RAMESH UPADHYA Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been filed with a prayer for mandamus directing the respondents to pay salary to the petitioners in regular grade with effect from 1-10-1989 and to provide other consequential benefits to the petitioners, The petitioners are teachers of the primary section of Sri Alpeshwarnath Sanskrit Maha Vidyalaya, Janewar, Fatehganj, Jaunpur which is a recognised Sanskrit Institution imparting education for the primary section. Junior High School, Purva Madhyama (High School), Uttar Madhyama (Intermediate) and Shastri (B.A.) sections. The Maha Vidyalaya is thus Imparting education from Class 1 upto graduate level and it is a recognised institution affiliated to Sampurnand Sanskrit University, Varanasi. The teachers of the institution teaching in the Junior High School Section, High Sohool, Intermediate and Bachelor of Arts Section are paid salary through State funds i.e. by the Slate Government. It is only teachers teaching in the primary section (such as the petitioners) who are not paid salary through State funds, and they are paid salary through the private resources of the institution. The institution is on the maintenance grant in aid list of the State Government. The primary section of the institution has been duly approved by the District Inspector of Schools, Jaunpur on 23-4-1958. In this connection the certificate of the District Inspector of Schools. Jaunpur dated 17-3-1971 is Annexare-2 to the petition. The certificate of the Banaras Sanskrit Vishwa Vidyalaya stating that the institution recognised upto B. A. level (Shastri) is Annexure-3 to the petition. The petitioners who are teaching in the primary section are getting salary of only Rs. 250/- per month as is evident from the certificate of the Manger dated 2-7-1990 (Annexure-4 to the petition). The State does not pay salary to the teachers of the primary section but it only gives some nominal compensation as is evident from Annexures-5 and 6. THIS compensation is clearly not sufficient to pay adequate salary to the teachers of the primary section. For example in the petitioners' Institution the compensation grant for the year 1986-87 was Rs. 2844/- for the year 1987-88 was Rs.2914/- and for 1988-89 was again Rs. 2914/-.

(2.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioners could not tell me whether there are any other teachers in the primary section apart from the two petitioners, but even of there are no other such teachers the compensation would give the petitioner about only Rs. 125/- per month, which in these hard days of inflation is next to nothing. The petitioners have b:en teaching since 1972-73 i e. for 20 years. Sanskrit is a great language of this country and to pay a salary of Rs. 250/- per month to a Sanskrit teachers is an intolerable insult to a great language and the teachers of such a great language. In this connection it has been stated in paragraph 10 of the writ petition that by a government order dated 6-9-1989, 339 institutions upto the level of High School and Intermediate in U. P. were approved by the State Government for payment of salary under the payment of Salaries Act. 1971. A true copy of the G O. dated 6-9-1989 is Annexure-7 to the petition. The petitioners have stated that in these 339 institutions teachers in Primary Section are now being paid by the State Government Salaries in accordance with the G.O. dated 28-2-1990 (which has prescribed the grade of Rs. 1100-1710 for high school trained teachers and of Rs. 950-1325 for junior high school trained teachers and the G O. dated 6-9-90 (which has prescribed Rs 850 P.M. for untrained teachers) but the teachers of primary sections of the Sanskrit institutions have not been given the same benefit, and thus they have been discriminated against. The petitioners made representations to the authorities as stated in paragraph 12 of the writ petition, but to no avail.

(3.) THE word 'Sanskrit' means "prepared, pure, refined or perfect". It was not for nothing that it was called the 'deva vani' (Language of the gods) It has an outstanding place in our culture, and indeed was recognized as a language of rare sublimity by the whole world. Sanskrit was the language of our philosophers, our scientists, our mathematicians, our poets and playwrights, our grammarians, our jurists etc. In grammer Panint and Patanjali (authors of Ashtadhyayi and the Mahabhashya) have no equals in the world, in astronomy and mathematics the works of Aryabhatta, Brahma Gupta, and Bhaskar opened up new frontiers for mankind, as did the works of Charak and Sushurt in medicine; in philosophy Gautam (founder of the Nyaya System), Ashvaghosha (author of Budha Charita). Kaplla (founder of the Sankhya System), Shankaracharya, Brihaspati etc present the widest range of philosophical systems the world has ever seen, jaimini's Mimansa Sutras laid the foundation of a whole system of rational interpretation of texts which was used not only in religion but also in law, philosphy. grammar, etc. In literature the contribution of Sanskrit is of the foremost order THE works of Kalidas (Shakuntala, Meghadoot, Malvikagnimitra, etc) Bhavabhuti (Malti Mahav, Uttar Ramcharit. etc) and the epics of Valmiki, Vyas, etc are known all over the world. THEse, and countless other Sanskrit works, kept the light of learning ablaze In our country upto modern times