Gauhati High Court
Kiran Das vs The State Of Assam And 4 Ors on 19 February, 2019
Author: Manojit Bhuyan
Bench: Manojit Bhuyan
Page No.# 1/4
GAHC010135922017
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : WP(C) 4550/2017
1:KIRAN DAS
W/O. SRI DIBAKAR SAIKIA, R/O. RAILWAY QTR NO. DS/65/A, GUWAHATI
RAILWAY STATION ROAD, P.O. PANBAZAR, GUWAHATI-781001, DIST.
KAMRUPM, ASSAM.
VERSUS
1:THE STATE OF ASSAM and 4 ORS.
REP. BY THE COMM. and SECY., GOVT. OF ASSAM, EDUCATION DEPTT.
SECONDARY CUM CHAIRMAN OF STATE SELECTION BOARD, GOVT. OF
ASSAM, DISPUR, GUWAHATI-781006.
2:THE DIRECTOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
ASSAM
KAHILIPARA
GUWAHATI-781019.
3:THE INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS
KAMRUP METRO DISTRICT CIRCLE
GUWAHATI-781001.
4:PRINCIPAL OF RAMDIA GIRLS H.S. SCHOOL
RAMDIA
PIN-781102
KAMRUPR
ASSAM.
5:THE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT and DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
OF RAMDIA GIRLS H.S. SCHOOL
REP. BY ITS PRESIDENT
RAMDIA
PIN-781102
DIST. KAMRUPR
ASSAM
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Advocate for the Petitioner : MR.K K PARASAR
Advocate for the Respondent : MR. I H SAIKIA (R4)
BEFORE
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJIT BHUYAN
ORDER (ORAL)
19.02.2019 Heard Mr. B. Chetri, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Mr. N. Sarma, learned counsel representing respondent nos.1, 2 & 3. Mr. I.H. Saikia, learned counsel appears for respondent nos.4 & 5.
The petitioner is a Subject Teacher in English at Ramdia Girls' Higher Secondary School. She joined service on 10.09.1992 on honorary basis and after obtaining Masters Degree, the post against which she was working was sanctioned vide Government order dated 29.02.1996. Subsequent thereto she was appointed on regular pay scale in the same school vide order of the Director of Secondary Education, Assam on 04.09.1998. She received regular salary on and from the date of joining i.e. 05.09.1998. In the said appointment order it was specified that her appointment would come into immediate effect against the post sanctioned vide aforesaid Government order dated 29.02.1996.
Grievance raised in the writ petition is that the petitioner has not been paid her arrear salary for the period from 12.03.1996 to 28.02.1999. The said date i.e. 12.03.1996 is the date when the school was provincialised.
In respect of the arrear salary, the petitioner makes reference to the letter dated 27.04.2015 of the earlier Principal-in-charge, whereby the Inspector of Schools, K.D.C., Amingaon, Guwahati was requested to provide financial benefit to the petitioner for the period from 01.03.1996 to 28.02.1999. Reference is also made to Page No.# 3/4 the letter dated 29.10.2015, issued by the Director of Secondary Education, Assam, whereby the Inspector of Schools, K.D.C., Amingaon was asked to submit the arrear salary proposal of the petitioner for the period from 12.03.1996 to 28.02.1999. In the same line, another letter was issued by the Inspector of Schools, K.D.C., Amingaon, on 11.12.2015, addressed to the Principal of Ramdia Girls' Higher Secondary School to do the needful by submitting the arrear salary proposal. It is the case of the petitioner that despite communications made by the official respondents for submitting her arrear salary proposal, the Principal of the school sat over the matter and did not do anything. Alleging inaction on the part of the respondents and claiming arrear salary for the period aforementioned, the petitioner has instituted the present proceedings.
Per contra, Mr. Saikia submits that the question of submitting arrear salary proposal of the petitioner for the period from 12.03.1996 to 28.02.1999 does not arise, inasmuch as, for the period from 12.03.1996 to her regular appointment on 04.09.1998, the petitioner was working only on honorary basis and there is no order regularising the said period. In this respect, Mr. Saikia makes reference to the appointment order of the petitioner at Annexure-D to show that she was appointed by the Director of Secondary Education on 04.09.1998, which appointment took immediate effect.
The materials available on record vindicates the stand of Mr. Saikia, in that, there are no orders regularising the service of the petitioner for the period from 12.03.1996 to 04.09.1998. It is not in dispute that for the period from 05.09.1998 and thereafter, the petitioner was in regular receipt of salary at the admissible pay scale. However, if the stand of the school authority is that the petitioner is in no way entitled to any arrear salary for the period claimed, at least it was obligatory on the part of the school authority to bring the same to the notice of the higher authorities by responding to the letters of the Director of Secondary Education, Assam and that of the Inspector of Schools, K.D.C., as indicated above. The petitioner was at least entitled to know as to why the arrear salary so claimed is not admissible or payable to Page No.# 4/4 her.
As the prayer made in the writ petition is only confined to payment of arrear salary, this Court would not like to venture into any other aspects touching upon the service prospects of the petitioner. The school authority is required to respond to the letter of the Inspector of Schools, K.D.C., Amingaon and inform him as regards any obstacle/hurdle coming in the way in submitting the arrear salary proposal of the petitioner for the period from 12.03.1996 to 28.02.1999.
Having regard to the above and also having regard to the limited prayer made in the writ petition, I find no necessity to keep this writ petition for adjudication any further. With the directions to the school authority to respond to the letter of the Inspector of Schools, K.D.C., Amingaon, which must be done within an outer limit of period of 3 (three) weeks from today, this writ petition stands disposed of accordingly. Let the higher authorities in the Directorate of Secondary Education, Assam, take the call on the issue of entitlement of the petitioner to the arrear salary so claimed for the period above after the school authority responds in terms of the direction above.
JUDGE Comparing Assistant