' S. ABDUL JABBAR KHAN (CHAIRMAN).--Syed Muhammad Abdul Alim, Accounts Officer, Karkhana Alaat-e-Zaraie, Agriculture Department, Bahawalpur has filed this appeal under section 4 of the Punjab Service Tribunals Act, 1974, in which he has impleaded the Secretary to Government of the Punjab, Agriculture Department, Lahore, as respondent.
2. By virtue of this appeal he has prayed that the impugned order, dated 13-4-1982/2-5-1983, be set aside and Respondent Government be directed to count the previous service of the appellant from 15-3-1954 upto 31-10-1976 rendered under the former Bahawalpur Government, West Pakistan Government as well as Punjab Government towards his pension. It has been further prayed that respondent be also directed to allow N.P.S. 16 to the appellant which is attached to the post of Accounts Officer in the Agriculture Department as well Co-operative Department since 21-9-1964.
3. Brief facts of the case are that the appellant joined service as an Accountant under the former Bahawalpur State Government before integration of that state with the former Province of West Pakistan. He was appointed by the former Bahawalpur Government as Accountant at Bahawalpur Wool Factory under the Government Wool Training Scheme, w,e,f, 15-3-1954. This factory was being run and controlled by the Registrar, Co-operative Societies of Bahawalpur Government. The appellant continued to work under the former Bahawalpur Government upto 13-10-1955. The integration of Bahawalpur State with the Province of West Pakistan took place on 14-10-1955, through the Establishment of West Pakistan Act, 1955. In view of the aforesaid legal mandatory provision all the employees of the former Bahawalpur State Government stood transferred to the service of West Pakistan Government on the same terms and conditions of service as were enjoyed by them in the Bahawalpur State immediately before integration. Accordingly the appellant stood transferred and became employee of the West Pakistan Government, w,e,f, 14-10-1955. After integration, the appellant became employee of the Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Bahawalpur Division, Bahawalpur. The appellant was appointed as Manager of the Wool Processing and Pressing Factory, Baghdadul Jadeed. Later on the appellant was transferred to Karkhana Alaat-e-Zarai which was also being run and controlled by the Government of West Pakistan through the Co-operative Department. The appellant was transferred from 20-9-1964 and he took over, w,e,f, 21-9-1964 (F.N.). He was promoted and appointed as Accounts Officer by the Co-operative Department, w,e,f, 21-9-1964. Since then appellant was continuing working as such.
Later on in accordance with the decision of Chief Minister, Government of the Punjab, the said Karkhana was transferred from the Administrative control of Co-operative Department to the Punjab Small Industries Corporation. A protection was given to the existing employees of the said Karkhana as follows: "The employees of the Project on the existing terms and conditions shall also stand transferred to the Corporation from the same date "
' In this manner he stood transferred en bloc, and as such continued to be employee of the Punjab Government working with the Punjab Small Industries Corporation. Further, re-organisation took place, w,e,f, 1-11-1976, when the administrative control of the said Karkhana was transferred to the Agriculture Department of the. Punjab alongwith all assets and liabilities and the staff.
Consequently Notification, dated 17-1-1977 was issued whereby the list of Establishment which was so transferred was notified. His name existed at serial No,. 1 under the head "Establishment".
Appellant submitted an application, dated 13-12-1982, to the respondent giving full particulars of his previous service under the Bahawalpur Government, West Pakistan Government as well as the present Punjab Government and requested that in view of the legal guarantee afforded by the Government to the employees of former Bahawalpur Government, his entire previous service should be counted towards pension and he be given Grade-16 which was attached to the post of Accounts Officer. The said application was forwarded by Director-General, Agricultural Engineering Wing to the Director Agriculture (Field), vide letter, dated 21-12-1982, which has been placed on the record as Annexure 'F'. The latter asked for comments of the Director. As a result of the said correspondence, respondent issued impugned order, dated 13-4-1983, wherein it was decided that the appellant cannot claim benefit of his previous service towards pension, etc. As the appellant was transferred to that Department from 1-11-1976. Hence this appeal.
