Chandra Pal Singh v. St at e of Ut t arakhand and ot her s

Judgment

( p e r H o n ’ b l e Ju s t i ce Sr i M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i )

1. By m eans of t his writ pet it ion, pet it ioner has sought following relief: - . “ i. I ssue a writ order or direct ion in t he nat ure of m andam us com m anding and direct ion t he respondent s t o pay t he ent ire arrear of salary of Principal Grade t o t he pet it ioner w.e.f. 9.7.2016 t ill t he 31.1.2021 pet it ioner) .” t he charge of Principal was given ( t he dat e of ret irem ent of

2. According t o pet it ioner, he was appoint ed as Lect urer in a Governm ent aided I nt erm ediat e College w.e.f. 27.10.1992 and his services as Lect urer were regularized on 28.10.1999. I t is furt her his case t hat select ion grade was given t o him on 27.10.2002 and prom ot ional pay- scale was also given t o him on

27.10.2014.

3. From t he pleadings m ade in t he writ pet it ion, it t ranspires t hat post of Principal of t he concerned college fell vacant on 01.04.2013; even t hough pet it ioner was t he senior m ost lect urer in t he said college, however, charge as Officiat ing Principal was

t o one Mr. Jagm ohan Singh Thalwal on 1 02.04.2013 and ult im at ely when pet it ioner represent ed t he m at t er before aut horit ies of Educat ion Depart m ent , he was given charge as Principal on 09.07.2016. I n t his writ pet it ion, pet it ioner has claim ed t he benefit s which are available as Downgrade Principal t o a person who officiat ed on t he post of Principal.

4. Learned counsel for t he pet it ioner subm it s t hat pet it ioner m eet s all eligibilit y condit ions for benefit of Downgrade Principal as per t he Regulat ions, however, he has been wrongly denied such benefit s.

5. Per cont ra, learned St at e Counsel subm it s t hat Managem ent of t he College had sent proposal for grant of benefit of Downgrade Principal t o t he pet it ioner, t o Chief Educat ion Officer on 12.12.2019 who referred t he m at t er t o Regional Addit ional Direct or of Educat ion for necessary orders; however, office of Regional Addit ional Direct or of Educat ion raised cert ain obj ect ions vide let t er dat ed 07.02.2020; m anagem ent of t he college responded by issuing a let t er whereby obj ect ions were rect ified but t hereaft er office of Regional Addit ional Direct or of Educat ion raised cert ain queries vide let t er dat ed 17.06.2020 which t he m anagem ent could not respond and during t he int erregnum , pet it ioner was grant ed volunt ary ret irem ent w.e.f. 31.01.2021.

6. Learned St at e Counsel subm it s t hat pet it ioner is not ent it led t o benefit of Downgrade Principal as he was not given officiat ing charge as Principal im m ediat ely upon occurrence of vacancy on t he said post . The said subm ission, however, is bereft of m erit as pet it ioner despit e being senior m ost lect urer was denied charge 2 as Officiat ing Principal by t he Managem ent of t he college and t he Chief Educat ion Officer rem ained a silent spect at or, t herefore, pet it ioner cannot be penalized for a wrong com m it t ed by t he m anagem ent . I f pet it ioner is ot herwise eligible for benefit as Downgrade Principal, sam e cannot be denied t o him only on t he ground t hat m anagem ent did not im m ediat ely gave him t he charge of Officiat ing Principal.

7. Wit hout expressing any furt her opinion on t he m erit s of t he case, we dispose of t he writ pet it ion wit h a direct ion t o t he Manager of t he concerned inst it ut ion and also t he Regional Addit ional Direct or of Educat ion, Pauri t o resolve t he issue and pass necessary order in t he light of t he relevant provisions of t he Regulat ion, wit hin t wo m ont hs from dat e of product ion of cert ified copy of t his order. _______________________________ M A N OJ K UM A R TI W A RI , J. ____________________________ SUBH A SH UPA D H YA Y, J. Dt : 9 t h July, 2025 Mahinder MAHINDE R SINGH DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=da6212e6e78d94ed3134842bc6a8d6ca16897 9ca7b8c2f031a92d1a18b08923c, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=AB77B7C5B240908B392BE84F5CDD4C2 AF35DC4626D305B1BC9EA4BABA43D2B8F, cn=MAHINDER SINGH 3