Deciding Authority: Supreme Court of India
Date of Judgement: 5th February, 2003
Bench: Justice Shivaraj V. Patil & Justice Arijit Pasayat
Facts of the Case: The appellants in these appeals were appointed as teachers for various schools run by Zilla Parishads after being selected by Betterment Committees on payment of honorarium of Rs. 200-300 per month in the year 1988-89. They moved the State Government for regularization of their services in the year 1991. The State Government rejected their claims by the order dated 27.2.1992. Thereafter they filed writ petitions in the High Court for quashing the said Government order and also for direction to treat them as having been regularly appointed in the service of the respective Zilla Parishads and also to pay the arrears of salary and allowances from the date of their initial appointment till the date of payment. In the writ petitions, they pleaded that they were all working as teachers in primary and high schools on honorarium of Rs. 200-300 per month. According to them, Zilla Parishads of Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu and Shimoga passed resolutions with certain conditions as authorized by the Government by its circular dated 15.10.1987 to open new primary and high schools in rural areas. One of the conditions was that Zilla Parishad will appoint one trained graduate teacher and the remaining teachers shall be appointed by the public. It was also asserted in the writ petitions that in view of the aforesaid conditions it is the School Management Committee presided by Mandal Pradhan that had appointed teachers to teach students in Zilla. Parishad primary and high schools. It was their further case that Government granted post facto approval to all these teachers by its communication dated 9.7.1991. To put in nutshell, their case seems to be that they are all qualified to be as teachers; they were appointed at the instance of respective Zilla Parishads in accordance with Government circulars and in accordance with resolutions passed by Zilla Parishads; having taken their services for nearly five to eight years, State Government and Zilla Parishads were bound to regularize their services from the date of their initial appointment and were required to pay arrears of salary on par with that of regularly recruited teachers in both primary and high schools.
Judgement of the Case: The respondents, accepting the directions given by the learned Single Judge as affirmed by the Division Bench, followed them and in that process some persons got benefit of the directions. Many of the appellants could not get the benefits of the directions in spite of giving consideration and weightage to the services rendered by them. As is clear from the directions of the learned Single Judge, sympathizing with the appellants, their services were also protected till regular appointments were made. Under these. circumstances, we do not find any good or valid ground to interfere with the impugned order. This Court had passed interim orders in these matters directing the Zilla Parishads to pay the basic pay of Rs. 1520/- per month to the appellants from November, 1995 upto-date and continue to pay till the disposal of these appeals. The learned counsel for the respondents submitted that the payment made pursuant to the interim orders passed by this Court to the appellants shall not be recovered. In this view, we make it clear that the respondents shall not make any recovery of amount from the appellants paid to them by way of salary pursuant to the interim orders passed by this Court. Thus finding no merit, the appeals are dismissed subject to what is stated above. No costs.
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