STATE OF KERALA Vs. T C VALSAMMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants are the respondents in W.P. (C) No. 21854 of 2006. The respondents are the petitioners therein. The brief facts of the case are as follows.

(2.) The respondents are Teachers and Ayahs working in various Kindergartens run by the appellants. They commenced service in the Balavadies/Feeding Centres in the year 1984 after they were locally recruited otherwise than through the Employment Exchanges/Kerala Public Service Commission. Initially Teachers were being paid Rs. 500/- per mensem as honorarium and Ayahs were being paid Rs. 100/- per mensem as honorarium. Thereafter the honorarium was enhanced to Rs. 1,000/- and Rs. 500/- respectively for Teachers and Ayahs upon the Balavadies being upgraded as Kindergartens. They are presently being paid honorarium depending on their length of service. Teachers who are matriculates having five years of service are paid a honorarium of Rs. 2,000/- per mensem, Teachers who are matriculates having more than five years of service are paid a honorarium of Rs. 2,100/- per mensem and Teachers with ten years of service are paid a honorarium of Rs. 2,200/- per mensem. Teachers who are not matriculates and have less than five years of service are paid Rs. 1,400/- per mensem, Teachers who have more than five years of service are being paid Rs. 1,600/- per mensem and Teachers who have ten years of service are being paid Rs. 1,800/- per mensem as honorarium. The honorarium being paid to Ayahs has been revised from Rs. 500/- to Rs. 1,000/- per mensem.

(3.) The respondents had earlier filed O.P. No. 2408 of 2001 in this Court claiming regularisation in service as Nursery Teachers and Ayahs and the scale of pay of Nursery Teachers. By Ext.P5 judgment delivered on 13.8.2004 a learned single Judge of this Court disposed of the said Writ Petition with a direction to the Government to consider their grievances and to take a decision thereon. The respondents thereafter filed Ext.P6 representation before the Director, Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Development Department. The said representation was forwarded to the Government for disposal. The Government thereafter passed Ext.P7 order dated 1.3.2006 rejecting their claim for regularisation in service. The Government however, permitted the respondents to continue in service on a provisional basis, on humanitarian grounds. Aggrieved thereby the respondents filed W.P.(C). No. 21854 of 2006 seeking the following reliefs: