WPSS/530/2024
2024 Latest Caselaw 549 UK

Uttarakhand High Court

WPSS/530/2024 on 3 April, 2024

Author: Pankaj Purohit

Bench: Pankaj Purohit

                Office Notes,
             reports, orders or
SL.           proceedings or
      Date                                     COURT'S OR JUDGES'S ORDERS
No             directions and
             Registrar's order
              with Signatures
                                  WPSS No.530 of 2024
                                  Hon'ble Pankaj Purohit, J.

Mr. Bhagwat Mehra, learned counsel for the petitioners.

2. Mr. Narayan Dutt, learned Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand.

3. By means of this writ petition, petitioners have sought the indulgence of this Court by commanding the respondents to forthwith grant the Selection Grade of Pay (Grade Pay of Rs.4800/-) to the petitioners from due date, details whereof is given in Para 4 of the writ petition, along with arrears of the same.

4. Facts of the case shorn-off unnecessary detail are that petitioners were initially appointed as Assistant Teacher in Government Primary School. Subsequently, the petitioners were promoted to the next higher post of 'Assistant Teacher' i.e. Head Master in Government Primary School/Assistant Teacher, Junior High School. The petitioners were thereafter adjusted on the post of Assistant Teacher, L.T. Grade on a Grade Pay of Rs.4600/-, on the basis of the option exercised by them.

5. The controversy involved in this writ petition cropped up when the petitioners completed ten years of regular service on Selection Pay-Scale and they claimed for Selection Grade Pay of Rs.4800/- from the respondent Department on the ground that they have continued ten years of continuous regular service, and thus they are entitled to get the Selection Grade Pay reckoning the previous service rendered by them. Petitioners have submitted the proposal through proper channel for grant of Selection Grade Pay as stated above. However the said request was

turned down by respondent no.3 on the ground that the period shall be counted only from the date of adjustment as L.T. Grade Teacher and the period spent in the same pay scale as Assistant Teacher, Government Junior High School shall not be counted. The joint representation moved by the petitioners also could not yield any positive result. Feeling aggrieved by the aforesaid action, on the part of the respondents, for denial of Selection Grade Pay to the petitioners, they are before this Court.

6. It is contended by learned counsel for the petitioner that similar controversy have come up before this Court in several writ petitions and this Court has been pleased to allow those writ petitions where a clear cut mandate has been given by this Court that the service rendered by such teachers in Government Primary and Government Junior High School shall be counted for the purpose of selection as well as the promotional grade and in those matters such relief has already been granted as reliance has been placed by learned counsel for the petitioner, in the judgment rendered in WPSS No.602 of 2014, Manu Dhondiyal Vs. State of Uttarakhand whereby several writ petitions have been allowed by this Court involving the same controversy.

7. It is submitted by learned counsel for the petitioners that the said judgment attained finality as the matter was taken up in special appeal thereafter to Hon'ble Apex Court, but the said judgment passed by learned Single Judge in the case of Manu Dhondiyal (supra) was affirmed since his case is squarely covered by the aforesaid judgment, the writ petitions deserve to be allowed.

8. Attention of this Court was drawn by learned counsel for the petitioners to another judgment passed by Co-ordinate Bench of this Court wherein even the Government Order dated 06.09.2019 was also discussed and dealt

with and that writ petition has also been allowed by the Co-ordinate Bench being Writ Petition (S/S) No. 292 of 2021, Ramesh Chandra Bhatt and Another Vs. State of Uttarakhand vide judgment dated 21.09.2021.

9. In this view of the matter, this Court finds no reason to deviate from the judgment and order passed by Coordinate Bench of this Court. Moreover, this Court itself have decided and passed several orders regarding the controversy wherein it has been held that service rendered prior to the adjustment of the petitioner as Assistant Teacher, L.T. Grade shall be counted for the purpose of granting the selection grade as well as promotional grade to such teachers.

10. In this view of the matter, the writ petition is finally disposed off and it is provided that the petitioners shall submit a detailed representation to the respondent No.3- Additional Director of Education (Secondary), Kumaon Division, Nainital within 15 days from today and if such representation is moved by the petitioners jointly or severally, respondent No.3-Additional Director of Education (Secondary), Kumaon Division, Nainital shall decide such representation within 03 months' from the date of receipt of representation by a reasoned and speaking order(s) in view of the judgment and orders rendered by this Court as referred in the body of this judgment.

11. No order as to costs.

(Pankaj Purohit, J.) 03.04.2024 PN