STATE OF WEST BENGAL Vs. BAKUL KUMAR SING

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant appeal arises from a Judgment and order dtd. 4/9/2018 passed by the Single Bench in WP no. 5026 (W) of 2015 by which the authorities were directed to grant higher scale of pay to the petitioner from the date following the last date of examination for higher qualification in accordance with law. The State filed the said appeal way back in the year 2019.

(2.) At the relevant point of time, there were divergent opinions expressed by the several Benches of this Court on the core issue, some of the views which were taken on the entitlement of the teacher acquiring a higher scale of qualification to be governed by the provision contained in the West Bengal Control of Expenditure Act, 2005; whereas the other views were that in the event the higher qualification is acquired prior to coming into force the said Act, in absence of any expressed intention, it cannot operate retrospectively. Because of the uncertainty prevailed at the relevant point of time, the other Benches referred the matter to the Hon'ble Chief Justice to constitute a Larger Bench by framing questions to be answered so as to bring uniformity and/or certainty in law. On the other hand, some of the matter approached before the Hon'ble Supreme Court where notices were issued and upon being apprised of the fact that a Larger Bench is constituted to answer the identical or connected issues, the same may be decided by the Larger Bench. Ultimately, the Larger Bench in a lead case (Utpal Kanti Karan v. State of West Bengal & Ors. reported in (2024) SCC Online Cal 2274) along with the several other writ petitions answered the references on February 7, 2024.

(3.) The Counsel for the State as well as the respondent are uniform in their submissions that once the Larger Bench has decided the references one of which is a question involved in the instant appeal, the instant appeal can be disposed of on the basis thereof. In order to find out whether the question involved in the instant appeal is one of the questions being a reference before the Larger Bench it would be apposite to narrate salient facts and the point involved in the instant appeal.