CHANDER KANTA Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Initially, the petitioner possessed the qualification of Matriculation examination which she passed in 1953. Thereafter, she passed the examination for Junior Secondary Teacher Certificate from the Education Department, Punjab. She did her Intermediate from the Panjab University in April, 1957. On the strength of her qualifications, the petitioner was appointed as a Teacher in the Education Department with effect from 1.10.1963. She was given pay in the scale of Rs. 60-120. In the writ petition she has made a claim for grant of higher grade on the basis of her higher academic qualifications. She has relied upon a circular dated 23.7.1957 issued by the then Government of Punjab and has pleaded that the circular dated 23.7.1957 has been applied by the Government of Haryana even after 1.11.1966.

(2.) The writ petition has been opposed on the ground of delay and laches and also on the ground that the circular issued by the Government of Punjab on 23.7.1957 is no more applicable to the services of the Government of Haryana, particularly in view of the revision of pay scales with effect from 1.12.1967, 1.4.1979 and the circular issued by the Government of Haryana on 9.3.1990.

(3.) The cases of the petitioners in Rattan Singh's case were identical to the case of the present petitioner; while opposing those writ petitions the respondents had raised the objection of delay and laches but the same was rejected by a Division Bench on the ground that the respondents cannot take advantage of their omission, to give effect to the judgments of the Supreme Court in Chaman Lal and Others v. State of Haryana, 1987 4 SLR 4; Punjab Higher Qualified Teachers Union and others. v. State of Punjab and others, 1988 1 SLR 768; and a number of other decided cases and held that in view of the declaration of law made by the Supreme Court and by this Court there is no justification to deny the benefit of higher grades to the petitioners on the basis of their higher qualifications.