4. We have heard the learned counsel for the appellant as well as learned District Attorney and have perused the entire record of this case carefully with their assistance.
5. Learned counsel for the appellant has argued that the impugned order, dated 13-4-1983, is contrary to the substantive provisions of Law and the solemn guarantee which was extended to the employees of the former Bahawalpur State according to section 8(3) of Establishment of West Pakistan Act, 1955. It was further argued that the said Act was protected by the Constitutions of 1956, 1962, 1972 and 1973, thus all the existing terms and conditions of service were also protected A throughout. He has also relied on the Supreme Court's judgments that the existing status of an employee which he enjoyed at the time of integration cannot be altered to his disadvantage.
Learned counsel for the appellant has argued that as per entries in the Service Book of the appellant, his service from 15-3-1954 onward is continuous and there is no break whatsoever.
Learned counsel for the appellant has vehemently argued that the transfer of the appellant from one Department to another was due to no fault of his own and it is a settled principle of law that a civil servant cannot be made to suffer simply because of administrative organizations introduced by the Government in public interest. Learned counsel for the appellant further argued that the record of the case revealed that the appellant's service under the West Pakistan Government and then Punjab Government were never terminated at any stage as a result of any such administrative changes. With regard to his claim of N.P.S.16 it was submitted that the post of Accounts Officer is in N.P.S. 16 and the appellant being Accounts Officer according to the record of service, would be entitled to be same under the Pay Revision Rules, 1972, as well as Pay Revision Rules, 1977 since 21-9-1964.
6. 011 the other hand learned District Attorney has adopted the comments so filed by the Director of Agriculture and has urged the same before us. It has been contended on his behalf that the appellant has failed to produce any appointment order that he joined as Accountant and remained as such in Bahawalpur State Government, as the Karkhana has no record of such like orders. However, the notification of integration of Bahawalpur State with the West Pakistan Government was issued and was legal matter and correct. Learned District Attorney has also admitted the fact that though the Karkhana had no original notification but it was generally said that services of employees of defunct State and all other Provinces which became part of West Pakistan were considered transferred to service of said created Province, w,e,f, 14-10-1955. The respondent has shifted lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the Co-operative Department by submitting that service record of the appellant be verified from the same Department. Lastly, it was contended that as Karkhana was transferred to the Agriculture Department, w,e,f, 1-11-1976 vide Notification No, SO(Mech) V11-3/73, dated 19-1-1977, therefore, the Department would only accept the appellant's claim from the same date and would not consider any part of his earlier service towards his pension.
7. We have given our anxious thought to the arguments advanced by the parties and have gone through the Service Book of the appellant and find that the appellant was duly entered in the service of ex-Bahawalpur State, Wool Factory, Bahawalpur as an Accountant, w,e,f, 15-3-1954 and allowed fixed salary. Later on he was given a regular Pay Scale of Rs,125-10-235/10-275/25-350, w,e,f, 1-5-1955. He was appointed as Manager of the Factory, w,e,f, 1-8-1958 in the same pay scale whereas he should have been paid in the grade of Manager of the Factory viz. Rs,275-15-320-20-
500. All these facts are fully borne out in Annexure 'A', letter from the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, West Pakistan, Lahore, to the Project Director, Co-operative Karkhana Alaat-e-Zarai, Bahawalpur, dated 7th February, 1969. It has been fully acknowledged in this letter by the Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, West Pakistan, that the appellant was transferred to Karkhana Alaat-e-Zarai Ltd., Bahawalpur, by the then Chairman, West Pakistan Co-operative Board, w,e,f, 21- 9-1964, and has recommended that his terms of service in the Karkhana could not be less favourable than those which he should have been drawing in the Wool Factory on a substantive post which he held for about