanctioning their 3rd ACP on the upgraded payscale and grade pay of Superintending Engineer, i.e. 37400-67000 Grade Pay 8700 and revise their pension accordingly. ” 2. Petitioners were aggrieved by the cut-off date mentioned in the Government Order dated 02.05.2018, contained as Annexure No. 1 to the Writ Petition. In paragraph no. 3 of the said Government Order, it is mentioned that the benefit of up-gradation of pay of Superintending Engineer, to bring it at par with Superintending Engineers serving in the Central Engineering Services, would be available from 31.10.2017. 3. Petitioners contend that, since the Central Government have upgraded the pay scale of 1 2025:UHC:4103-DB Superintending Engineers, serving in Central Engineering Services with effect from 17.10.2012, therefore, Superintending Engineers serving under Uttarakhand Government are also entitled for pay up-gradation from the same date, and cut-off date indicated in the Government Order dated 02.05.2018, is arbitrary. 4. We are not impressed by the said contention. Central Government is a different organization, and merely because the State Government has decided to give the same pay scale to its employees, as are payable to Members of Central Engineering Services, does not entitle the State Government employees to claim the benefit of pay up-gradation from the date it was given to the Central Government employees. The State Government is free to take an independent decision, whether, or not to grant pay parity, and if it decides to give pay parity, the effective date of such pay parity can also be decided by the State Government. Therefore, merely because the petitioners were not given benefit of decision taken by the State Government on account of their superannuation, will not entitle them to challenge the cut-off date, indicated in paragraph no. 3 of the Government Order dated 02.05.2018. 5. In the absence of any valid ground for challenging the cut-off date fixed by the State Government, we are not inclined to interfere in the matter. Accordingly, the Writ Petition fails, and is, hereby, dismissed. _______________________________ MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI, J. __________________________ ASHISH NAITHANI, J. Dt: 19th May, 2025 Shiksha 2 SHIKSHA BINJOLA Digitally signed by SHIKSHA BINJOLA DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3410ef86ae41ec9fbabcd5dba6b3a2c24b5aa08b09c12f21 822fbd40bf639b1c, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=FD80A2D028949381C52796A542D7FF0A9BED00E6 7B5283D205F18FE29BDF5DD9, cn=SHIKSHA BINJOLA Date: 2025.05.20 17:29:27 +05'30'