' MUHAMMAD HALEEM, ACTG. C. J.-This appeal arises from the judgment of the Service Tribunal, Islamabad, dated 24th of August, 1980, whereby relief was denied to the appellant, who is since dead and is represented by her legal representative, on the grounds, firstly that her prayer for the fixation of pay in Grade-18 amounted to promotion, and secondly, that being a Federal Government servant, the Provincial Government's decision, dated the 25th of July, 1977, was not applicable to her as it was not adopted by the Federal Government.
2. Leave to appeal was granted to consider the implication of the policy decision, dated the 29th of February, 1972, and the rules and notifications issued from time to time in this behalf, in the context of the plea of the appellant that her pay should have been fixed in the pay scale of Grade-19.
3. The facts, as they emerge from the pleadings, are that the appellant was employed as a teacher, on 19th November, 1952 by the Cantonment Board and was promoted as Principal of Sir Syed Girls Secondary School (English Medium), on 1st of December, 1962, which was a Senior Class I post with the pay scale of Rs, 750-75-1,500 plus Rs, 60 as additional pay. As a result of the Policy decision taken by the controlling authority to bring uniformity in the pay scales of all teachers, her pay scale was revised and fixed in the time scale of 875-75-1,700 with effect from 1st of June, 1970, to bring it at par with the pay scales of the Provincial Government. This was done according to the decision taken in accordance with the instructions contained in the Provincial Government's notification relating to revision of pay scales and allowances. By the Ministry of Defence letter, dated 26th of August, 1974, the decision taken in the meeting held under the Chairmanship of the Federal Minister for Education and Provincial Co-ordination was communicated to the Deputy Director of Military Lands and Cantonments to the effect that the National Pay Scale Scheme in the respective provinces may be adopted in toto by the Cantonment Boards for the teaching staff employed by the educational institutions under their administrative control, with the rider that the benefit, as is admissible, shall be extended only to those categories of the Cantonment teaching staff as were specified in the Provincial Scheme. In this connection reference was made to the Punjab Government Gazette Notification dated 3rd June, 1974 for the grant of national pay scale to the holders of teaching posts specified in the schedule. Pursuant thereto her pay was fixed in the N.P.S. 18 by the Cantonment Board, Rawalpindi, as according to the designation of the post. However, on the representation of some of the Principals of the Comprehensive High Schools and also the personnel of the Administrative School cadre, the Governor of Punjab vide notification, dated 25th of July, 1977 granted pay scale of Grade-19 (2,200-100-2,750) as personal to them whose pay was earlier fixed in the National Pay Scale 18 i,e, Rs, 875-75-1.700. The appellant felt that this was discrimination on the basis of the decision communicated in the letter, dated 26th of August, 1974, as some of the Principals were placed in N.P.S. 19 and some in N.P.S. 18.
4. As it happened that with effect from 1st June, 1975, the Federal Government decided to take over all the educational institutions being managed by the Cantonment Boards in Pakistan, and as from the effective date the employees working in these institutions were made to be governed by the Civil Servants Act, 1973, and the rules made thereunder from time to time. Subsequently by another decision taken by the President and communicated by the latter, dated 10th of September, 1977, the management and the control of all the Cantonments Garrison schools and colleges in Pakistan were handed over to the Director, Army Education, G.H.Q. And the staff was to continue to be governed by the present terms and conditions of their service.
5. Again as there was considerable disparity in the fixation of the grade, representations were made by the aggrieved persons to the Provincial Government, as a result of which, revised national pay scales were introduced by the Punjab Government by Notification, dated 16th of May, 1977, which made the disparity in the scales more pronounced as some ad hoc decision was taken for rectifying the error in respect of its own affected employees by relaxing the revised national pay scale rules and giving to them the benefit of Grade-19.
6. The appellant genuinely felt that she was eligible for the fixation of pay in N.P.S. 19, and was, accordingly, entitled to the benefit of the Punjab Gazette Notification, dated 3rd of June, 1974, read with the letter, dated 26th of August, 1974. Accordingly, she represented to the Director, Army Education and Cantonments Garrison Institutions, G.H.Q., Rawalpindi for redress, but her prayer was rejected. Thereupon she filed an appeal before the Service Tribunal, Islamabad, which was disposed of as aforestated.
7. Admittedly the appellant was not' an employee of the Provincial Government, and it was, therefore, that the Notification, dated 3rd of June, 1974, could not apply in her case nonetheless the benefit of this notification was extended to the appellant by virtue of the decision communicated vide Ministry of Defence letter, dated 26th of August, 1974, and she was given the benefit of N.P.S. 18 according to the designation of the post highlighted in the schedule. N.P.S. 19 in the schedule was confined to the category of Vice-Principals of Government Degree Colleges and Government Training Colleges. Therefore, she could not, as a matter of right, claim to be entitled to N.P.S.
19. The Notification, dated 25th of July, 1977, was not of general application and the fixation of pay in Grade-19 was personal to those mentioned therein. They were the Provincial Government servants and the Governor exercised his discretion to give to them this benefit. This notification cannot be relied for the grant of benefit as a matter of right. The other notification of the Punjab Government, dated 16th of May, 1977, was again not applicable on this score. If it was a grievance that the Cantonment Board wrongly placed her in N.S.P. 18, then 1 may say so, that it could not have fixed her pay in N.P.S. 19 as she did not fulfil the category of the post to which N.P.S. 19 was applicable.
Both the notifications of the Punjab Government, dated 25th of July, 1977, and 16th of May, 1977 were promulgated after the appellant became a Federal Government servant and it was the Civil Servants Act, 1973 and the rules made thereunder which were applicable to her in terms of the guarantee given that the same terms and conditions as were applicable at the time when she was an employee of the Cantonment Board would be applicable. There was no variation in those terms and no grievance has been made of that, and if the Federal Government does not choose to grant the benefit as was given by the Provincial Government to its own employees by the aforesaid notifications, it is not violation of any vested right and for that reason the appellant is not entitled to any relief. At best, the Federal Government did not choose to exercise its discretion.
9. It may also be recalled that the appellant had herself in her representations only demanded from the Federal Government that she should be given the same treatment as her counterparts on the basis of her eligibility to Grade-19 with the knowledge of the fact that as a Central Government employee she was not entitled to claim the benefit of the notification as of right. I cannot, however, help saying that it was a hard case as similar benefit was granted by the Punjab Government to its employees, who were, similarly placed, and what is more is that one Nazar Hussain Shah, who was also an employee of the Cantonment Board and junior to her was placed in N.P.S. 19 on the basis of his 13 years of service in Class I.
9. Accordingly, the appeal fails and is hereby dismissed, but with no orders as to costs.