VINEET KUMAR Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Mr. Anil Sharma, learned counsel for the petitioners as well as Mr. M.M.D. Agarwal, learned counsel for the respondents.

(2.) THE petitioners have prayed for issuing a writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to pay salary under the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Junior High Schools (Payment of Salaries of Teachers and Other Employees) Act, 1978 (in short Act, 1978). The petitioners are imparting education to the students of Primary Sections of Sri Daya Nand Arya Madhyamik Vidyalaya (Jr. High School) (in short School). The school has received the recognition from the District Inspector of Schools, Etawah on 03.07.1965. The school is run and governed under the control of Committee of Management of the School i.e. opposite party No. 4. It is stated that after enforcement of the payment of salaries Act 1978, the teachers and other staff of the senior primary section i.e. Junior High School of the Institution are being paid salary under the Act, 1978, but the petitioners who are imparting education to the students of Class I to V are being deprived from salary from the State Exchequer whereas their appointments are approved by the Competent Authority.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the petitioners Mr. Sharma drew attention of this Court towards the decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court rendered on the appointments of Primary School Teachers. Firstly, he cited a case of Vinod Sharma and others Vs. Director of Education (Basic) and others, 1998 SC 127, in which the Hon'ble Supreme Court has allowed the appeal with the direction to the respondents to pay the salary to the appellants under the Payment of Salary Act, 1978. The next judgment cited by him is the State of U.P. and others Vs. Pawan Kumar Divedi and others, Civil Appeal No. 3989 of 2006 decided by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. In this case one question for consideration of the Hon'ble Supreme Court was whether teachers of privately managed primary schools and who are teaching in primary sections of privately managed high schools are eligible to receive their salaries from the State Government? In this case the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed that "We find merit in the argument of Dr. M.P. Raju that schools having the Junior Basic Schools and the Senior Basic Schools either separately or together are under the same Board i.e., the Board of Basic Education, as per the 1972 Act. Moreover, any other view may render the provisions of the 1978 Act unconstitutional on the ground of discrimination. In our considered view, any interpretation which may lead to unconstitutionality of the provision must be avoided. We hold, as it must be, that Junior High Schools necessarily includes Classes I to V when they are opened in a Senior Basic School (Classes VI to VIII) after obtaining separate recognition and for which there may not be a separate order of grant -in -aid by the Government".