Dr. Sosamma Cherian v. Kerala Agricultural University and Deputy Comptroller, Internal Audit Circle

Case Details & Bench

Court: High Court of Kerala
Hon'ble Judges: A.V. Ramakrishna Pillai
Judgment Date: 2015-05-26
Court Decision / Holding: Writ petition allowed. 2nd respondent directed to enhance petitioner’s pay to the scale of Dr. K.G. Padmakumar and to issue revised pay slips as per Ext. P4, disbursing the corresponding arrears forthwith. Formal orders to be issued within one month of receipt of a copy of the judgment.
Final Disposition: Writ petition allowed; pay enhancement to match junior; revised pay slips and arrears to be issued within one month.

Parties to the Case

Appellants / Petitioners

Dr. Sosamma Cherian

Respondents

Kerala Agricultural University
Deputy Comptroller, Internal Audit Circle, College of Agriculture, Vellayani

Legal Representation & Advocates

Counsels for Petitioners

• Sri. P.V. Jayachandran

Counsels for Respondents

• Sri. Babu Joseph Kuruvathazha, SC

Case Synopsis & Summary

Dr. Sosamma Cherian, a professor at the Kerala Agricultural University, filed WP(C) No. 16252 of 2012 (F) seeking pay parity with her junior, Dr. K.G. Padmakumar, under the 1996 and 2006 UGC pay schemes. She asserts seniority in service and argues that her salary was fixed at a higher level previously but, due to fixation of the normal date of increment, Padmakumar’s pay exceeds hers. Relying on Rule 28A of the Kerala Service Rules, she contends that any pay anomaly where a senior earns less than a junior must be corrected by stepping up the senior to the junior’s level and issuing revised pay slips with arrears. The respondents admit the employees were brought under the UGC regime with effect from 01.01.1986 and explain that the initial fixation fixed both at ₹3,000-5,000, but the timelines for increments differed, leading to the disparity, and argue there is no provision in the UGC scheme for stepping up a senior to a junior. The court cites Gurucharan Singh Grewal v. Punjab State Electricity Board (2009) to support the proposition that a senior cannot be paid less than a junior, and notes the Kerala Agricultural University’s 4th Redressal Committee recommendation for 28A fixation and restoration of normal increment dates after two advance increments. After hearing, the court allows the petition, directing the university to enhance the petitioner’s pay to match the junior’s, issue revised slips, and pay arrears within one month.

Provisions of Law Cited

Rule 28A of Part I KSRUGC Scheme 1996UGC Scheme 2006

Legal Doctrines & Maxims

A senior cannot be paid lesser salary than a junior in service.
Pay anomaly between senior and junior should be rectified by enhancement of the senior’s pay.

Submissions & Arguments

Contentions of Appellants / Petitioners

The petitioner contends that, being senior in service to her junior Dr. Padmakumar, her pay should be enhanced to Padmakumar’s scale under Rule 28A of the KSR and as per the 1996/2006 UGC pay schemes; she seeks revised pay slips and arrears, arguing there is no provision in the UGC scheme for stepping up a senior to a junior; the fixation of increment dates has created an unwarranted pay anomaly that must be corrected.

Contentions of Respondents

The respondent university admits the factual background but contends that there is no provision in the UGC scheme for stepping up a senior to a junior; differences in increment dates and fixation under UGC do not permit such relief, and the Court need not enforce stepping up in absence of statutory authorization.

Cited Precedents (1)

Case Name	Citation	Treatment	Explanation
Gurucharan Singh Grewal & Others v. Punjab State Electricity Board & Others	2009 (3) SCC 94	Positive	Cited for the proposition that a senior cannot be paid lesser salary than a junior and such pay anomaly should be rectified by increasing the senior’s pay to the junior’s level.

Extracted Judgment Text

Exact text extracted from official judgment records.

