WP 4208/15 1 Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY,
NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR.
WRIT PETITION No. 4208/2015
Vanita Chandrakant Likhar,
Aged about 37 years, Occ. Service,
R/o Jalalkheda, Tq.Narkhed,
District Nagpur. PETITIONER
.....VERSUS.....
1. State of Maharashtra,
through its Secretary,
Department of Tribal Development,
Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
2. The Scheduled Tribe
Certificate Scrutiny Committee,
Nagpur Division, Nagpur.
3. Zilla Parishad, Amravati,
through its Chief Executive Officer,
Amravati, tah. & Distt. Amravati. RESPONDENTS
Shri G.G. Mishra, counsel for the petitioner.
Shri I.J. Damle, Assistant Government Pleader for the respondent nos.1 and 2.
Shri J.B. Kasat, counsel for the respondent no.3.
CORAM :SMT.VASANTI A NAIK AND
A.D. UPADHYE, JJ.
DATE : 7 TH JULY, 2017.
ORAL JUDGMENT (PER : SMT.VASANTI A NAIK, J.) The only prayer made by the petitioner in this writ petition is for a direction to the respondents to fix the pay of the petitioner in the pay-scale, as is applicable to the post of Assistant Teacher and release the arrears of salary to the petitioner.
2. The petitioner was appointed on the post of Shikshan Sevak that was earmarked for the scheduled tribes on 22.10.2001. The ::: Uploaded on - 17/07/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 28/08/2017 09:23:43 ::: WP 4208/15 2 Judgment scrutiny committee invalidated the claim of the petitioner. The petitioner filed a writ petition challenging the order of the scrutiny committee bearing Writ Petition No.3309 of 2011. This Court partly allowed the writ petition and after setting aside the order of the scrutiny committee, remanded the matter to the scrutiny committee for a fresh decision, on merits. The scrutiny committee has still not decided the caste claim of the petitioner.
3. Shri Mishra, the learned counsel for the petitioner, submitted that the respondent-Zilla Parishad was not justified in granting a lesser salary to the petitioner after the petitioner attained the status of an Assistant Teacher on 04.12.2004 merely because the caste claim of the petitioner was pending before the scrutiny committee. It is submitted that the Zilla Parishad would be entitled to take appropriate action against the petitioner if his caste claim is rejected but, since the petitioner is still in service and is discharging the duties of an Assistant Teacher with effect from 04.12.2004, it would be necessary for the Zilla Parishad to pay the salary that is payable to an Assistant Teacher, to the petitioner. It is submitted that this Court had directed the respondent-Zilla Parishad to pay the arrears of salary in the pay-scale of an Assistant Teacher to the petitioner from the date of filing of the writ petition. It is stated that the case of the petitioner is also supported by the Government Resolution dated 14.10.2010. It is submitted that in the circumstances of the case, it ::: Uploaded on - 17/07/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 28/08/2017 09:23:43 ::: WP 4208/15 3 Judgment would be necessary to direct the Zilla Parishad to pay the arrears of salary to the petitioner for the period from 04.12.2004 till the date of filing of the petition, i.e. 30.06.2015.
4. We find that the petitioner has successfully completed the tenure of a shikshan sevak and is discharging the duties of an Assistant Teacher with effect from 04.12.2004. Though the petitioner was working as an Assistant Teacher, the petitioner was paid the salary of a shikshan sevak even after the completion of three years of service as a shikshan sevak, only on the ground that the caste claim of the petitioner is pending before the scrutiny committee. When the petitioner is discharging the duties of an Assistant Teacher, the respondent-Zilla Parishad could not have paid the salary of a shikshan sevak to the petitioner. We had, by the interim order dated 18.11.2015, directed the Zilla Parishad to pay the arrears of salary to the petitioner from the date of filing of the petition in regular pay-scale that is admissible for an Assistant Teacher. The grievance of the petitioner would, therefore, remain only in respect of the arrears of salary from 04.12.2004 till the date of filing of the petition, i.e. 30.06.2015. We are, however, not inclined to issue a direction to the Zilla Parishad to pay the arrears of salary to the petitioner from 04.12.2004 as the petition is filed on 30.06.2015. It is well settled that a monetary claim, even if made for a longer period, could be granted only for three years preceding the date of filing of the proceedings before the ::: Uploaded on - 17/07/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 28/08/2017 09:23:43 ::: WP 4208/15 4 Judgment Court. Since the writ petition is filed on 30.06.2015, it would be necessary to direct the Zilla Parishad to pay the difference of arrears of salary to the petitioner from 30.06.2012 till 30.06.2015.
5. Hence, for the reasons aforesaid, the writ petition is partly allowed. The Zilla Parishad is directed to pay the arrears of difference of salary to the petitioner for the period from 30.06.2012 till 30.06.2015 within three months. The respondent-Zilla Parishad should pay the regular salary that is admissible for an Assistant Teacher to the petitioner till the caste claim of the petitioner is decided. It is needless to mention that if the caste claim of the petitioner is invalidated, the Zilla Parishad is free to take appropriate action against the petitioner.
Rule is made absolute in the aforesaid terms with no order as to costs.
JUDGE JUDGE
APTE
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