MP High Court Strikes Down Reduced Salary Rule for Probationary Government Employees

The Madhya Pradesh High Court's principal bench at Jabalpur on Tuesday quashed provisions that allowed government employees on probation to receive only 70%, 80%, and 90% of minimum pay scale during their first, second, and third years respectively.

A Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal ruled that employees appointed after November 25, 2019, must be paid full salary for work performed during probation. The court observed that probationary employees perform identical duties as regular staff and extracting full work while paying reduced salaries was unjustified and discriminatory toward Class III and Class IV employees.

The High Court clarified that employees are entitled to salary prescribed under recruitment rules and it cannot be reduced or recovered without valid justification.