High Court of Uttarakhand · 2025

Judgment

( p e r H o n ’ b l e Ju st i c e Sr i M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i )

1. Pet it ioner was appoint ed as Lect urer in a Governm ent I nt erm ediat e College on 24.01.1990. He was prom ot ed as Headm ast er, Governm ent High School w.e.f.

15.07.2000 and t hereaft er he was prom ot ed as Principal, Governm ent I nt erm ediat e College w.e.f. 15.10.2004. He ret ired from service on 31.03.2016. Aft er his ret irem ent , pet it ioner filed Writ Pet it ion ( S/ B) No.452 of 2016, which was disposed of on 21.11.2016 wit h a direct ion t o Secret ary, School Educat ion, t o t ake decision on pet it ioner ’s represent at ion wit hin t wo m ont hs. Pursuant t o t he order passed in t he said writ pet it ion, I n- charge 1 Secret ary, Educat ion Depart m ent has passed an order on

26.07.2017, whereby represent at ion of t he pet it ioner was rej ect ed. Thus, feeling aggrieved, pet it ioner has filed t his writ pet it ion, challenging t he order passed by I n- charge Secret ary, referred t o above. He has also sought a m andam us t o t he respondent s t o grant him benefit of ACP as enunciat ed in G.O. dat ed 28.02.2009, as am ended from t im e t o t im e.

2. I n para- 8 of t he im pugned order dat ed

26.07.2017, it is m ent ioned t hat t he post of Principal t o which pet it ioner was prom ot ed on 15.10.2004 was in t he pay scale of ₹ 8000- 13500, which was equivalent t o grade pay ₹ 5400, which was upgraded t o ₹ 10000- 15200 and t he benefit of upgraded pay scale was given not ionally w.e.f. 01.01.1996 and act ual benefit was payable t o Principals w.e.f. 01.07.2001; t hereaft er, t he pay scale of t eachers upgraded t erm s recom m endat ions m ade by t he Sixt h Cent ral Pay Com m ission and in pursuance t hereof, vide order dat ed

01.03.2009 issued t he St at e Governm ent t he pay scale of Principal, Governm ent I nt erm ediat e College was again upgraded from ₹ 10000- 15200 grade pay ₹ 6600 to ₹ 12000- 16500 with grade pay of ₹ 7600. 2

3. Learned St at e Counsel subm it s t hat before t he last upgradat ion of pay scale of Principal, Governm ent I nt erm ediat e College, Principals were get t ing grade pay of ₹ 6600, however, after upgradation of pay scale w.e.f.

01.03.2009, their grade pay became ₹ 7600. Thus, he subm it s t hat since t he pay scale of Principals was upgraded t wice, init ially w.e.f. 01.01.1996 and again from

01.03.2009, t herefore, t he claim st aked by t he pet it ioner for benefit of ACP, is m isplaced.

4. Learned St at e Counsel has drawn at t ent ion of t his Court t o paragraph nos. 4 and 5 of t he count er

affidavit filed by Mr. S. B. Joshi, Chief Educat ion Officer, Dehradun on behalf of respondent nos.3 and 4. Paragraph nos. 4 and 5 of t he count er affidavit are quot ed hereunder: - “ 4. That it is per t inent t o st at e here t hat Ut t aranchal Educat ional ( General Educat ion Cadr e) Service Rules had been not ified on 19.10.2006, w here t he pay scale of t he Principal, Governm ent I nt er College, had been fixed at 1000- 15200, which was a prom ot ional post as per t he Rules. I t is st at ed t hat vide G.O. dat ed 20.11.2006 t he sanct ion for upgrading t he pay scale of t he Principal fr om 8000- 13500 t o 10000- 15200 was grant ed. I t is st at ed t hat t hereaft er t he sanct ion for t he im plem ent at ion for t he recom m endat ions of t he 6 t h Pay Com m ission was given vide G.O. dat ed 17.10.2008 and 13.02.2009. I t is 3 furt her r elevant t o st at e t hat , in sim ilarit y t o t he Cent ral Governm ent Teacher , vide G.O. dat ed 01.03.2009 t he t eacher of t he Secondary Schools wer e sanct ioned t he benefit of Upgraded Pay Scale w.e.f. 01.04.2009, in t he following m anner: - Serial No. 01 Teacher Select ion L.T. Teacher ( A) Pay Scale ( B) Pay Scale ( C) Prom ot ional Pay Scale 02 03 Select ion Lect urer ( A) Pay Scale ( B) Payscale ( C) Prom ot ional Pay Scale Head Mast er ( A) Pay Scale ( B) Payscale Select ion Present Pay/ Grade Pay 5500- 9000 6500- 10500 7500- 12000 6500- 10500 7500- 12000 8000- 13500 7500- 12000 8000- 13500 Upgraded Pay Scale/ Grade Grade- I I I 7450- 11500 Grade- I I 7500- 12000 Grade- I 8000- 13500 Grade- I I I 7500- 12000 Grade- I I 8000- 13500 Grade- I 10000- 15200 Grade- I I 8000- 13500 Grade- I I 10000- 15200 04 Principal 10000- 15200 12000- 16500 Correspondi Pay Scale Salary Band – 2 Salary Band- 2 Salary Band- 2 Salary Band- 2 Salary Band- 3 Salary Band- 3 Salary Band- 3 Salary Band- 3 Salary Band- 3 Corresponding Grade Pay 4600 4800 5400 4800 5400 6600 5400 6600 7600

