Can a writ court fix or re-fix pay by mandamus on the strength of a single Government Order?

No. Fixation of pay, revision of pay and the grant of selection grade or special pay are to be decided with reference to the individual's Service Register, and that is not an exercise a court undertakes in judicial review. Acting on one Government Order alone leaves both the applicant and the Court unaware of the clarifications, or the opinion of the Accountant General, that bear on the question — which is why the authorities must decide at the first instance and the aggrieved person may come to Court only afterwards.

Pay Rules and Government Orders — Selection Grade — Fixation of pay — Judicial review — Writ of Mandamus — Pay Rules and Government Orders — Fixation of pay — Administration decides at the first instance — Held: Fixation of pay and grant of selection grade turn on the Service Register and on clarifications the Court cannot see; the writ court exercises restraint and leaves them to the authorities at the first instance. (¶4) Writ of Mandamus — Pay fixation for one person — Prejudice to those similarly placed — Held further: A mandamus fixing one person's pay may prejudice those similarly placed. Order set aside, with liberty to apply to the competent authority. Appeal allowed. (¶5, ¶7)

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