## **IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM** **PRESENT:** ## **THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.V.RAMAKRISHNA PILLAI** **TUESDAY, THE 26TH DAY OF MAY 2015/5TH JYAISHTA, 1937** ## **WP(C).No. 16252 of 2012 (F)** **----------------------------** ## **PETITIONER:** ## **------------------** **DR. SOSAMMA CHERIAN, PROFESSOR & HEAD, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH STATION, KALLUNKAL P.O., THIRUVALLA, RESIDING AT AYKARAYIL, KUNNAMTHANAM P.O., THIRUVALLA, 689481.** ## **BY ADV. SRI.P.V.JAYACHANDRAN** **RESPONDENT(S): --------------------------** **1. KERALA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, REPRESENTED BY ITS REGISTRAR, KERALA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY POST, VELLANIKKARA, TRISSUR-680654.** **2. THE DEPUTY COMPTROLLER, INTERNAL AUDIT CIRCLE, COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, VELLAYANI-680654.** ## **BY ADV. SRI.BABU JOSEPH KURUVATHAZHA,SC** **THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 11-03-2015, THE COURT ON 26-05-2015 DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:** **mbr/** ## **WP(C).No. 16252 of 2012 (F)** ## **----------------------------------------** ## **APPENDIX** **PETITIONER(S) EXHIBITS:** **------------------------------------** **EXHIBIT-P1. TRUE COPY OF THE PROCEEDING NO.GA/C2/23346/99 (523) DATED 25.8.2007.** **EXHIBIT-P2. TRUE COPY OF THE PAY SLIP NO.ACV/(3) 115/86 DATED 6.11.09. EXHIBIT-P3. TRUE COPY OF THE STATEMENT OF FIXATION OF PAY DATED 10.12.2010.** **EXHIBIT-P4. TRUE COPY OF THE PAY SLIP DATED 13.12.2011. EXHIBIT-P5. TRUE COPY OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 19.11.2010 WITH THE COVERING LETTER DATED 6.1.2011.** **RESPONDENTS' EXHIBITS: -** ## **NIL** **--------------------------------------** **/TRUE COPY/** **P.S. TO JUDGE** **mbr/** ## **A.V. RAMAKRISHNA PILLAI, J.** **-------------------------------------------------W.P.(C) No. 16252 of 2012** **-------------------------------------------------Dated this the 26[th] day of May, 2015** ## **J U D G M E N T** The petitioner, who was appointed to the post of Assistant Professor (Biochemistry) in the faculty of Agriculture in the respondent university, has approached this Court seeking the following reliefs; “a) Issue a Writ of Mandamus or appropriate writs directions or orders directing the 2nd respondent to enhance the scale of pay of the Petitioner to that of Dr.K.G.Padmakumar, b) Direct the 2nd respondent to issue revised pay slips after enhancing the scale of pay of the petitioner to that of Dr.K.G. Padmakumar as in Ext.P4 and disburse the consequential arrears of salary forth with. c) Grant such other relief as this Hon'ble Court deem fit to grant in the interest of justice.” 2. The petitioner alleges that he, who is senior in service to one Dr.K.G.Padmakumar, was authorized to draw 12,420/- as on 01.01.1996, 16,400/- as on₹ ₹ 19.09.2001 and 53,390/- as on 01.01.2006 as evident₹ from Exts.P2 and P3. His grievance is that Dr.K.G.Padmakumar, who is admittedly a junior to him in service, was authorized to draw ₹14,940/as on W.P.(C) No. 16252 of 2012 **==> picture [20 x 8] intentionally omitted <==** 01.01.1996, 18,650/- as on 27.11.2011 and 56,050/- as₹ ₹ on 01.01.2006 as evident from Ext.P4. The petitioner alleges that in view of Rule 28A of KSR, his pay has to be enhanced to that of Dr.K.G.Padmakumar. 3. In the counter affidavit filed by the respondent university, they would admit that the petitioner and Dr.K.G.Padmakumar were brought under UGC with effect from 01.01.1986 as Assistant Professor in the pay of ₹3000-5000 and the pay has been fixed at 3,000/-₹ (minimum) with effect from 01.01.1986 for both officers. According to them, the normal date of next increment of Dr.K.G.Padmakumar was 01.09.1986 and he has been authorized with the next increment on 01.09.1986. However, the normal date of increment of the petitioner was 01.11.1986, which is a later date than the date of next increment of Dr.K.G.Padmakumar. Therefore, according to the respondent, the difference in pay arose on account of the fixation of normal date of next increment. According to them, there is no provision in W.P.