SEETHALAXMI Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner, a pensioner is essentially grieving against the denial of one solitary increment which avails to all civil servants who have studied in Kannada Medium upto SSLC with Kannada as one of subjects in the syllabus.

(2.) Learned Sr.Advocate appearing for the petitioner argues that the petitioner having put in a very long service has retired on attaining the age of superannuation; she ought to have been accorded one Kannada Language Examination Increment because of the academic qualification; not extending such a benefit singularly to the petitioner is discriminatory and therefore violative of Article 14 of the Constitution; the money payable as salary and emoluments are a property of the employee and therefore not paying amounts to violation of constitutional guarantee under Article 300A, vide K.T PLANTATION vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA, (2011) 9 SCC 1. He also places reliance on a Co-ordinate Bench decision of this court in W.P.No.13242/2021 (S-KSAT) between STATE and OTHERS vs. P. SHOBHA and ANOTHER, disposed off vide order dtd. 23/10/2021 wherein certain observations are made about the entitlement of similarly circumstanced litigants being granted such increments.

(3.) After service of notice, the respondents have entered appearance through the learned AGA, who vehemently opposes the petition making submission in justification of the Tribunal's order dtd. 19/1/2022 whereby petitioner's Application No.597/2021 has been negatived. Secondly, he seeks dismissal of the petition on the ground of delay and laches, petitioner having already retired from service on 31/10/2019. Lastly, he disputes the invocability of the Co-ordinate Bench decision supra.