In Raj Kumar Thakur & Ors. vs. The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Department of Health, Government of Bihar & Ors. (2025), Justice Partha Sarthy of Patna High Court delivered a 6-page long judgement dated October 8, 2025, wherein, he concluded: ''this Court holds the petitioner to be entitled for grant of second ACP on completion of 24 years of service i.e. with effect from 9.8.1999 i.e. the date the ACP scheme came into force. 16. All consequential benefits as a result of the grant of second ACP shall be paid to the petitioner within a period of 3 months from the date of receipt/production of a copy of this order. 17. The writ application stands allowed.'' ACP stands for Assured Career Promotion.
The original petitioner had filed the writ application for directing the respondent authorities to give the replacement scale of 4000-6000 to the petitioner w.e.f. January 1, 1996 as per the Resolution no. 660 dated February 8, 1999 issued by the Finance Department, Government of Bihar. The petitioner had prayed for directing the respondent authorities to give the benefit of first and second Assured Career Promotion to the petitioner in the higher scale w.e.f. August 9, 1999 as per the Notification no. 4685 dated June 25, 2003 issued by the Finance Department, Government of Bihar. He had also prayed for directing the respondent authorities to pay the cost of Rs. 10000/- to the petitioner in light of the order dated October 19, 2011 passed in M.J.C. No. 1633/2010 by the High Court. The original petitioner who had died on June 22, 2021, was substituted by his legal heirs, the petitioners, on July 14, 2025.
The counsel for the petitioners submitted that due to developments which have taken place during pendency of the instant application, he was not pressing prayer nos.1(i) and 1(iii) of the writ application. The instant application was confined to prayer no.1(ii) which was for a direction to the respondent authorities to give the benefit of first and second Assured Career Progression (ACP) scheme with effect from August 9, 1999 as per Notification no.4685 dated June 25, 2003 of the Finance Department, Government of Bihar.
The case of the petitioners was that the original petitioner was appointed as a Superior Field Worker on October 13, 1960 and retired from service on January 31, 2000 while working as Basic Health Worker in the Primary Health Centre at Masahari in Muzaffarpur. He was granted the first time bound promotion with effect from April 1, 1981 which however was wrongly shifted to May 16, 1984. Also the second time bound promotion granted to him was cancelled and certain amounts were adjusted against his post retiral dues. These actions of the respondents led to the petitioner to file CWJC no.690 of 2005 which was allowed by order dated December 7, 2009. It is further case of the petitioner that though he was given the benefit of first ACP vide order dated April 30, 2005 with effect from August 9, 1999 but the benefits thereof were still not been paid and further he did not receive the grant of second ACP. All this has led to filing of the writ application for the reliefs.
The counsel for the respondents submitted that while making the claim for grant of benefits of ACP, the petitioner has not approached the High Court with clean hands as he did not make the prayer for grant of ACP in the writ application filed by him in the year 2005. The said writ application was confined only with respect to the grievance of the time bound promotion and recovery of the excess amount.
Justice Sarthy relied on the relevant portion of the order dated December 7, 2009 passed in CWJC no.690 of 2005 which reads:“Accordingly, it is that the absorption/adjustment of the petitioner from the post of Superior Field Worker, upon abolition of the Programme, to the post of Basic Health Worker by order dated 16.5.1974 was not a promotion.” He observed :''This Court having held that on abolition of the programme the absorption/adjustment of the petitioner on the post of Basic Health Worker not being a promotion, the contention raised by the respondents stands clearly answered.''
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