5. I t is st at ed t hat t he aforesaid G.O. dat ed 01.03.2009 provided t hat t he t eaching st aff was being r ecom m ended t he Higher Pay Scale as com par ed t o t he non t eaching em ploy ees and para 2 ( 4) provided for separ at e const it ut ion of educat ional and adm inist rat ive cadr es. I t is st at ed t hat vide G.O. dat ed 14.06.2011 t he educat ional and adm inist rat ive cadres w er e separ at ed and t he post s of t he Head Mast er, Governm ent High School, and t he Principal, Gover nm ent I nt er College, cam e wit hin t he educat ional cadre. I t is furt her st at ed t hat vide G.O. dat ed 26.06.2012 t he incum bent s w er e allocat ed t he r espect ive cadr e for w hich t hey hav e opt ed, bet w een Adm inist rat ive and Educat ional Cadre, and t he pet it ioner had opt ed for t he educat ional cadr e. I t was furt her specified in t he aforesaid G.O. t hat t hose per sons who had not ex er cised any opt ion w ould be aut om at ically t reat ed t o be in Educat ional cadr e. I t is furt her st at ed 4 t hat t he persons select ed by t he U.P. Public Ser vice Com m ission for t he vacancies of t he year 1997, who had opt ed for t he Adm inist rat ive cadre, had been given t he post of Block Educat ion Officer and t he post held by t he pet it ioner cannot be com par ed wit h t he aforesaid post s since t he pet it ioner belongs t o educat ional cadre. I t is relevant t o st at e here t hat in t he Gover nm ent Or der dat ed 01.03.2009, cit ed abov e, t here is no provision for select ion pay scale for t he Principal, Gover nm ent I nt er College. I t is also st at ed t hat t he Gover nm ent Or der dat ed 08.03.2011, regar ding t he grant of A.C.P., also provides for such benefit on cert ain condit ions lim it ed t o only 3 financial upgradat ions.”

5. He subm it s t hat t he subsequent G.O. dat ed

08.03.2011 also provides for only 3 financial upgradat ions while pet it ioner has received m ore t han 3 financial upgradat ions during his ent ire service career.

6. Regarding t he averm ent m ade in para 21 of t he writ pet it ion, learned St at e Counsel subm it s t hat a Governm ent Order was issued on 07.07.2014 in which it was provided t hat such officers of Educat ion Depart m ent , who are absorbed on a higher post t hen what t hey were holding earlier, shall cont inue t o discharge dut ies as I n- charge, however, t hey shall not be given any addit ional m onet ary benefit s for discharging dut ies of t he higher post . St at e Counsel refers t o clause 2( 4) of t he said G.O. dat ed 07.07.2014 and subm it s t hat it provides t hat 5 persons who are holding a higher post but are absorbed on a lower post , will be ent it led t o salary and ot her m onet ary benefit s for t he post s t o which t hey were subst ant ively appoint ed. I n ot her words, he subm it s t hat t he em ployees who are absorbed on a subordinat e post , t heir pay shall be prot ect ed and shall not be reduced on account of absorpt ion on a lower post . Thus, he subm it s t hat Mr. Nagendra Singh Bart hwal and Mr. Um a Dut t Goswam i were given benefit of clause 2( 4) of G.O. dat ed

07.04.2014.

7. Assured Career Progression ( ACP) Schem e was int roduced t o com pensat e St at e em ployees st agnat ion on a post for want of prom ot ional avenues and it was decided t hat even if t here is no prom ot ional avenues, available t o a holder of a post , t hen also he will get m inim um 3 financial upgradat ions. I n t he present case, pet it ioner was prom ot ed t wice, first as Head Mast er, Governm ent High School and t hereaft er as Principal, Governm ent I nt erm ediat e College. Aft er his prom ot ion as Principal, Governm ent I nt erm ediat e College, pet it ioner was given t wo furt her financial upgradat ions in view of t he decision t aken by t he St at e Governm ent t o m aint ain parit y in pay scales of t eachers including principals and 6 t he m em bers serving in t he Cent ral Governm ent . Thus, t he claim raised by t he pet it ioner for furt her financial upgradat ion appears t o be not based on t he policy applicable t o St at e em ployees. A governm ent servant can claim a benefit , which is adm issible t o him / her, as per Rules or as per Governm ent Policy. Since pet it ioner has not been able t o show any Rule/ Policy, which has been violat ed in his case, t herefore, we do not find any reason t o int erfere in t he m at er.

8. Accordingly, writ pet it ion fails and t he sam e is hereby dism issed. ( Su b h a sh Up a d h y a y , J.) ( M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J.) 21.07.2025 21.07.2025 Raj ni RAJINI GUSAIN DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=97cfa6e4cbd49c07b876db4844 8ac3701a9ae475a2547e4b7f1d9b1f17d 01342, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=8D039BC77BD1A2222B4 DF4FC80D4557562F95BEBA013F530616 A158A0A878BD8, cn=RAJINI GUSAIN 7