High Court · 2025

1. Mr. M.K. Chand, learned counsel for t he pet it ioners.

2. Mr. Narayan Dut t , learned St anding Counsel for t he St at e of Ut t arakhand.

3. Since com m on quest ions of fact and law are t hese pet it ions, involved t hese pet it ions are clubbed t herefore, t oget her and decided by t his com m on j udgm ent . However, t he sake of brevit y and convenience, fact s of WPSS No. 1810 of 2022 alone are being considered and discussed.

4. Writ Pet it ion ( S/ S) No. 1810 of 2022 has been filed by sixt een persons who are serving as Assist ant Teacher/ Head Teacher in different Prim ary School & Governm ent Dist rict Cham pawat . Junior High School

5. Pet it ioners were given benefit of Governm ent Order dat ed 01.03.2009 issued by Principal Secret ary ( Finance) , t heir Governm ent of Ut t arakhand and pay scale was upgraded. The upgraded pay scale, given in t erm s of Governm ent Order dat ed 01.03.2009, is now being sought t he pet it ioners on t he ground t hat it was wrongly paid t o t hem and pet it ioners were not ent it led t o t he said benefit . Thus, feeling aggrieved, pet it ioners have recovered t o be approached following reliefs: - t his Court seeking t he ( i) ( ii) I ssue a writ order or direct ion in t he nat ur e of cert iorar i quashing t he im pugned order dat ed 04.08.2012 passed by Direct or Elem ent ary Educat ion Ut t arakhand Dehradun ( Annexure 20.08.2022 no. ( Annexure- 11) passed by Dist r ict Educat ion Officer ( Elem ent ary) Cham pawat . dat ed or der 10) I ssue a writ or dir ect ion in t he nat ur e of m andam us com m anding and direct ing t he respondent s aut horit ies t o grant m inim um pay scale i.e. Rs. 17140/ - t o t he pet it ioners as per 6 t h Pay Com m ission from t he respect ive dat es of t heir prom ot ion. t o t hus are not ent it led filed writ 6. Pet it ioners had earlier pet it ions challenging t he decision t aken by Direct or t hat pet it ioners hold Group t o ‘B’ post s, prot ect ion against recovery of excess paym ent m ade t hem . Their writ pet it ions were allowed by t his Court , vide j udgm ent dat ed 09.05.2022 rendered in WPSS No. 1908 of 2019 and ot her connect ed pet it ions; t he order passed by Direct or, dat ed 01.02.2019 was set aside by holding t hat as per t he Service Rules, Teachers of & Prim ary Governm ent Governm ent School, Junior including Head Teachers, are Group ‘C’ em ployees and t he m at t er was relegat ed t o Direct or, Prim ary Educat ion t o reconsider t he issue. Educat ion Prim ary School High t o t he j udgm ent dat ed 7. Pursuant 09.05.2022 passed by t his Court , Direct or, Prim ary Educat ion has passed anot her order dat ed 04.08.2022, wherein it is reit erat ed t hat due t o prom ot ion / and/ or grant of select ion grade prom ot ion Governm ent Prim ary Governm ent Junior High School get pay scale, Teachers School scale equivalent or m ore t han Group ‘B’ em ployees of t he St at e Governm ent , t herefore, pet it ioners cannot be t reat ed as Group ‘C’ em ployee. Learned counsel for pet it ioners is 8. right in subm it t ing t hat Direct or cannot sit in j udgm ent over t he decision of t his Court rendered in WPSS No. 1908 of 2019, where it was held t hat t eachers serving in such schools are holding Group ‘C’ post . in any m anner fraud or inst rum ent al Learned counsel for t he pet it ioners 9. furt her subm it s t hat it is nobody’s case t hey t hat pet it ioners played get t ing excess paym ent ; he subm it s t hat what ever am ount was paid t o pet it ioners was as per t he Governm ent Policy, t herefore, St at e Governm ent cannot now recover t he am ount paid t o pet it ioners at t he fag end of t heir service career.

10. Learned counsel for t he pet it ioners relied upon a j udgm ent rendered by t his Court in t he case of WPSS No. 335 of 2023 and subm it t ed t hat since t he issue involved in t his bat ch of writ pet it ions has been dealt wit h t he said j udgm ent , t herefore, t hese writ pet it ions deserve t o be decided in t erm s of t he j udgm ent dat ed 18.09.2025 rendered in WPSS No. 335 of 2023 & ot her connect ed m at t ers.

11. Learned St at e Counsel concedes t hat since t he issue involved is com m on, t herefore, t hese writ pet it ions can be decided in t erm s of said j udgm ent .

12. Accordingly, t he writ pet it ions are decided j udgm ent dat ed 18.09.2025 rendered in WPSS No. 335 of t erm s of

2023. I t is m ade clear t hat t his Court has not expressed any opinion on t he re- fixat ion of pay of t he pet it ioners and Depart m ent al Aut horit ies shall be at libert y t o re- fix t he pay of pet it ioners at t he appropriat e level, as per applicable Governm ent Policy/ Rules. ( M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J)

09.10.2025 Aswal NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=eacc6757ee7881e933ff8934f07477005aa85f9802a3a08b08d136951 2ea30f3, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=44EB54CBF00B7698CB6F10C2CE3D26F5C22DACF4F4610C1FE 58A58531726FBB0, cn=NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL