2026:UHC:3202 SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS WPSS/1134 /2022 with WPSS/2299/2023 WPSS/2353/2023 WPSS/2229/2024 WPSS/815/2025 WPSS/1380/2025 WPSS/83/2026 WPSS/481/2026 Hon’ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J. Mr. M.C. Kandpal, Senior Advocate, assisted by Mr. Devesh Kandpal, Mr. Vinod Tiwari, Mr. Atul Tripathi, Mr. Vinay Bhushan Pathak and Mr. Devendra Singh Negi, Advocates for the petitioners. 2. Mr. Sushil Vashistha, Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand. 3. Since common questions of law and fact are involved in these petitions, therefore, they are being heard and decided together. However, for the sake of brevity and convenience, facts of WPSS No. 1134 of 2022 alone are being considered and discussed. 4. Petitioners were appointed as Staff Nurse and some of them were promoted as Senior Nursing Officer. They have challenged the separate orders passed by the competent authority, whereby their pay has been re-fixed and downgraded from Grade Pay of `13,860/- to `12,540/-. Petitioners have also challenged the orders passed by competent authority, which provide for recovery of excess amount paid to them, on account of wrong pay fixation. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioners submit that petitioners were rightly given Grade Pay of 2026:UHC:3202 `13,860/-, in terms of Government Order dated 10.05.2011, therefore their pay can neither be reduced nor the amount paid in terms of that Government Order, can be recovered from them. Learned counsel for petitioners submit that the authorities of Medical Department have wrongly relied upon Government Order dated 13.04.2012, which has no relevance for Staff Nurses and Senior Nursing Officers. 6. Learned counsel for the petitioners submit that the Government Order dated 13.04.2012 deals with employees with pay scale of `6,500- 10,500/-; while, petitioners as Staff Nurse/ Senior Nursing Officer were never given that pay scale. It is thus contended that pay of the petitioners was fixed at the correct level as per Government Policy, contained in Government Order dated 10.05.2011. Learned counsel for the petitioners further submit that the impugned orders, whereby pay scale of the petitioners has been reduced and excess amount allegedly paid was directed to be recovered, are passed without affording any opportunity of hearing to petitioners. Thus, it is submitted that the impugned orders, which have been passed in violation of principles of natural justice, cannot be sustained, as these orders entail civil consequences to the petitioners. 7. Learned State Counsel concedes that opportunity of hearing was not given to the petitioners. 8. Law is well settled that every order, which entails civil consequences to a person, can be passed only after affording opportunity of hearing to him. Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that principles of natural justice have to be read in every statutory provision, which is silent as regards hearing unless applicability of principles 2026:UHC:3202 of natural justice is ruled out by express words. 9. In the present case, not only the pay scale of the petitioners is substantially downgraded, but the amount, paid to them on the strength of pay fixation done earlier, has been sought to be recovered. This seriously prejudices their interest and can be treated as having civil consequences to them. 10. This Court finds substance in the submission made by learned counsel for the petitioners that by the impugned orders, petitioners were divested of their rights, which had been vested upon them, that too without hearing them. 11. For the aforesaid reasons, the writ petitions deserve to be allowed and are hereby allowed. The impugned orders, whereby the grade pay of petitioners was downgraded from `13,860/- to `12,540/- and the consequential order of recovery passed against them are set-aside; the order of re-fixation of pay of the petitioners, if passed, in terms of the impugned orders, during pendency of the writ petition, shall also stand quashed. The competent authority, however, shall be at liberty to pass fresh order of pay fixation in respect of the petitioners, but only after issuing show cause to them, within three months from the date of presentation of certified copy of this order, before him. Petitioners shall be entitled to refund of the amount, recovered from their salary/retiral dues, within six months, provided fresh order of pay fixation is not passed against them by the competent authority in terms of this order. (Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.) 28.04.2026 Navin NAVEEN CHANDRA Digitally signed by NAVEEN CHANDRA DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3be23325146e76a0642bdf4943fb9046f487df006da82a131bb4e4403d3c0a15, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=18167EEFB5CA8CFFD421A103819DA875643AF56D653D095C6ED9A86DAAB21CE5, cn=NAVEEN CHANDRA Date: 2026.04.30 11:03:24 +05'30'