(Prayer: may be pleased to hold the aeon on part of the Respondents in not fixing the pay of the applicant in the UGC revised pay scales 2006 at appropriate place in the fitment table by treating him as lecturer (Special Grade) with less than 3 years of service despite he has put in more than 3 years of service in teaching faculty in the medical education as illegal, arbitrary and contrary to the orders issued by the Government from time to time and consequently direct the Respondents to fix the pay of the applicant in the UGC revised pay scales 2006 at appropriate place in the fitment table in the PB-IV Rs.37400-67000 plus AGP 9000 duly taking into consideration the Civil Asst.Surgeon (SPP-I) as equivalent to Deputy Civil Surgeon by implementing the orders of Government issued in G.O.Ms.No.127 HM and FW dated.24.04.2008 read with G.O.Ms.No.242, HM and FW(A.2) Department dated 04.09.2010 in true spirit and pay the arrears on such re-fixation and pass such)
1. Since the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal was abolished in the year 2020, O.A.No.563 of 2019 which was filed by the petitioner herein, was transferred to this Court, and the same was renumbered as Writ Petition (AT) No.623 of 2022.
2. This Writ Petition (AT) is filed seeking the following relief:
“….to hold the action on the part of the respondents in not fixing the pay of the applicant in the UGC Revised pay Scales, 2006 at appropriate place in the fitment table by treating him as Lecturer (Special Grade) with less than 3 years of service despite he put up more than 3 years of service in teaching faculty in the Medical Education as illegal, arbitrary, and contrary to the orders issued by the Government from time to time, and consequently, direct the respondents to fix the pay of the applicant in the UGC Revised Pay Scales, 2006 at appropriate place in the fitment table in the PB-IV Rs.37,400/- - Rs.67,000/- +AGP Rs.9,000/- duly taking into consideration the Civil Assistant Surgeon (SPP-I) as equivalent to Deputy Civil Surgeon by implementing the orders of the Government issued in G.O.Ms.No.127 HM&FW dated 24.04.2008 read with G.O.Ms.No.242, HM&FW (A.2) Department, dated 04.09.2010 in true spirit, and pay the arrears on such re-fixation and to pass such other order or orders …”
3. Contents of the Writ Petition (AT), in brief, are that, the petitioner is working as an Associate Professor in General Medicine, S.V. Medical College, Tirupati. He was initially appointed as a Civil Assistant Surgeon in 1985, and subsequently worked on the teaching side, and was appointed as Tutor in the year 2005, and later promoted as the Deputy Civil Surgeon/Civil Surgeon. He was also granted Special Promotion Post-I (SPP-I) under the Automatic Advancement Scheme. The Government created a separate Medical Education Service and, pursuant to bifurcation of the Medical and Health Department, he opted for, and was absorbed into, the Medical Education Department; that under the bipartite agreement dated 08.04.2005, the service rendered by doctors in the Medical and Health Department was to be treated as continuous service for service benefits, and their service conditions were not to be made inferior to those enjoyed earlier.
(b) The Government, vide G.O.Ms.No.816 dated 02.11.2006, extended the UGC pay scales to the teaching faculty of Government Medical and Dental Colleges with effect from 01.11.2006. Subsequently, vide G.O.Ms.No.242 dated 04.09.2010 UGC Revised Pay Scales, 2006 were implemented to the teaching faculty of Government Medical and Dental Colleges. The petitioner's principal grievance is that, while implementing the UGC Revised Pay Scales, the respondents treated him as a new Lecturer with less than three years' service, instead of taking into account his earlier service as Civil Assistant Surgeon under SPP-I, which, according to him, was equivalent to the post of Deputy Civil Surgeon; that the petitioner had already completed more than three years’ of such service by 01.11.2006 and was therefore, entitled to fixation in Pay Band-IV of Rs.37,400–67,000 + AGP Rs.9,000, rather than Pay Band-I of Rs.15,600–39,100 + AGP Rs.6,000.
(c) The petitioner further states that G.O.Ms.No.127 dated 24.04.2008, clarified that Tutors/Assistant Professors who were enjoying SPP-I/SPP-II scales prior to introduction of the UGC scales should be fitted into the corresponding Assistant Professor/Associate Professor scales and their substantive pay should be protected even though they were designated as Tutors. It is further stated that pursuant to the Government Memo, 2nd respondent issued Proceedings vide Rc.No.25062/E1.A/2012, dated 17.11.2012 to designate one Dr. S.Shyamala Devi as an Associate Professor duly taking into service rendered by her in the cadre of Deputy Civil Surgeon/Associate Professor from 11.08.2003 to 12.04.2011 as experience on teaching side as Associate Professor, as the pay was directed to be fixed in the cadre of Associate Professor with effect from 11.08.2003. The petitioner claims that similar treatment has not been extended to him despite his case is similarly situated. Due to erroneous fixation of his pay, resulted in reaching the maximum of the lower pay band by 2010, thereby causing stoppage/non-release of annual and promotional increments during 2011–2016 and resulting in financial loss and pay anomalies. The respondents failed to consider his representations seeking proper fixation. The action of the respondents is illegal, arbitrary and contrary to the Government orders, particularly G.O.Ms.No.127 dated 24.04.2008 and G.O.Ms.No.242 dated 04.09.2010. He seeks recognition of his earlier SPP-I service as equivalent to service in the Deputy Civil Surgeon cadre for the purpose of fixation of UGC pay. Hence, the Writ Petition (AT).
