NILOMONI SAIKIA Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Head Smt. N. Saikia, learned Counsel for the petitioners. Also heard Mr. Pathak, learned Standing Counsel, Education Department as well as Mr. D. Saikia, learned Standing Counsel, Finance Department.

(2.) The brief case of the petitioners is that they were appointed as 2nd founder teachers by the Managing Committees of various L.P. Schools in Morigaon District. The schools in which they were working, were provincialised. The petitioners were accommodated against the posts created under the OBB (Operation Black Board) under Central Government Scheme. The petitioners were initially appointed as primary school teachers on purely temporary basis with monthly stipend at the fixed rate of Rs. 900/- per month with certain terms and conditions. One of such appointment letters in respect of Sri Nilomoni Saikia issued by the Deputy Inspector of School, Morigaon vide Memo No. 20/94/70 dated 29.3.1995 has been annexed as Annexure-1 to the writ petition. They were sent for training and all of them successfully completed the training in the year 1998 as per the announcement of result on 31.3.1998. The present petitioners claim for regular time scale of pay from their respective dates of joining as per the time scale fixed under the Central Government Scheme i.e. Rs. 2985/- PM. It is the specific grievance of the petitioners that the aforesaid scale of Rs. 2985/- has been granted to other similarly situated persons from the date of their joining. In support of his the petitioners have annexed the copy of an order issued by the Joint Director, (Elementary) Education, Assam, Kahilipara vide Memo No. EPA-I/2000/Pt-V/114 dated 1.10.2003 (Annexure-5 to the writ petition). Claiming similar pay scale from the date of joining the petitioners submitted a representation dated 5.10.2005 before the Secretary of Education, Dispur, Assam but the same has not been considered by the aforesaid Secretary and the same is still pending. Smt. Saikia, learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners are entitled to get the benefit of time scale of pay as prescribed by the Central Government from the respective dates of joining inasmuch as the same has been allowed in respect of 6 (six) similarly situated teachers.

(3.) Mr. Pathak, learned Standing Counsel, Education Department submits that the petitioners were appointed only on 29.3.1995" at the monthly fixed stipend of Rs. 900/-and they have accepted the same and only after a lapse of 12 years they have approached this Court in the year 2007 for granting them pay scale from the dates of their joining which is not permissible inasmuch as it is hit by the law of estoppel. According to Mr. Pathak, the petitioners accepted the terms and conditions mentioned in the appointment letters and they can't now retract after lapse of a long period of time. Moreover, according to Mr. Pathak, the Government has taken a policy decision to appoint teachers initially on temporary basis on a monthly fixed stipend of Rs. 900/-, which has been raised subsequently to Rs. 1800/- and to send them to training and if they pass the training, they would be entitled to time scale of pay. As per the said policy the Government allowed the time scale of pay to the petitioners w.e.f. 1.3.1998 as has been indicated in order dated 14.3.2000 (Annexure 3 to the writ petition). His aforesaid submissions are based on affidavit-in-opposition filed by the respondent Joint Director (Elementary) Education, Assam regarding payment of time scale to six similarly situated persons it has been explained in para 14 of the affidavit, which is reproduced below: