Raju Das vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2023 Latest Caselaw 3346 Cal

Court No. 22            IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
11.5.2023                Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction
                                Appellate Side
(Item No. 119)
(AB)
                            W.P.A. 11218 of 2023

                                   Raju Das
                                      VS
                        The State of West Bengal & Ors.

                       Mr. Gourav Das
                       Ms. Madhumita Das
                                                  ... for the petitioner


                        Affidavit of service filed in Court today, is

                 taken on record.

                         The petitioner claimed to be an Assistant

                 Teacher presently working at Pairachali High School

                 (HS), District - South 24-Parganas.       The petitioner

                 had qualified his Higher Education, namely, M.Sc. in

                 Mathematics. The petitioner claimed higher scale of

                 pay commensurating with his Post Graduation degree.

                 The    relevant      School   authority   had      already

                 recommended the case of the petitioner          before the

                 respondent No. 4 but the respondent No. 4 had not

decided the issue.

The petitioner finally through its advocate's

letter dated March 3, 2023 made a representation

before the respondent No. 4 and the same had not yet

received any attention of the said authority.

Mr. Gourav Das, learned counsel for the

petitioner had referred to the following judgments in

support of the petitioner's case which are :

(i) Judgment and order dated September 9,

2021 delivered by a co-ordinate Bench

in WPA 21113 of 2019 (Subrata Kumar

Ghosh Vs. The State of West Bengal &

Ors.)

(ii) The judgment and order dated February

11, 2021 passed by the Hon'ble

Division Bench in MAT 825 of 2020

(Md. Adeel Uz Zaman Vs. the State of

West Bengal & Ors.)

The learned counsel for the petitioner further

relied upon Section 14 sub Section (3) of West

Bengal Schools (Control and Expenditure) Act,

2005 and on the basis of the said two judgments of

this Court he submitted that, the petitioner is eligible

to receive the benefit claimed by him.

None appeared for the respondents.

In view of the above, the respondent No. 4 is

directed to decide the issue raised by the petitioner

through its advocate's letter dated March 3, 2023,

Annexure P-11 at page 42 to the writ petition

treating the same to be the representation of the

petitioner upon giving at least seven days prior

hearing notice to the petitioner and the respondent

Nos. 5 and 6 respectively and after giving them an

opportunity of hearing shall decide the issue by

passing a reasoned order in accordance with law.

While taking the decision, the respondent No. 4

shall consider the judgments mentioned as above and

the relevant provisions of law including their

applicability in the facts of the petitioner's case and

then shall pass its reasoned order.

The respondent No. 4 shall carry out and

complete the entire exercise as directed above,

positively within a period of six weeks from the date of

communication of this order and then shall

communicate his reasoned order to the petitioner and

the respondent Nos. 5 and 6 within a further period of

two weeks from the date of the said reasoned order.

In the event, reasoned order goes in favour of

the petitioner, the respondent No. 4 shall take all

further and consequential steps to give effect thereto

in favour of the petitioner positively within a period of

four weeks from the date of the said reasoned order to

be passed.

Since affidavits are not called for, the

allegations made in this writ petition are deemed not

to have been admitted by the respondents.

It is made clear that, this Court has not gone

into the merits of the claim of the petitioner in any

manner whatsoever and the petitioner shall be at

liberty to urge whatever points he wishes to urge by

relying upon whatever documents and records he

wishes to rely upon before the respondent No. 4.

It is made clear that, this order shall not create

any equity or right in favor of the petitioner if the

petitioner is otherwise found ineligible to receive his

claim strictly in accordance with law.

On the above terms this writ petition being

WPA 11218 of 2023 stands disposed of.

There shall, however, be no order as to costs.

Urgent certified photo copy of this order, if

applied for, be supplied to the parties expeditiously on

compliance of usual legal formalities.

(Aniruddha Roy, J.)