Uttarakhand High Court

WPSB/101/2021 on 7 May, 2025

Author: Manoj Kumar Tiwari

Bench: Manoj Kumar Tiwari

                                                                       2025:UHC:3589-DB
              Office Notes,
             reports, orders
             or proceedings
SL.
      Date    or directions                COURT'S OR JUDGE'S ORDERS
No.
             and Registrar's
               order with
               Signatures
                               WPSB No. 101 of 2021
                               Hon'ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.

Hon'ble Ashish Naithani, J.

Mr. M.S. Bhandari, Advocate for the petitioner.

2. Mr. Puran Singh Bisht, Additional Chief Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand.

3. Petitioner served as Lecturer in a Government Aided Intermediate College and retired from service on 30.09.2018. According to him, he discharged duties as Officiating Principal in the concerned college w.e.f. 01.04.2012 till his retirement on 30.09.2018, however, no monetary benefits were paid to him for the services he discharged as Officiating Principal.

4. By means of this writ petition, petitioner has sought the following reliefs:-

"a) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus commanding/ directing the respondents to grant the arrears of salary of the post of Principal as per the provisions of Regulation - 2 (3) of the Intermediate Education Act, 1921 and Regulation 2 (3) of Chapter -II framed under the Uttaranchal School Education Act, 2006, as the petitioner worked on the post of Officiating Principal with effect from 01.04.2012 to 30.09.2018.

b) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus commanding / directing the respondents to refix/ re-determine the pension of the petitioner after granting the benefit of salary of the post of Principal and release the arrears of difference of salary forthwith alongwith interest @ 18% per annum from the date of entitlement."

5. Learned State Counsel, however, has drawn attention of this Court to paragraph 2025:UHC:3589-DB no. 4 of the counter affidavit filed by Mr. M.S. Rawat, Chief Education Officer, Pauri. Based on the pleading made in the counter affidavit, learned State Counsel submits that petitioner has not completed ten years service as Lecturer on the date he was given officiating charge as Principal. Thus, learned State Counsel submits that petitioner do not fulfil eligibility conditions, as mentioned in the Regulations for promotion as downgrade Principal. Thus, learned State Counsel submits that petitioner is not entitled to any benefit.

6. Learned counsel for petitioner has drawn our attention to a Division Bench judgment rendered in Writ Petition (S/B) No. 428 of 2017, where Coordinate Bench had directed the State Government to pay salary for the post of Principal to the writ petitioner for the period 01.12.2011 to 31.01.2015.

7. Be that as it may, since the competent authority has to examine the claim of the petitioner as per applicable Rules, therefore, we are not inclined to go into merits of the case.

8. We, therefore, dispose of the writ petition by directing respondent no. 2 to examine petitioner's claim for monetary benefits for serving as Officiating Principal and also to consider his claim for re- fixation of pension, as per law, within five months from the date of production of certified copy of this order.

(Ashish Naithani, .J.) (Manoj Kumar Tiwari, .J.) 07.05.2025 Navin 2025:UHC:3589-DB