Court No. - 2
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 48550 of 2017 Petitioner :- Tej Bahadur Singh Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Chandra Bhan Gupta Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Jay Ram Pandey
Hon'ble Suneet Kumar,J.
Heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.
Petitioner was appointed Assistant Teacher in Prathmik Vidyalaya on 16 July 1967, thereafter, promoted on the post of Assistant Teacher in Junior High School on 1 February 1973. Petitioner retired on attaining the age of superannuation on 30 June 2002. Grievance of the petitioner is that before retirement, petitioner was entitled to receive promotional pay scale as he had completed five years of service in the selection grade. It is admitted that the petitioner earlier was granted selection grade in 1986 vide the Government Order dated 20 December 2001 read with Government Order dated 22 March 2003. Aggrieved, by inaction of the respondents, petitioner approached this Court by filing a petition being Writ A No. 10582 of 2017 (Tej Bahadur Singh vs. State of U.P. and 2 others), which came to be disposed of on 8 March 2017, directing the State-respondent to decide the representation of the petitioner. Pursuant thereof, the impugned order dated 29 August 2017, has been passed by the Basic Shiksha Adhikari, Mirzapur, rejecting the claim of the petitioner, noting therein, that the records of the Assistant Teachers were considered for the period of 1 July 1996 to 1 July 2004 and the petitioner was not found eligible on the said date as the petitioner had retired and was not in service. It is, further, noted in the impugned order that the case of the petitioner was considered in the light of the Government Order dated 20 December 2001 and 22 March 2003.
I have perused the Government Order dated 20 December 2001 with the assistance of learned counsel for the parties.
The Government Order provides for grant of selection pay scale and promotional pay scale to the teachers of the Junior Highschool and Intermediate Institution. It is provided therein that all teachers who were in service on 1 July 2001 or thereafter are entitled to promotional pay scale subject to their falling under the 20% quota. An additional condition for grant of promotional pay scale in respect of the teachers of Basic Education, inter alia, is that the teachers must have put in 12 years of satisfactory service. Cases of the teachers are to be considered by a Selection Committee constituted each year and upon recommendation of the Committee, the teachers would be granted promotional pay scale. The Government Order dated 22 March 2003 reiterates that all teachers who are working on 1 July 2001 are entitled to be considered for promotional pay scale within 20% quota. This fact has been pleaded by the petitioner in the writ petition, as well as, supplementary affidavit.
It is submitted that the petitioner is entitled to promotional pay scale with effect from 1 January 1998, however, for the first time, the list of eligible teachers for grant of promotional pay scale was prepared in 2004. Since, petitioner was not working on the said date as petitioner retired in June 2002, therefore, claim of the petitioner was not considered. In the counter affidavit, this fact has not been disputed. It is admitted that junior to the petitioner, namely, Shri Jata Shankar Dubey was granted promotional pay scale as he was working in the year of consideration by the Selection Committee i.e. in 2004 and the since petitioner had superannuated, therefore, his case was not considered. Though, in both the Government Orders, it has been provided that teachers must be working on 1 July 2001 is the date of eligibility. It is not in dispute that the petitioner was working on the said date and retired thereafter in June 2002. It is also not the case of the respondent that petitioner did not fall within the eligible 20% quota of teachers, for the reason that junior to the petitioner was granted promotional pay scale. Petitioner has been non suited on the ground that in the year the Selection Committee met to consider the case of the teachers i.e. 2004, petitioner had retired, therefore, his case was not considered as being ineligible. The stand taken by the respondent is in violation of the Government Order dated 20 December 2001, which provides that the teachers working on 1 July 2001, shall be eligible for grant of promotional pay scale. Admittedly, petitioner was working on the said date.
Having due regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, the writ petition is disposed of by passing the following orders:
i) the order dated 29 August 2017 passed by the third respondent-Basic Shiksha Adhikari, Mirzapur, is set aside and quashed.
ii) respondents are directed to grant promotional pay scale to the petitioner;
iii) petitioner shall not be entitled to arrears of salary upon grant of promotional pay scale, however, pension of the petitioner shall be revised accordingly w.e.f. 1 July 2002 and shall be entitled to arrears of pension;
iv) the order to be complied with within eight weeks from the date of service of certified copy of this order along with writ petition, failing which, petitioner shall be entitled to simple interest at 6.5% per annum from the due date.
Order Date :- 26.9.2019 Mukesh Kr.