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Supreme Court of India

STATE OF HARYANA AND ORS.versusRAJPAL SHARMA AND ORS.

Citation
1996 INSC 785
Decided
25 July 1996
Disposal
Dismissed

Holding

Teachers in privately managed aided schools must be paid the same salary and dearness allowance as teachers in government schools.

Summary

The respondents were teachers in privately managed aided schools in Haryana who, after acquiring higher qualifications, claimed pay scales and dearness allowances equal to those of teachers in government schools. The State Government refused, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted relief, directing parity in pay. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined whether the principle of equal pay for equal work under Article 39(d) of the Constitution applies to aided‑school teachers and considered earlier judgments on pay parity. Relying on Haryana State Adhyapak Sangh cases, the Court held that teachers in aided schools must receive the same salary and dearness allowance as their government‑school counterparts, with effect from 1 April 1990. Consequently, the appeals were dismissed, leaving the High Court’s order intact.

Issues considered

  • Whether teachers employed in privately managed aided schools are entitled to the same pay scales and dearness allowances as teachers in government schools under Article 39(d) of the Constitution.

Legislation cited

Subjects

equal payteachersaided schoolspay scalesdearness allowanceConstitutional lawArticle 39(d)parity

Judgment

                       STATE OF HARYANA AND ORS.                                      A
                                          v.
                          RAJPAL SHARMA AND ORS.

                                   JULY 25, 1996

                                                                                      B
               (K. RAMASWAMY AND G.B. PATTANAIK, JJ.]

          Service Law :

•         Educational Institutio11s-Teachers of privately mallaged aided
    school-Claim for pay scales as admissible to their coullter- pafts i11 Govem-     C
    me11t Sc!zools-Helll teachers of aided schools are e11titled to same pay scales
    as are ad111issible to teachers of Govenunent schools-Constitution of India,
    1950-Ait. 39(d)-Equal pay for equal w01k.

         The respondents were JBT teachers in privately managed aided                 D
    schools in the State o[ Haryana. They acquired higher qualifications while
    continuing in service, and claimed higher scales of pay as were being given
    to their counter-parts in Government schools. The State Government
    refused their claim, but the High Court allowed their writ petitions and
    granted the relief. Aggrieved, the State Government filed the present
    appeals.                                                                          E

          Dismissing the appeals, this Court

          HELD: The respondent-teachers employed in aided schools shall be
    paid the same salary and dearness allowances as is paid to teachers
    employed in Government schools with effect from 1.4.1990, as was directed         F
    by this Court in Hwya11a State Adhyapak Sangh's case*. [26-H; 27-A]

         *Haryana State Adhyapak Sa11gh a11d Ors. v. State uf Hwyana, (1990]
    Suppl. SCC 306, relied on.
                                                                                      G
          Haryalla State Adhyapak Sangh alld Ors. v. State of Haryalla alld Ors.,
    [1988] 4 SCC 571 and Chaman Lal alld Ors. v. State of Haryana alld
    another, (1987] 3 sec 113, referred to.

          CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nos. 9511-12
    of1996.                                                                           fl
                                          23
    24                     SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A        From the Judgment and Order dated 19.8.94 of the Punjab and
    Haryana High Court in C.W.P. Nos. 5354/91 and 10324/92.

         Prem Malhotra for the Appellants.

         Mrs. Rekha Palli and A. V. Palli for the Respondents.
B
         The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

          G.B. PATIANAIK, J. Delay condoned.

          Leave granted.
c          These appeals by special leave are directed against the judgment of
    the High Court of Punjab and Haryana dated 19th August, 1994 in Civil
    Writ Petition Nos. 5354 of 1991 and 10324 of 1992. By the impugned
    judgment the High Court has directed that the respondents would be
    entitled to the same scales of pay and privilages as are available to their
D   counter-parts in government schools. Admittedly the respondents are JBT
    teachers in Privately Managed Aided Schools in Ambala District in the
    Stale of Haryana. While they continued as employees of private schools
    much prior to the Haryana State was formed, the State of Haryana by
    issuance of Notification dated 3rd January, 1968 revised the pay scales of
    the teaching personnel with effect from 1st December, 1967. These respon-
E
    dents acquired higher qualification while continuing in service and there-
    fore claimed higher scales of pay as is being admissible to their
    counter-parts in government schools. The State Government having
    refused their claim, they approached the High Court by way of writ            •
    petitions. The High Court relying upon the earlier decision of the same
F   Court in <;ivil Writ Petition No. 876 of 1988 granted the relief and hence
    the present appeals.

