Delhi High Court
Shri Raj Kumar Gaur vs Directorate Of Education & Anr. on 16 January, 2017
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) No. 6689/2003
% 16th January, 2017
SHRI RAJ KUMAR GAUR ..... Petitioner
Through: Kunwar C.M.Khan and Ms. Ashma
Choudhary, Advocates.
versus
DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION & ANR. ..... Respondents
Through: Mr. Naushal Ahmed Khan, ASC for
R-1.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VALMIKI J.MEHTA
To be referred to the Reporter or not?
VALMIKI J. MEHTA, J (ORAL)
1. By this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India, the petitioner/Sh. Raj Kumar Gaur seeks the relief of being granted
monetary benefits of the Assured Career Promotion Scheme (in short „ACP
Scheme‟) as applicable to schools in Delhi by virtue of the notification of
the Directorate of Education dated 25.8.2003. By virtue of the ACP
Scheme, given in the notification dated 25.8.2003, the benefit is to be
granted with effect from 9.8.1999.
2. As per the ACP Scheme, an employee gets benefit of a pay
scale of a higher post although the person is not appointed to a higher post.
The object of the scheme is to prevent stagnation in the career progress of a
person simply because the higher promotion posts or vacancies therein are
not available. In such a case since an employee otherwise satisfies the
eligibility criteria for appointment to the higher post, but since the employee
cannot be appointed in the absence of vacancies in the higher post,
accordingly ACP benefits are granted being the monetary benefits of the
higher post.
3. In the present case, petitioner was appointed as a primary
teacher in Gobin Ram Gurukul Senior Secondary School (Govt. Aided)
w.e.f 27.10.1967. Ordinarily, petitioner would have been entitled to the
benefit of ACP Scheme on completion of 12 years provided the petitioner
had the necessary eligibility criteria including educational qualifications of
the higher post, but the petitioner is not seeking monetary benefits of the
higher post on the ground of having the eligibility criteria for the higher
post, but petitioner relies upon the notification of the Government of India
dated 3.11.1987 which clarifies that there will be no requirements of a
candidate satisfying the qualifications of the higher post in case a teacher
had already completed 18 years of service. This aspect and the circular
dated 3.11.1987 is stated in para 9 of the writ petition of the petitioner and
this para reads as under:-
"9. That even otherwise the respondent‟s no.1, own notification no.5-
180/86-UT-1, Government of India dated 3-11-1987, the relevant
point/clarification contemplates as under:-
"4. In the case of Primary School Teachers (PST) and TGT, it has
been stipulated that for grant of selection scale they will be required to
obtain the qualifications prescribed for the next higher post. A point
has been raised as whether this will be applicable in the case of all the
existing in-cumbents
Clarification:-
For those teachers who have already completed 18 years of service, the
requirement of acquiring the qualification for the next higher grade
may be waived. Those who have not completed 18 years of service as
well as new entrance will be required to acquire the qualifications
prescribed for the higher post before being considered for grant of
selection-scale...."
That notwithstanding that the respondent‟s own internal rules and regulations
for revision of pay scales of school teachers clearly and completely covered
petitioner‟s case, the petitioner is even ready to attend 21 days seminar to
qualify himself for the Primary School Teachers Senior Scale but the
respondent officers illegally, arbitrary and maliciously denying the petitioner‟s
his legal claim which is otherwise due to him. Copies of the said rules and
regulations are attached herewith and marked as Annexure-'E.‟ "
4. A reference to the counter-affidavits filed by both the
respondent nos. 1/Director of Education as also respondent no.2/school
shows that they are objecting to grant of ACP to the petitioner as per limited
defence that the petitioner did not attend 21 days seminar in service training,
and which seminar a teacher must attend for grant of ACP benefit.
