Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 27: High Court has quashed the order directing recovery of charge allowances drawn by the former Joint Secretary Board of School Education (BOSE) and restrained the authorities for recovery of such allowances.
The petitioner-Syed Abdul Rouf (Ex-Joint Secretary BOSE) challenged order dated 07.02.2017 issued by the BOSE whereby order No.294-B of 2015 dated 15.05.2015 relating to fixation of pay and grant of charge allowance in favour of the petitioner-Rouf has been withdrawn and sanction has been accorded to the recovery of entire amount of charge allowance paid to the petitioner with effect from 19.03.2015 to 31.01.2017 from his pay Rs.15,000 per month till its liquidation in full.
Justice Sanjay Dhar while allowing the petition of the ex-Joint Secretary, quashed the impugned order dated 07.02.2017 with the direction to the respondent-BOSE to restrain from effecting any recovery from the petitioner-Rouf on account of payment of charge allowance to him.
He was deputed to JKBOSE from the Education Department in the month of May 2015 and placed as Incharge Joint Secretary in his own pay and grade with charge allowance as admissible under rules for a period of six months or till the post is filled.
The order dated 15.05.2015 came to be rescinded by the respondent-JKBOSE in terms of impugned order dated 07.02.2017 and it has been further directed that recovery of entire amount of charge allowance paid from 19.03.2015 to 31.01.2017 be effected from the pay of the petitioner.
The respondent-BOSE pleaded that the petitioner was asked to hold the post of Joint Secretary which is carrying a higher pay band/grade than the pay band and grade attached to the post which the petitioner was substantively holding in his parent department.
It has been contended that the petitioner cannot claim charge allowance on the pay scale of the post of Joint Secretary and that he was only entitled to charge allowance which he was drawing in terms of Last Pay Certificate as I/C Chief Education Officer in his parent department.
Justice Dhar turned down the submission made by the BOSE counsel and recorded that a Government servant who is appointed incharge of higher post in his own pay and grade may be allowed charge allowance equal to difference of pay of the concerned officer in his own pay and the grade which he would have got had he been formally appointed to the higher post. “…that quantum of charge allowance has to be the difference of pay of the officer in his own grade and the pay and grade attached to the higher post”, read the judgment.
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