           Mr. Prem Malhotra appearing for the appellant State contends that
    the schools in question being Privately Managed Aided Schools, the
    employees thereof are entitled to reimbursement of 95% of budgetary
G   deficit by way of grant and therefore the State is not bound to grant these
    employees the scales of pay as is admissible to their counter-parts in
    government schools. Mr. Palli appearing for the respondents on the other
    hand contended-that it has heen held by this Court that teachers of aided
    schools must be paid the same scales of pay and other allowances as
H   teachers of the government schools and therefore, the High Court was fully
              STATE v. RATPALSHARMA[G.B.PATfANAIK,J.\                     25

justified in granting the relief sought for. The question that arises for       A
consideration is whether the teachers of privately aided schools in the State
of Haryana would be entitled to the same scales of pay and other allowan-
ces as are admissible to their counter-parts in government schools?

       In Chaman Lal and Otheis v. State of Haryana and Anothe1; [1987] 3
sec 113, the question for consideration was whether teachers who started        B
as Basic Trained teachers and later acquired the higher qualification,
whether would be entitled to higher scales of pay ? This Court considered
the recommendations of the Kothari Commission and different Circulars
of the State of Haryana and came to hold that those teachers who acquired
the higher qualification would be entitled to the higher scales of pay as       c
soon as they acquired the qualification irrespective of the date when they
were ad.justed against posts of Masters. In this case no doubt the appellants
were teachers of a Government school. The question of parity in pay scales
between the teachers of a recognised aided school and the teachers of a
Government school, as in the preseJJ.l case, came up for consideration in
the case of Haiyana State Adhyapak Sangh and Others v. State of Hmyana          D
and Others, [1988] 4 SCC 571. This Court came to the conclusion that .the
teachers of aided schools must be paid the same pay scale and dearness
allowance as teachers in government schools for the entire period served
by them and that the expenditure on that account should be apportioned
between the State and the Management in the same proportion in which            E
they share the burden of the existing emoluments of the teachers. The
aforesaid decision of this Court wa' considered again by a three Judge
Bench in the case of Haryana State Adhyapak Sangh and Others v. State of
Haiyana, [1990] Suppl SCC 306 and by way of clarifying the earlier
decision, this Court observed :
                                                                                F
            'These observations leave no scope for doubt that this Court
        has directed that the teachers of aided schools must be paid the
        same scales of pay and dearness allowance as teachers in govern-
        ment schools and that the said payment must be made for the
        entire peripd claimed by the appellants and the petitioners in these G
        cases.'

              In paragraph 12 of the Judgment the Court issued the following
        directions :

        (i)    The pay scales of the teachers of government aided schools H ,
        26                    SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

    A                shall be revised so as to bring them at par with the pay scales
                     of teachers of government schools with effect from April 1,
                     1979 and the differential amount as a result of such revision
                     in pay scales shall be paid in four six monthly instalments, the
                     first instalment·being payable by June 30, 1990.

    B           (ii) The teachers of the government aided schools shall be paid
                     additional dearness allowance on the basis of the revised pay
                     scales with effect from April 1, 1979 to December 31, 1985
                     and the arrears of such additional dearness allowance found
                     payable as a result of such revision shall be paid along with
    c                the last part of the five instalments of additional dearness
                     allowance which is to be paid in September 1990.

                (iii) The parity in the pay scales and dearness allowance of
                      teachers employed in aided schools and those employed in
                      government schools shall be maintained and with that end in
    D                 view the pay scales of teachers employed in goverment aided
                      schools shall be revised and brought at par with the pay scales
                      and dearness allowance payable to the teachers employed in
                      government schools with effect from January 1,1986.

                (iv) As from April 1, 1990 the teachers employed in aided schools
    E
                     shall be paid the same salary and dearness allowance as is
                     paid to teachers employed in government schools.

                (v) The arrears of pay and dearness allowance payable as a result       '
                    of such revision for the period from January 1, 1986 to March
    F               31, 1990 shall be paid in four six monthly instalments, the first
                    such instalment being payable by June 30, 1990.

               In the impugned judgment the High Court has merely stated that the
        petition is allowed in the same terms as in C.W.P. No. 876 of 1988. C.W.P.
        No. 876 of 1988 was disposed of with the direction that the State would
    G   determine the benefits available to the teachers in the light of the judgment
        of Supreme Court including the grant of increments as has been granted
        to their counter-parts working in the government schools. The positive
        direction in Haiyana State Adhyapak Sangh and Others v. State of Haryana,
        [1990] Suppl SCC 306 to the effect that as from April 1, 1990 the teachers
1   H   employed in aided schools shall be paid the same salary and dearness
                   STATE v. RATPALSHARMA[G.B.PATTANA!K,J.]                     27

       allowance as is paid to teachers employed in government schools, leave no     A
       room for doubt the grant of the said benefit to the respondents herein who
       are the teachers in privately managed aided schools in Ambala District in
       the State of Haryana.

             Accordingly, we find no infirmity with the impugned judgment re-
       quiring interference by this Court under Article 136 of the Constitution.     B
       These appeals are accordingly dismissed but in the circumstances there will
       be no order as to costs.

       R.P.                                                   Appeals dismissed.




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