(C) No. 16252 of 2012 **==> picture [20 x 8] intentionally omitted <==** the UGC scheme for stepping up the pay of a senior to that of a junior. 4. Arguments have been heard. 5. The petitioner was directly recruited to the post of Junior Assistant Professor in the Kerala Agricultural University with effect from 19.09.1980. PhD was awarded to him on 21.3.1985. He was given selection to the post of Assistant Professor with effect from 24.11.83. He was granted Career Advancement Promotion to the post of Associate Professor with effect from 19.09.1993 and inducted in 1996 UGC Scheme in 12,420/- pay scale as₹ Associate Professor with effect from 01.01.1996. He was granted Career Advancement Promotion to the post of Professor with effect from 19.9.2001 in 16,400/- pay as₹ evident from Ext.P2. He was further inducted to 2006 UGC Scheme in Rs.53,390/- with effect from 01.01.2006 as evident from Ext.P3. 6. Dr.K.G.Padmakumar, who is junior in service to the petitioner, was originally appointed to the post of W.P.(C) No. 16252 of 2012 ..4.. Junior Assistant Professor on 27.11.1980, was selected to the post of Assistant Professor on 29.9.84 and was awarded PhD on 06.03.1986. He was granted Career Advancement Promotions to the post of Associate Professor with effect from 21.11.93 and to the post of Professor with effect from 27.11.2001 under 1996 UGC Scheme. Consequently, Exhibit P4 pay slip dated 13.12.2011 under 1996 and 2006 UGC Schemes was issued by the 2[nd] respondent. It is evident from Ext.P4 that the salary as on 01.01.1996 was fixed at 14,940/- in₹ 1996 UGC Scheme and 56,050/- as on 01.01.2006 in₹ 2006 UGC Scheme in favour of Dr.K.G. Padmakumar. 7. It can be seen from Ext.P4 that Dr.K.G.Padmakumar, who is junior to the petitioner, is drawing higher salary as evident from Ext.P4 than the petitioner, which is against Rule 28A of Part 1 KSR. A senior cannot be paid lesser salary than a junior in service. Such anomaly cannot be allowed to continue and ought to have been rectified by enhancing W.P.(C) No. 16252 of 2012 **==> picture [20 x 8] intentionally omitted <==** the pay of the senior to that of the junior. Exactly, the same situation was considered by the apex court in **Gurucharan Singh Grewal & Others** v. **Punjab State Electricity Board & Others** [2009 (3) SCC 94], wherein it was observed that a senior cannot be paid lesser salary than the junior and such anomaly cannot be allowed to continue and ought to have been rectified by enhancing the pay of the senior to that of the junior. It is also relevant to note that the 4[th] Redressal Committee of the Kerala Agricultural University, in its meeting held on 19.11.2010, decided to grant 28A fixation and to restore the normal date of increment after the grant of two advance increments as per Ext.P5 minutes. Taking into account all the relevant facts and circumstances, this Court is of the view that the petitioner is entitled to get the reliefs as prayed for. In the result, the writ petition is allowed. The 2[nd] respondent is directed to enhance the pay of the petitioner to that of Dr.K.G.Padmakumar and to issue W.P.(C) No. 16252 of 2012 **==> picture [20 x 8] intentionally omitted <==** revised pay slips after enhancing the scale of pay of the petitioner as per Ext.P4 and disburse the consequential arrears of salary forthwith. Formal orders to this effect shall be issued within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment. Sd/- **A.V. RAMAKRISHNA PILLAI JUDGE** bka/-