SHAKTINATH JHA Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ application the petitioners, who are the teachers of Government Polytechnics, have prayed for a direction of the respondents for payment of arrears and the difference of the admitted salary in the revised UGC pay scale for the post each of them are holding i.e. Assistant Professor/Associate Professor, with interest on the admissible amount.

(2.) THE case of the petitioners is that the petitioner No. 2 is the Principal of Government Polytechnic, Ranchi and all others are the Associate Professors of Government Polytechnics. They are confirmed teachers of Government Polytechnics getting UGC pay scale. The Government of Bihar, Department of Science and Technology, by its letter No. JA -3/89 -90 -379, dated 16.2.1990 made provision for payment of salary in the revised UGC pay scale with promotional provisions to the teachers of Government Polytechnics along with the teachers of other technical institutes. The said letter has been annexed as Annexure -2 to this writ application. The grievance of the petitioners is that though the provision was made for payment of revised UGC pay scale with effect from 1.1.1986, yet the same has not been paid to the petitioners. The petitioners have also given detail of the arrears claimed by them. According to the petitioners, they filed several representations before the competent authorities, but the same were not heeded upon.

(3.) IN that view, I am of the opinion that the petitioners have been arbitrarily discriminated against by not paying to them the revised scale at least with effect from 1.1.1988, the date from which the other teachers, covered by Annexure -2, have been given the benefit of the revised scale. If some of the teachers, who were also covered by Annexure -2, have already been paid the benefit of the revised scale with effect from 1.1.1988, there is no reason why the petitioners be denied the said benefit.