4. Respondent Nos.1 to 3 filed counter-affidavit, denying the contents of the petition, contending inter alia that the petitioner joined in service as Civil Assistant Surgeon on 04.01.1987 through APPSC vide Orders in Rc.No.2/A2/87, dated 03.01.1987 of the District Medical and Health Officer, Kadapa; that the petitioner was appointed as Lecturer in Paediatrics with a qualification of Diploma in Child Health, and was posted at Post-Partum Programme, Government Maternity Hospital, Tirupati vide Proceedings in Rc.No.12569/ E6D/1994, dated 30.09.1994 of the Director of Health, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad (period from 04.10.1994 to 04.05.2005); that the petitioner was appointed to Special Promotion Post Scale-1 with effect from 04.01.2003 on completion of 16 years of service in the cadre of Civil Assistant Surgeon vide Proceedings in Rc.No.9990/E2D/2003, dated 31.05.2003 of the Director of Medical Education, Andhra Pradesh.
(b) The petitioner was selected for admission in PG in Modern Medicine for the year 2005-2006 by the University of Health Sciences, Vijayawada; that the petitioner was relieved from his duty in the PP Unit of Government Maternity Hospital, Tirupati vide Rc.No.359/B2/PPU/GMH/05, dated 03.05.2005; that after completion of PG in Medicine, the petitioner was appointed as Tutor in Medicine and posted at S.V. Medical College, Tirupati vide Proceedings in Rc.No.13006/E11D/2008, dated 17.05.2008, and he reported duty on 21.05.2008; that the petitioner was re-designated as the Assistant Professor of Medicine with effect from 17.07.2008; that the petitioner was promoted as the Associate Professor of General Medicine and posted at S.V. Medical College, Tirupati in the existing vacancy in the time scale of 15600 – 39100 vide Proceedings in Rc.No.18303/E1-C/2013, dated 31.08.2013.
(c) It is further stated that there are separate Service Rules for Health Services and Medical Education Services; that there are four cadres in Teaching side under Medical Education Department i.e. Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor Cadres with PG Degree qualification and Tutor grade without PG qualification; that accordingly, the Government called for options from the Doctor, who had PG Degree qualification through an Agreement, whether the Doctors working in health side with PG qualification are willing to come under Medical Education side during the year 2005-2006, and it means, the services also rendered in Health side will not be affected; that separate Rules have been framed for Medical Education Service, and as per the MCI, norms have been introduced the UGC Scales to the teaching faculty working in the Government Medical Colleges and Dental Colleges vide G.O.Ms.No.816, date 02.11.2006 applicable with effect from 01.11.2006, and allocated separate time scales for each cadre of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and Tutor, who pay scales are given below:
| Sl.No. | Category | UGC 1996 Scales |
| 1. | Professor | 16400 – 450 – 20900 – 500 – 22400 |
| 2. | Associate Professor | 12000 – 420 – 18300 |
| 3. | Assistant Professor | 10000 – 15200 |
| 4. | Tutors | 8000 – 275 – 13500 |
| Sl. No. | Category | Existing Scales 1996 | Revised Scales 2006 | Academic Grade Pay |
| 1. | Tutor | 8000 – 13500 | 15600 – 39100 | 6000 |
| 2. | Assistant Professors | 10000 - 15200 | 15600 – 39100 | 70000 |
| 3. | Associate Professors | 12000 – 18300 | 15600 – 39100 | 8000 |
| 4. | Associate Professors (After 3 years) | 12000 – 18300 | 15600 – 39100 | 9000 |
| 5. | Professor | 16400 – 22400 | 37400 – 67000 | 10000 |
(f) The petitioner represented that he was promoted as Deputy Civil Surgeon vide Proceedings in Rc.No.13301/E1C/2006, dated 17.07.2006, and vide application dated 25.05.2016, he requested to re-fix his pay, but no entries are found in his Service Register relating to the promotion as Deputy Civil Surgeon, further, the respondents addressed to the Director of Health, Andhra Pradesh to issue necessary orders on the request of the petitioner, for considering his promotion order enclosed by him vide Rc.No.1318/ E1A/2016, dated 10.08.2016, and the same are awaited; that the Government extended the original Fitment Tables vertically till the maximum of the Pay Band attached to the post in Revised UGC Pay Scales, 2006; that the petitioner’s pay was revised as per the orders in G.O.Ms.No.187 HM & FW (A) Department, dated 08.12.2017 and his pay was fixed at Rs.34,040/- in the Pay Band of Rs.15600 – 39100 + AGP Rs.6,000/- in the cadre of Tutor; that the petitioner’s pay was fixed at Rs.36,490/- in the Pay Band of Rs.15,600 – 39100 + AGP Rs.7,000/- in the cadre of