The Gauhati High Court dismissed this Writ Appeal. The Court held that teacher appellants appointed when the entry qualification was higher secondary, and who obtained graduation degrees later, are not entitled to the higher Grade Pay applicable to graduate teachers.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
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GAHC010076872022
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : WA/155/2022
BINODINI SINGHA AND 2 ORS.
W/O- KH. BIROMANGOL SINGHA,R/O- RONGPUR PART-IV, KARATIGRAM, P.S. SILCHAR, ASSTT. TEACHER OF DR. B C ROY MEMORIAL ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL, RONGPUR, SILCHAR, DIST.- CACHAR, ASSAM, PIN- 788009
2: APARNA DEY W/O- MANIK CHANDRA DEB R/O- PURBASHA COMPLEX (PANCHAYAT ROAD) SILCHAR CACHAR PIN- 788005 SERVING AS HINDI TEACHER IN DR. B C ROY MEMORIAL ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL RONGPUR SILCHAR DIST.- CACHAR ASSAM PIN- 788009
3: YASMIN SULTANA BARBHUIYA W/O- HABIB AHMED LASKAR R/O- VILL AND P.O. RONGPUR P.S. SILCHAR DIST.- CACHAR ASSTT. TEACHER SERVING IN DR. B C ROY MEMORIAL ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL RONGPUR SILCHAR DIST.- CACHAR ASSAM PIN- 78800 VERSUS
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THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 7 ORS.
REP. BY THE COMM. AND SECY., TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, DEPTT. OF SECONDARY EDUCATION, DISPUR, GHY, ASSAM, PIN- 781006 2:THE DIRECTOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION ASSAM KAHILIPARA GHY-19 3:THE INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS CACHAR DISTRICT CIRCLE SILCHAR CACHAR ASSAM PIN- 788001 4:THE HEADMASTER DR. B C ROY MEMORIAL ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL RONGPUR SILCHAR DIST.- CACHAR ASSAM PIN- 788009 5:THE COMM. AND SECY. TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM DEPTT. OF FINANCE ASSAM CIVIL SECRETARIAT DISPUR GHY-06 6:THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHER EDUCATION REP. BY ITS DIRECTOR EASTERN REGIONAL COMMITTEE 15 NEEL KANTA NAGAR NAYAPALLI BHUBANESWAR ORISSA PIN- 751012 7:THE STATE OF ASSAM REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION ASSAM DISPUR GHY- 6. 8:THE DIRECTOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
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ASSAM PIN- 781019
Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A K DUTTA, MR. B ZAMAN,MR. B PURKAYASTHA Advocate for the Respondent : SC, SEC. EDU., SC, ELEM. EDU,SC, FINANCE,SC, N C T E
BEFORE
HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SUMAN SHYAM
ORDER
08.08.2024
(Vijay Bishnoi, CJ)
This Writ Appeal is filed by the appellants being aggrieved with the order dated 29.03.2022 passed by the learned Single Judge in WP(C) No.251/2021 whereby the learned Single Judge has dismissed the writ petition filed by the appellants and has refused to grant relief to them to fix the appellants in the Grade Pay of Rs.8700.00 instead of Rs.6800.00.
The learned Single Judge has observed that at the time of entry of the appellants in the Government job i.e. in the years 1998, 2014 and 2002, respectively, they were not graduates and the said qualification was obtained by them while in service. The learned Single Judge has also taken into consideration the fact that the entry qualification on the post of teacher, in the upper primary level was Higher Secondary when the appellants were initially appointed, and not graduation. The learned Single Judge, after going through the provisions of the RoP 2017 has held that there is no illegality in the action of the respondents in fixing the appellants in the Grade Pay of Rs.6800.00
Having heard the learned counsel for the appellants and after taking into consideration the fact that at the time when the appellants were
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appointed as teachers in the Upper Primary school, the entry qualification for the said post was undergraduate and admittedly the appellants were undergraduates. In such circumstances even though they have obtained the graduation degree later on while in service, they are not entitled to a Grade Pay which is applicable in the case of graduate teachers. Hence, we do not find any merit in this Writ Appeal. The same is, therefore, dismissed.
JUDGE CHIEF JUSTICE
Comparing Assistant
2 issues framed by the court
Whether appellants appointed as teachers with higher secondary qualifications and later obtaining graduation degrees are entitled to higher Grade Pay.
Whether the rule of entry qualification at the time of appointment governs grading or later acquired qualifications.
Binodini Singha
Aparna Dey
Yasmin Sultana Barbhuiya
State of Assam
Vijay Bishnoi
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
