State appealed against an order granting Special Grade Pay to a retired Middle School (BT) Headmaster under G.O.Ms.No.210. The Division Bench affirmed entitlement to the G.O.'s benefit but, following the Full Bench in Eswaran, confined it to pensionary benefits only, partly allowing the appeal.
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.
W.A(MD)No.93 of 2014
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED : 16.04.2024
CORAM
JUSTICE N. SESHASAYEE and JUSTICE P.VADAMALAI
W.A(MD) No.93 of 2014 and M.P(MD)No.1 of 2014
01.The State of Tamil Nadu, ... Appellant/Petitioner Rep. by its Secretary, Department of School Education, St. George Fort, Chennai – 600 006.
04.The Assistant Elementary Educational Officer, Sattur, Virudhunagar District. ... Appellants/Respondents
Vs.
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W.A(MD)No.93 of 2014
G.Shanmugam(died) ... Respondent/writ petitioner
1.S.Manimegalai
2.Shankari
3.Nagadevi
4.Nagasoniya ....Respondents/Respondents
(Respondents 1 to 4/LRs of the deceased sole respondent are substituted in the place of the deceased sole respondent vide Court order dated 22.09.2023 made in C.M.P(MD)No.11642 of 2023 in W.A(MD)No.93 of 2014 by ASMJ & RVJ)
Prayer: Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent, against the order
dated 03.01.2013 in W.P(MD)No.2308 of 2010.
For Appellants : Mr.D.Sadiq Raja, Additional Government Pleader
For Respondents : Mr.K.Ragatheesh Kumar for M/s.Isaac Chamber
JUDGMENT
(Judgment of the Court was delivered by N.Seshasayee, J.)
This writ appeal is preferred by the respondents in W.P(MD)No.2308 of 2010 challenging the order of a learned Single Judge, dated 03.01.2013.
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W.A(MD)No.93 of 2014
‘The petitioner joined service as Selection Grade Teacher on 08.08.1963 and he was placed on Selection Grade pay with effect from 01.04.1974. He acquired B.Ed. degree on 08.09.1980. He was awarded Special Grade of pay on 08.08.1983 and become eligible for promotion as Middle School (BT) Headmaster. He was promoted as Middle School (BT) Headmaster on 20.11.1987. He was awarded with Selection Grade in the Middle School (BT) Headmaster cadre on 20.11.1997. He retired from service on 31.05.2002 on attaining the age of superannuation.
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Prior to 01.10.1970, the post of Secondary Grade Teacher, Primary School Headmaster and Middle School Headmaster were all equal in rank bearing the same scale of pay. In 1971, when the Government implemented the Tamilnadu Revised Scale of Pay Rules, separate scale of pay was fixed for the post of Headmaster Middle School with effect from 02.10.1970 and thus, two separate cadres namely Secondary Grade Middle School Headmaster and Middle School Headmaster came in to existence. After 01.10.1979, B.T. Grade Middle School Headmaster was introduced with an additional qualification of B.T/B.Ed/Tamil Pulavar with a higher scale of pay that of Secondary Grade Middle School Headmaster. As per the Special Rules for the Tamilnadu Elementary Education Subordinate Service Rules, issued vide G.O.Ms.No.1383, Education PUS-I Department, dated 23.08.1988, the B.T. Grade Middle School Headmaster were placed under Class-I and Category – I having the highest scale of pay in Elementary Education up to the V Pay Commission.
2. According to the petitioner, the first respondent State Government gave effect to the order of the Tribunal vide G.O.Ms.No.210(School Education (G-1) Department, dated 14.08.2009 awarding Special Grade of pay to those
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W.A(MD)No.93 of 2014
Headmasters from 01.06.1998. However, the G.O., said that the benefit would be extended only to those 65 persons who has filed cases before the Tamilnadu Administrative Tribunal, which culminated in the said Government Order. Thus, the benefit of G.O.Ms.No.210 was not extended to the petitioner. Therefore, the petitioner has come up with this writ petition.
3.When a similarly placed person filed writ petition, this Court has directed the Government to extend the benefit of G.O.Ms.No.10(School Education (G-1) Department, dated 14.08.2009 to such similarly placed persons as well (vide order in W.P.No.16001 of 2010, dated 29.10.2011)0.
4. In view of the above settled position, in my considered opinion, since the petitioner is also similarly placed, he is entitled for the benefit of G.O.Ms.No.210 (School Education (G-1) Department, dated 14.08.2009.
Government Order is issued, it is applicable to those who are identically placed, and it cannot be confined to those who have approached the legal
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W.A(MD)No.93 of 2014
system for deriving benefit under the Government Order. While the learned Single Judge has hinted that those who are similarly placed must be treated equally, this Court goes further to state that those who are identically placed for identical benefit cannot be discriminated.
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W.A(MD)No.93 of 2014
No Costs. Consequently, connected Miscellaneous Petition is closed.
(N.S.S., J.) (P.V.M., J.) 15.04.2024
NCC : Yes/No Index : Yes/No
PM
To
01.The Secretary, State of Tamil Nadu, Department of School Education,
St. George Fort, Chennai – 600 006.
Chennai – 600 006.
Virudhunagar District.
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W.A(MD)No.93 of 2014
N. SESHASAYEE, J. and P.VADAMALAI, J.
PM
W.A(MD) No.93 of 2014
16.04.2024
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2 issues framed by the court
Whether a retired Middle School (BT) Headmaster identically placed with beneficiaries of G.O.Ms.No.210 is entitled to its benefit despite not having litigated before the Tribunal.
Whether the deceased writ petitioner is entitled only to pensionary benefits and not monetary benefits under G.O.Ms.No.210 in view of the Full Bench decision in Eswaran.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Government of Tamil Nadu vs. G. Eswaran and OthersApplied¶6
(2017) 2 MLJ 257
The State of Tamil Nadu
The Director of Elementary Education
The District Elementary Educational Officer, Virudhunagar
The Assistant Elementary Educational Officer, Sattur
G. Shanmugam (died)
S. Manimegalai
N. Seshasayee
P. Vadamalai
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