Assistant Professor with effect from 17.07.2008; that the petitioner reached the maximum Pay Band, and his further increments were not released with effect from 01.07.2011, 01.07.2012, and 01.07.2013, and further, the petitioner was promoted as the Associate Professor with effect from 31.08.2013 on regular line; that his promotional increment was also not sanctioned, as the petitioner reached the maximum Pay Band of Rs.15600 – 39100, and Annual Grade Pay was changed from Rs.7,000/- to Rs.8,000/- with effect from 31.08.2013; that after completion of 3 years as the Associate Professor, the petitioner’s pay was fixed in the Pay Band (Professor Pay Band) of Rs.37400 – 67000 + GP Rs.9,000/- with effect from 31.08.2016, and his further Annual Grade Increments were released for the years 2017 and 2018 vide Proceedings in Rc.No.Spl/E1A/2018, dated 27.11.2018.
(g) As there are no clear instructions for fixing the petitioner’s pay in the Pay Band of Rs.37400 – 67000 in the cadre of Associate Professor as per the orders issued in G.O.Ms.No.127, HM & FW (A2) Department, dated 24.04.2008, and G.O.Ms.No.242, HM & FW (A2) Department, dated 04.09.2010, his pay was fixed in the Pay Band of Rs.15600 – 39100 in the cadre of Tutor/Assistant Professor/Associate Professor less than 3 years; that merely because petitioner rendered his service for more than 16 years in the cadre of Civil Assistant Surgeon SPP-1 Scale could not be considered/treated that he served more than 3 years of service in the cadre of Associate Professor, and to fix his pay in the Pay Band of Rs.37,400/- - Rs.67,000/- as per the Fitment Table (5) of G.O.Ms.No.242, HM & FW (A2) Department, dated 04.09.2010; that the petitioner was appointed into SPP-1 Scale only for monetary benefit without promotion as Deputy Civil Surgeon, and this is only applicable in the Andhra Pradesh State Medical and Health Services.
(h) The petitioner requested the respondents to release the Annual Periodical Increments with effect from 01.07.2011, 01.07.2012 and 01.07.2013 beyond Pay Band i.e. Rs.15,600/- – Rs.39,100/-, but there are no specific orders for release of stagnation increments beyond maximum of Pay Band allocated to their particular cadre in the UGC Pay Scales, 2006. Accordingly, vide Lr.Rc.No.Spl/E1/SVMC/ 2018, dated 30.11.2018, the respondents office issued Orders regarding implementation of stagnation increments to the petitioner, and this office vide Lr.Rc.No.Spl/E1/SVMC/2018, dated 12.04.2019 requested the respondent No.2 regarding implementation of stagnation increments and promotion increment to the petitioner, and the same is awaiting from the higher authorities. There is no violation of Rules and procedures in fixing the petitioner’s Pay Band in UGC-2006 Pay Scales. Hence, it is prayed to dismiss the Writ Petition (AT).
5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the respondents failed to properly appreciate the effect of G.O.Ms.No.127 dated 24.04.2008 and G.O.Ms.No.242 dated 04.09.2010. He further contends that the petitioner rendered substantial service in the Medical and Health Department and had already been granted SPP-I scale before his entry into the Medical Education Service, and such service, according to the petitioner, was required to be taken into account for the purpose of determining his placement under the UGC Revised Pay Scales. Learned counsel further contends that the petitioner cannot be deprived of the benefit of his earlier service merely on account of the change in nomenclature or his subsequent absorption into the Medical Education Service. He further contends that the respondents themselves have recognized the service of similarly situated teaching faculty for the purpose of fixation of pay, and therefore, the petitioner’s case requires reconsideration.
6. Per contra, learned Government Pleader for Services-1 submits that the petitioner is attempting to equate his SPP-I financial upgradation in the Health Department with regular service in the cadre of Associate Professor. It is submitted that SPP-I was granted only as a financial benefit and did not amount to promotion to the post of Deputy Civil Surgeon. He further contends that the UGC Revised Pay Scales, 2006 prescribe separate categories and that, the benefit of the Pay Band of Rs.37,400–67,000 + AGP Rs.9,000/- could not be extended merely on the basis of the petitioner’s length of service in the Health Department. Learned Government Pleader further contends that the petitioner was, in fact, extended the higher Pay Band after completion of three years as Associate Professor with effect from 31.08.2016. Hence, it is prayed to dismiss the Writ Petition (AT).
7. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Government Pleader for Services-1. Perused the entire material available on record.
8. Now the point that arise for determination is whether the petitioner’s service is liable to be taken into consideration for determining his placement under the UGC Revised Pay Scales, 2006, particularly for the purpose of determining his entitlement to the higher Pay Band?
9. There is no dispute with regard to issuance of G.O.Ms.No.242 dated 04.09.2010 which extended the UGC Revised Pay Scales, 2006 to the teaching faculty of the Government Medical and Dental Colleges with effect from 01.11.2006, and the said GO provides different Pay Bands and AGP for the teaching categories. However, the dispute is not with regard to the applicability of the UGC Revised Pay Scales as such, but it is with regard to proper placement of the petitioner in the relevant Pay Band and the manner in which his earlier service and SPP-I placement are required to be counted.
10. A perusal of the contentions and rival contentions goes to show that petitioner relies upon G.O.Ms.No.127 dated 24.04.2008, whereas the respondents contend that the said GO does not authorize treating SPP-I service as equivalent to regular service in the cadre of Associate Professor. Thus, the dispute essentially involves interpretation and application of the aforesaid Government Orders to the service particulars of the petitioner. It is also significant that the respondents themselves admit that the petitioner was granted SPP-I and that, his request for reconsideration of his pay fixation was made. The counter-affidavit further discloses that based upon the alleged promotion as Deputy Civil Surgeon, certain correspondence was made to the competent authorities for clarification with regard to petitioner’s claim and the matter was awaiting consideration. In these circumstances, this Court is of the considered view that the issue would be better resolved by the competent authority after examining the petitioner’s complete service record, the orders by which SPP-I was granted, the alleged promotion as Deputy Civil Surgeon, the terms of his absorption into the Medical Education Service, and the effect of G.O.Ms.No.127 dated 24.04.2008 and G.O.Ms.No.242 dated 04.09.2010. This Court, in exercise of judicial review, need not undertake the initial exercise of fixation of pay on the basis of service particulars when the competent authority is required to examine the relevant service records and the applicable Government Orders.
11. At the same time, the petitioner’s claim cannot be rejected merely on the ground that he subsequently entered the teaching cadre. The competent authority is required to consider as to whether, under the applicable Government Orders and the terms governing his absorption, his earlier service and SPP-I placement are relevant for the purpose claimed by him. The authority shall also examine as to whether the petitioner’s case is comparable with the cases relied upon by him and, if so, whether similar treatment is warranted in accordance with the applicable rules and Government Orders.
12. The petitioner is at liberty to submit a detailed representation before 1st respondent putting-forth his grievance with regard to fixation of pay, applicable Pay Band, applicability of Government Orders etc., particularly with regard to the Pay Band claimed by him along with supporting documents. The petitioner shall submit such application, along with all relevant documents, within a period of four (4) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, and on receipt of such application, 1st respondent is directed to examine the same on its own merits and in accordance with law, after considering the petitioner’s entire service record, including his service as Civil Assistant Surgeon, grant of SPP-I, the alleged promotion as Deputy Civil Surgeon, his absorption/appointment in the Medical Education Service, and his subsequent appointment/promotion in the teaching cadre. The respondent No.1 shall also consider the applicability and effect of G.O.Ms.No.127, HM&FW (A.2) Department, dated 24.04.2008, G.O.Ms.No.242, HM&FW (A.2) Department, dated 04.09.2010, and other relevant Government Orders/instructions governing fixation of pay under the UGC Revised Pay Scales, 2006. The claim of petitioner regarding the treatment of his earlier SPP-I service and his entitlement to placement in the higher Pay Band shall be considered objectively, without being influenced merely by the fact that he was subsequently granted the higher Pay Band with effect from 31.08.2016. The respondent No.1 is directed to pass a reasoned order on the petitioner’s application, after affording him an opportunity of hearing, within a period of eight (08) weeks from the date of receipt of such application, and if the petitioner is found entitled to any consequential monetary or service benefits, the same shall be extended to him in accordance with the applicable rules and orders.
13. It is made clear that this Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the petitioner’s claim for placement in the higher Pay Band, and all the questions, including uniformity or otherwise of the petitioner’s earlier SPP-I service, and the same are left open for consideration by the competent authority.
14. With the above observation, the Writ Petition (AT) is disposed of.
There shall be no order as to costs of the Writ Petition (AT).
As a sequel thereto, the miscellaneous applications, if any, pending in this Writ Petition (AT), shall stand closed.