SHAKUNTALA DEVI GUPTA Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioner, who had retired as an assistant teacher from the school at Parichha Thermal Power Project, Parichha, Jhansi, run and managed by Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utapadan Nigam Ltd., Lucknow (hereinafter referred to as 'U.P.R.V.U.N.L.') has prayed for quashing the office memorandum dated 11-1-2011, by which office memorandum dated 12-1-2009 has been amended and it was provided that the salary of the petitioner in the third time scale shall be in the pay scale of Rs. 5300- 8600 and not Rs. 8550- 13500, as fixed earlier and for a mandamus for paying retiral benefits treating her to have retired in the pay scale of Rs. 8550- 13500.

(2.) The petitioner was initially appointed as Assistant Teacher (Primary) in 1981, in a primary school in the name of Bal Shiksha Niketan being run by a private Management, in a building provided by erstwhile U.P. State Electricity Board (hereinafter referred to as 'Board'), at Parichha Thermal Power Project, Jhansi. Subsequently, the state government permitted the Board to start its own school upto High School level vide letter No. 3316 dated 31-5-1985. It also provided for the mechanism for recruitment of teachers. The building given to Bal Shiksha Niketan was got vacated and thereafter, Board's own primary school was started in the same building in the year 1985. The petitioner was not selected for appointment as the Assistant teacher. She filed Writ Petition No.18013 of 1985 for direction to the respondents to appoint her as Assistant Teacher in the school established by the Board. During the pendency of the writ petition, the respondents agreed to appoint her on temporary basis, subject to her withdrawing the writ petition. The petitioner withdrew the writ petition. Thereafter, the petitioner was appointed as Assistant Teacher (Primary) on adhoc basis, in the pay scale of Rs.1100-1575 vide appointment letter dated 31-1-1990, for one academic session. The said appointment was accorded due approval by District Basic Shiksha Adhikari, Jhansi by order dated 22-3-1990. She was permitted to continue in service and under the Office Memorandum dated 17.4.2002, her services were regularised. There is no dispute between the parties regarding these facts.

(3.) On 11-5-1998, Board issued Office Memorandum providing that the pay scale of Rs.490-750 mentioned at item no.4 of Board's previous Office Memorandum dated 30-11-1987 which was revised to Rs.1100-1575 w.e.f. 1-4-1984 shall stand substituted by pay scale of Rs.1200-1800. Paragraph 3 thereof, mentioned that pay scale at item no.3 being Rs.425-604, which was revised to Rs.1100-1575, shall continue to be the same. The dispute came into existence on account of a particular construction given to the said Board's Office Memorandum dated 11-5-1998. The Management of the Parichha Thermal Power Project, Jhansi applying Board's Office Memorandum dated 11-5-1998, issued an order dated 29-9-2000, whereby, the petitioner was placed in the pay scale of Rs.1200-1800, since the date of her initial appointment on 1-2-1990. It seems that other teachers of the Project, who were appointed prior to the petitioner when pay scale for such post was Rs.425-604 and were placed in revised pay scale of Rs.1100-1575, as per Board's Office Memorandum dated 30-11-1987, were not given pay scale of Rs.1200-1800. They felt dissatisfied and represented to the authorities for their pay scale being also revised to Rs.1200-1800. The Deputy General Manager (Head Office) vide letter dated 25-9-2004 to the General Manager, Human Resources and Administration, U.P.R.V.U.N.L., invited his attention towards disparity in pay scale of two sets of teachers working in the same Project and recommended for giving uniform pay scale of Rs.1200-1800 to all the teachers. Subsequently, Company Secretary of U.P.R.V.U.N.L. sought clarification from the General Manager of the Project as to how teachers working in the same Project are given two different grades. The matter remained pending and in the meantime, the petitioner was granted II Time Scale of Rs.5300-9100 on completion of 14 years of service and Third Time Scale of Rs.8,550-13,500 on completion of 19 years of service by Office Memorandum dated 24-4-2010. Thus, the petitioner drew the salary in the scale of Rs.8,550-13,500 till she retired on 30.6.2010.