Case Background
This case arose from a salary benefit announced by the State of Bihar for its police and allied forces.
On 27.08.2015, the State Government issued a policy decision granting one additional month’s salary every year to employees working in Bihar Police, Fire Services, Government Railway Police (G.R.P.), Bihar Military Police (B.M.P.) and District Police.
However, employees working in the Vigilance Department were not included in this 2015 policy. They were therefore denied the extra month’s salary for the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Feeling aggrieved, the petitioners and other Vigilance Department staff approached the State Government, demanding that they too be given the same benefit as police and allied services employees.
After considering these representations, the State Government took a fresh policy decision on 30.06.2017. Through this later decision, it extended the benefit of one additional month’s salary in a year to employees of the Vigilance Department.
But this 2017 decision was applied only prospectively. It did not grant any benefit for the earlier period starting from 27.08.2015. As a result, the petitioners remained excluded from the extra salary for the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17.
The petitioners therefore filed Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 1773 of 2021 before the Patna High Court. They requested that clause 6 of Resolution No. 5290 dated 30.06.2017, which gave the benefit only prospectively, be set aside to that extent. They also sought a mandamus directing payment of the additional month’s salary for 2015-16 and 2016-17.
What the Court Examined and Decided
The Patna High Court, through Hon’ble Mr. Justice P. B. Bajanthri, heard the petitioners and the State on 23.03.2022.
The central question before the Court was framed very clearly: whether the policy decision dated 30.06.2017, granting one additional month’s salary to Vigilance Department employees, could be given retrospective effect from 27.08.2015.
The petitioners’ counsel argued that the State’s approach amounted to discrimination among its own employees. According to them, the original 2015 policy intended to reward employees working in difficult and sensitive policing-related posts. Vigilance employees, who were performing similar functions, were inadvertently left out when the policy was first issued on 27.08.2015.
They contended that once the State itself corrected this omission on 30.06.2017 by extending the benefit to Vigilance staff, there was no justification for denying them the same benefit for the period 2015-16 and 2016-17. In their view, the prospective operation of the 2017 resolution unfairly deprived Vigilance employees of two years of entitlement.
On the other side, the State’s counsel opposed the petition. They argued that the policy decision of 30.06.2017 was intended to be effective only from the date it was issued. According to the State, this later policy could not be given retrospective effect by tying it back to the earlier 27.08.2015 decision.
The State therefore maintained that there was no legal infirmity in giving the benefit of one additional month’s salary to Vigilance employees only from 30.06.2017 onwards, and not for the previous financial years.
After hearing both sides, the Court identified the “crux of the matter” as whether the petitioners were entitled to one month’s additional salary on par with other officials of the police department and allied services, with reference to the original policy decision dated 27.08.2015.
The Court first recorded a key factual position: it was “undisputed” that the Vigilance Department had been left out from the 2015 policy decision. This omission was later rectified on 30.06.2017 when the Government extended the benefit to Vigilance employees.
From this, the Court drew an important inference. In fairness, once the State itself accepted that Vigilance personnel deserved the same additional salary benefit, the policy regarding one month’s extra salary ought to be applied to them in the same way as to the police and other allied forces mentioned in the 2015 resolution.
The Court described the omission of the Vigilance Department in the 2015 policy as a “technical error”. It emphasised that the policy decision relating to the grant of one month’s additional salary should be extended to the Vigilance Department “on par with the Police Department and other allied services” whose departments were reflected in the 27.08.2015 policy.
The Court then examined the State’s claim that the 2017 policy could not be implemented retrospectively. It rejected this argument. A key reason was that giving retrospective effect to this benefit would not affect any third-party rights. No outsider’s interests would be harmed if Vigilance employees were granted the same additional salary from the earlier date.
Because no third-party rights were created or impacted, the Court held that there was no valid basis for insisting that the 2017 policy must operate only prospectively. In such a scenario, the decision to restrict the benefit only to the future was “not appreciable”.
On this reasoning, the Court concluded that the policy decision dated 30.06.2017 must be read together with, and given effect from, the earlier policy decision dated 27.08.2015. In simple terms, the Court treated the 2017 policy not as a fresh privilege, but as a correction of an earlier omission.
Accordingly, the Court declared that the petitioners, as Vigilance Department employees, were entitled to one month’s additional salary for the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17.
To ensure practical relief, the Court issued a clear direction to the concerned respondents. It ordered them to give effect to the 30.06.2017 policy decision with reference to the earlier 27.08.2015 decision.
The respondents were further directed to calculate and disburse the amount of one month’s additional salary for the years 2015-16 and 2016-17 in favour of the petitioners.
The Court fixed a definite time frame for compliance. The arrears must be calculated and paid within three months from the date on which the authorities receive a copy of the order.
With these observations and directions, the writ petition was disposed of.
Why This Judgment Matters
This judgment is important for government employees, especially those in specialised or “allied” departments like Vigilance.
It shows that if the Government introduces a beneficial policy for a certain class of employees, and later realises that a similar class was left out by mistake, the Court can treat that omission as a technical error.
Here, the Patna High Court held that once the State itself extended the additional salary benefit to Vigilance staff in 2017, there was no good reason to deny them the same benefit for earlier years, when other similar employees were already receiving it.
The decision also underlines that where retrospective application of a benefit does not harm any third party or disturb any vested rights, the State cannot simply rely on the word “prospective” to deny legitimate arrears.
For employees who feel unfairly excluded from a government benefit that is later extended to them, this judgment offers a clear example of how a court can order parity and direct payment of past dues.
Legal Issues and Answers
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Issue: Can the Bihar Government’s policy decision dated 30.06.2017, granting one additional month’s salary to Vigilance Department employees, be applied retrospectively from 27.08.2015?
Answer: Yes. The Patna High Court held that Vigilance Department employees are entitled to the additional month’s salary from the same date as police and allied services, as the earlier omission was only a technical error and no third-party rights were affected. -
Issue: Are Vigilance Department employees entitled to one month’s additional salary for the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17 on par with Bihar Police and allied forces?
Answer: Yes. The Court directed the State to grant Vigilance employees one month’s additional salary for 2015-16 and 2016-17 and to calculate and disburse the amount within three months.
Cases Cited by the Court
- No prior judgments are cited or relied upon in the text of this decision.
Case Details
Case Number: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 1773 of 2021
Case Title: Satya Narayan Ram & Ors. v. The State of Bihar & Ors.
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice P. B. Bajanthri
Date of Judgment: 23.03.2022
Citation: 2022(2) PLJR 53
Advocates:
- For the Petitioners: Mr. Ashhar Mustafa, Advocate; Mr. Abu Nasar, Advocate; Mr. Tarique Shamim, Advocate; Mr. Vikash Kumar Jha, Advocate
- For the State: Mr. Sheo Shankar Prasad, SC 8; Mr. Arvind Kumar, Special Public Prosecutor (Vigilance)
Nature of the Case: Writ petition under civil writ jurisdiction challenging the prospective operation of a State Government policy and seeking direction for payment of additional salary for past years.
Link to the Judgment: Click here to read the full judgment of the Patna High Court
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