MAYA SINGH Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ application the petitioner has prayed for a direction to the concerned respondents to pay her retiral dues as well as arrears of salary on the basis of U.G.C. revised pay scale and to fix her pension and other retiral dues on the basis of the last pay drawn on the post of University Professor from which she has retired and for quashing the part of the order dated 16.03.2004 contained in Annexure 2 and the fixation chart enclosed therewith (Annexure 2/1) and also the order as contained in Annexure 7 whereby the petitioner 'sscale has been down graded from the scale of University Professor to the pay scale of Lecturer, arbitrarily and illegally and that too after the retirement of the petitioner.

(2.) ACCORDING to the petitioner, she was appointed as a lecturer in the year 1968 after she passed M.A. in Hindi and obtained her Ph.D. degree. The petitioner was initially appointed as a Lecturer in K.B. Womens ' College, Hazaribagh and then rose to the scale of University Professor and was appointed as Head of the Department of Hindi of Vinoba Bhave University and retired from service with effect from 1.7.2003. It has been stated that during his service tenure, her career was unblemished. The petitioner was initially appointed in A.N. College, Barh as a Lecturer in Hindi. Thereafter she had joined as Lecturer in Jodh Singh Namdhari Womens ' College, Daltongaj on 20.2.1970. She remained there till 19.2.1972 and thereafter she was appointed as Lecturer in K.B. Womens ' College. Hazaribagh on 21.2.1972. The petitioner in due course was promoted to the scale of Reader and thereafter she was further promoted to the post of University Professor and on that post she was confirmed with effect from 7.7.1988 vide order dated 21.1.2000 issued by Vinoba Bhave University (Annexure -3). According to the rules and circulars, the petitioner was entitled to get her salary on the revised pay scale with effect from 1.1.1996, le., Rs. 16400 -22400, but till her retirement she was given salary in the old scale of Rs. 4500 -7300. The petitioner, after her retirement, filed representation before the Chancellor for her grievance of downgrading her pay scale. At the time of retirement, she was the senior -most professor in the Department of Hindi in Vinoba Bhave University and on that basis she was appointed Head of the Department of Hindi by the University. In view of her seniority and merit, downgrading her scale and reduction of pay without even giving any opportunity of hearing is wholly arbitrary and illegal. The petitioner is entitled to get her pension on the basis of last pay drawn by her, Le., 6900.00 , but the same is not being paid to her. The petitioner is also entitled to get her gratuity and other retiral benefits on the basis of the said scale and she is also entitled to get difference of pay with effect from 1.1.1996 till her retirement along with dearness allowance and other consequential benefits. The petitioner has enclosed a copy of her last pay certificate as Annexure -2 in support of her claim that she was getting salary of University Professor in the old scale of 4500 -7300 and as per new notification, her pay has been fixed in the UGC revised lecturer 'sscale, Le., 8000 - 13500 in the basic pay of Rs. 11475/ -.

(3.) A counter has also been filed on behalf of the respondent Nos. 1 to 4 in which it has been, inter alia, stated that the petitioner is not entitled to professor 'sscale because she was not validly promoted to the post of Reader as there was no recommendations of Bihar Universities Service Commission and therefore, she could not be promoted to the post of Professor and she is not entitled to get the revised scale of professor of Rs. 16400 -22400. The last pay of the petitioner was rightly fixed in the pay scale of 8000 -13500. It has been stated that the petitioner was substantively appointed as Lecturer on 20.6.1974 on the recommendations of Bihar Universities Service Commission and for the purpose of promotion the length of service can be counted from the said date. The services rendered by the petitioner in other colleges on ad hoc basis cannot be calculated for the purpose of promotion. The petitioner was appointed in A.N.S. College, Barh on honorarium and then had worked as Lecturer in Y.S.N. Mahila Mahavidyalaya from 2.2.1970 to 19.2.1972 while the college was not affiliated as Degree College and so the services rendered by the petitioner in that college also cannot be considered for the purpose of her promotion. The substantive date of appointment of the petitioner on the basis of recommendation of the Commission for appointment as Lecturer in K.B. Mahila College, Hazaribagh was 20.6.1974. The petitioner was, thus, illegally given promotion to the post of Reader, contrary to the statues before completion of 13 years of service and as such her subsequent promotion to the post of Professor was also not valid. It has been further stated that under Sec.35(3) of the Jharkhand Universities Act, the State Government is empowered to scrutinize the legality of appointment/promotion of the University staff and since the promotion to the post of Reader was not proper and legal, her promotion to the post of Professor cannot be said to be valid and her appointment as Head of the Department also cannot be said to be valid appointment and as such the petitioner is not entitled for the revised pay scale of the Professor of Rs. 16400 -22400 and her pay scale has been rightly downgraded to the pay scale of Lecturer at Rs. 8000 -13500.