5. The issue therefore is that whether the petitioner has
participated in 21 days seminar in service training period for being granted
the benefit of ACP Scheme. In this regard, counsel for the petitioner argues,
and in my opinion rightly, that at best petitioner can seek training in the
service training program, but petitioner cannot attend the in service training
program unless that program is held, and therefore, any default on the part
of the respondents in failing to allow the petitioner to participate in the 21
days seminar of service training program should not act to the detriment of
the petitioner. Counsel for the petitioner has drawn the attention of this
Court to various communications addressed by the petitioner to the school
for attending the service training program and in this regard the
communication dated 29.5.2003 is relevant and the same reads as under:-
" Raj Kumar Gaur
Asst. Teacher
W-321, Chiragh Delhi
New Delhi-110017
Date: 29.05.2003 #26214543
To
The Manager/Principal
D.D.A.V. Sr. Secondary School
Naya Bans
Khari Baoli,
Delhi-110006
Subject: Regarding in service Training/Seminar
Dear Sir,
Reference your letter dt. 16.04.2003 to me. As per instruction given by you in
this letter I visited the D.I.E.T office Keshav Puram Delhi-35 on 26.05.2003 to
seek information for attending the seminar.
The official concerned refused to give me any information and told me that it
was one of my concerned to visit that office and seek information.
He told me that it is the duty of the school Manager/Principal to correspond
with us in the matter to seek information about the conduction of the seminars
for different categories of the teachers.
I showed him my I card to prove that I am a bonafide teacher and once again
requested him to give information regarding the conduct of the seminar for the
primary teachers during these summer vacations. He told me that presently no
seminar is being conducted for the primary teachers, your school
Manager/Principal will be informed as and when the seminar is organized for
the primary teachers. They should also keep in touch with this office in the
matter under intimation to the concerned E.O and D.D.E.
He asked me to get my name registered in that office for the purpose which I
did. My name is at serial number 35 in that list.
This is for information and necessary action.
Thanking you
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
(RAJ KUMAR GAUR)
Cc: 01. Dy. Director of Education (Dist North) Zone-8, Lucknow Road,
Timar Pur, Delhi.
02. Education Officer, Zone No.8, Dist. Lucknow Road, Timar Pur,
Delhi."
6. It is clear from the pleadings of this writ petition that normally
the service training/seminar of 21 days is held in the summer vacations.
Summer vacations after 29.5.2003 when the petitioner wrote his letter, were
in June, 2003. Petitioner had already registered at serial no.35 of the
program and which is clear from the aforesaid letter dated 29.5.2003 written
by the petitioner to the respondent no.2/school. Therefore, if after the letter
dated 29.5.2003 the respondents have not sent the petitioner for any service
training program/seminar of 21 days, petitioner cannot be blamed.
7. In view of the above, since petitioner satisfies the requirement
of ACP scheme, inasmuch as the only defence is the petitioner not having
complied with the service training program of 21 days, and which in my
opinion is deemed to be complied with in the summer vacations of 2003, it
is therefore appropriate that petitioner should be granted ACP benefit w.e.f.
1.7.2003.
8. Accordingly, this writ petition is allowed and the petitioner is
directed to be granted ACP benefit by the respondents by taking that
petitioner has complied with the requirements as on 1.7.2003 and petitioner
has become entitled to ACP benefit w.e.f 1.7.2003. The necessary
consequential monetary benefits which have to be paid to the petitioner be
calculated by the respondents and respondent no.1 will, within a period of
three months from today, send 95% of the said monetary benefits payable to
the respondent no.2/school and respondent no.2/school, after adding its 5%
content to the same, will then pay the 100% of the monetary emoluments to
the petitioner under the ACP Scheme w.e.f. 1.7.2003. Respondent
no.2/school will pay the monetary ACP benefits to the petitioner within a
period of two months of receiving the 95% aid with respect to the ACP
Scheme from the respondent no.1.
9. The writ petition is accordingly allowed and disposed of in
terms of the aforesaid observations, leaving the parties to bear their own
costs.
JANUARY 16, 2017 VALMIKI J. MEHTA, J
ib