six years. In this manner his claim was reviewed and his pay scale was considered genuine with the strong observation that the same should be accepted by Karkhana Alaat-e-Zarai and he should also be given arrear of the same. This letter is Annexure 'A', which has not been controverted by the respondent. Similarly while referring to Annexure 'B' we find that there is letter on record from the office of Registrar, Co-operative Societies West Pakistan, Lahore, relating to March, 1969, addressed to Deputy Registrar (Admn.), office of the Registrar, Co- operative Societies, West Pakistan, Lahore, with regard to absorption of Syed Muhammad Abdul Aleem, Accounts Officer Co-operative Karkhana Alaat-e-Zarai, Bahawalpur. This letter also confirms the contention of the appellant as given in the earlier part of our judgmerrt while narrating the brief facts of the case. In this letter it is also admitted that the appellant was employed as Accountant in the Wool Factory from 15-3-1954, at a fixed salary and later on he was given the scale of Rs,150-350, w,e,f, 1-5-1955. It is admitted fact that he was promoted to the rank of Manager of the Factory, w,e,f, 1-8-1958. It was accepted that he was transferred to Co-operative Karkhana Alaat-e-Zarai, Bahawalpur by the then Chairman, Pakistan Wool Co-operative Board, w,e,f, 21-9-1964 to work as Accounts Officer in which post he was still. Working. In this letter it has been conceded that Government Wool Factory, Bahawalpur was a Government property and its staff was paid from Government Revenue in the past, as such the entire staff of this factory should have been treated as Government servants. In this manner Mr. Muhammad Ashraf, Joint Registrar, Co-operative. Societies, West Pakistan, Lahore, has fully admitted the claim of the appellant in his letter so placed on the record. When we look into Annexure 'C', appended with the appeal a memo.
Dated 7-11-1975, from Punjab Small Industries Corporation, we find that the Chief Minister, Government of Punjab, decided to take over the Project Karkhana Alaat-e-Zarai, Bahawalpur, previously under the control of the Co-operative Department/Board, w,e,f, 1-11-1975. By this memo.
All assets and liabilities were to be determined on the Auditor's report and stood transferred to the Corporation from the same date. The employees of the Project on the existing terms and conditions also stand transferred to the Corporation from the same date. This memo. Was addressed to all the Joint Directors of Head Office, P.S.I.C., Lahore, the Joint Director S.I.A.S., P.S.I.C., Lahore (Design) and Technical, the Project Director, Karkhana Alaat-e-Zarai, P.S.I.C., Bahawalpur and the Accounts Officer, Karkhana Alaat-e-Zarai, P.S.I.C., Bahawalpur. Annexure 'D' is a very important document in the chain of these events as it fully establishes that the appellant Syed Muhammad Alim was an Accounts Officer on the said date viz. 1-11-1976. This notification was issued by the Government of the Punjab, Agriculture Department and the same shows that the entire staff of the Punjab Small Industries Corporation was taken over by the said Department and the name of the appellant found place at No, 1 under the head Establishment with status of Accounts Officer. With these uncontroverted documents as well as the entire service record of the appellant, which we have taken lot of pains to go through, as it was voluminous in nature, we have no hesitation to accept the claim of the appellant that he was all along an employee who originally started service in Bahawalpur State and later on was taken by the Co-operative Department, Punjab Small Industries Corporation and ultimately by the notification of the respondent Agriculture Department. His service as claimed by him is continuing without any break and according to the integration Circular, which has not been disputed by the respondent, he cannot be given less favourable terms of service what he was getting at the time of Integration. There is no doubt about the claim that he was working as Accounts Officer in Grade-16 and there is no reason why the same grade should not be given to him.
8. In the light of the above we proceed to accept the appeal, set aside the impugned orders and direct that the appellant be considered to be employee of the Government and his earlier service both in the Bahawalpur State as well as Co-operative Department, Punjab Small Industries Corporation, be considered towards his pension benefits in Grade-16, which he was ultimately enjoying since 21-9-1964. There will be no order as to costs.