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Allahabad High Court · body

2006 DIGILAW 1566 (ALL)

MANJU AGARWAL v. ALLAHABAD UNIVERSITY

2006-07-04

R.K.AGRAWAL, SANJAY MISRA

body2006
JUDGMENT By the Court—By means of present writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner seeks the following relief : (i) issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to give the pay scale of Lecturer i.e. Rs.2200-2400 to the petitioner since her date of initial appointment i.e. 2.1.1984 along with other consequential benefits and interest thereon. (ii) issue writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to redesignated the post of petitioner as lectuter with all consequential benefits. (iii) issue any other suitable writ, order or direction which the Hon’ble Court may find fit and proper in the circumstances of the case. 2. Briefly stated the facts giving rise to the present writ petition are as follows: After facing due process of selection the petitioner was appointed on 23.12.1983 as a temporary lady teacher in Applied Arts & Crafts in the Department of Fine Arts, University of Allahabad on which post she joined on 2.1.1984. She was subsequently made permanent vide order dated 2.12.1989. At the initial appointment she was given a salary of Rs. 430/- per month plus other allowances according to University Rules. However, while making her permanent she was placed in the scale of Rs. 430-685 plus DA and other allowances admissible under the University Rules. The permanent appointment was on probation for a period of one year which was confirmed on 16.9.1992. 3. The grievance of the petitioner is that she should be given the pay scale of the lecturer which is also given to the other Instructors of the University of Allahabad. According to the petitioner in Fine Arts Department, there are seven other Instructors who have been given the pay scale of Rs. 515-860 but she has been discriminated and has been given the pay scale of Rs. 430-685. The Executive Council of the University in its meeting dated 27.3.1974 has resolved that the posts of Instructor should be re-designated as Lecturer and all the confirmed incumbents working against these posts be given designation as well as pay scale of Lecturer. The matter was pending before the State Government. However, it had discriminated the pay scale of the Instructor and Demonstrators, Cartographers, Instructors in Physical Education Department and Research Assistant in the University of Allahabad. 4. The matter was pending before the State Government. However, it had discriminated the pay scale of the Instructor and Demonstrators, Cartographers, Instructors in Physical Education Department and Research Assistant in the University of Allahabad. 4. The issue needs not detain us any longer in view of Full Court decision in the case of Swatantra Bala’s case in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 32098 of 1999 decided on 22.9.2005. The Full Court Bench clarified the following question No. 3 “Whether in the absence of any provision in the said Government Order to give effect to the said order with retrospective effect, the Division Bench could grant the said relief that they shall be deemed to have been appointed as Lecturers from the date of initial appointment as Instructors ?” and held that —"this part of Swatantra Bala’s case would not bind the Courts in future, but once the discrimination is established, as was held established by the Division Bench in Swatantra Bala’s case, then and in that event, it would clearly be within the jurisdiction of the Court to remove that discrimination, and direct even the operation of the Government Order to be given retrospective effect to the writ petitioners, although the Government Order contains no such retrospective provision as per its terms and words”. 5. This Court in Writ Petition No. 31934 of 2004 (Dr. Shailendra Kumar Mishra and another v. State of U.P. and others) decided on 30.9.2005 and Writ Petition No.1386 of 2005 (P.K. Malik v. State of U.P. and others) decided on 20.2.2006 has followed the decision of Full Court Bench and passed orders giving retrospective effect to the respondents. 6. As discrimination has been established by the petitioner, the decision of Full Court Bench and the clarification of question No. 3 is fully applicable in the present case. 7. We, therefore, dispose of this writ petition directing the Registrar of University of Allahabad to give operation of the Government Order dated 17.10.1998 with re-trospective effect. The Registrar shall do the needful in the matter within one month from the date a certified copy of this order is presented before him. Order Accordingly. ———