THE REGISTRAR Vs. DR.K.SUDHAKARA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals are before us pursuant to the reference order dtd. 3/10/2019 of a Division Bench of this Court in the said appeals. The issue pertains to the effective date of entitlement, of teachers in colleges who had acquired Ph.D degrees while in service, to the benefit of two advance increments as envisaged under the UGC Scheme of 1998 that was made effective from 1/1/1996. A learned Single Judge, in the judgment impugned in the appeals, found that the entitlement of the teachers to the benefit of advance increments was with effect from 1/1/1996 itself. The said finding was rendered following the judgment dtd. 20/6/2003 of another learned Single Judge in O.P.No.32727 of 2001, the appeal against which was dismissed by a Division Bench of this Court by judgment dtd. 28/9/2004 in W.A.No.1635 of 2004. The referring court, however, found that the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture Research and Education, New Delhi had, through a clarification dtd. 14/11/2005, declared that the benefit of two advance increments would be available to the teachers concerned only with effect from 27/7/1998 and that, relying on the said clarification, a subsequent Division Bench of this Court had, through its judgment dtd. 31/7/2006 in W.A.No.1044 of 2005 and connected cases held that the benefit aforementioned would be available only with effect from 27/7/1998. It is with a view to resolve the above conflict of opinions that the matters are now placed before us.

(2.) We have heard Sri. Robson Paul, the learned counsel for the appellants and Sri. P.V.Jayachandran, the learned counsel for the 1st respondent.

(3.) The Government of India, after taking into consideration the recommendations made by the UGC decided to revise the pay scale of teachers in the Central Universities and notified the revised pay scales and provisions of the UGC Scheme 1998 through a communication dtd. 27/7/1998. The said communication made the scheme applicable to the teachers in all the Central Universities and Colleges thereunder and the deemed to be universities whose maintenance expenditure was met by the UGC. The scheme envisaged, inter alia, the grant of the following incentives for Ph.D/M.Phil degree holders: