The court established that the doctrine of merger applies to judgments, meaning that a higher court's decision supersedes lower court rulings, and that recovery of excess payments from retired employees is not permissible under law.

JUDGMENT :

Surya Kant, J.

Leave granted.

2. This Civil Appeal is directed against the order dated 06.04.2023 passed by a Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (hereinafter, 'High Court'), whereby an intra-court appeal preferred by the State of Uttar Pradesh (hereinafter, 'State') challenging the Single Judge's judgement dated 02.02.2018 was dismissed on the ground of delay. Consequently, the judgment of the Single Judge, which effectively directed to grant the pay scale of 7500-12000 to Sub-Deputy Inspectors of Schools/ Assistant Basic Shiksha Adhikaris (hereinafter, 'SDI/ABSA') and the Deputy Basic Shiksha Adhikaris (hereinafter, 'DBSA'), with effect from the year 2001, stood affirmed.

3. Since the instant appeal arises out of a long-drawn saga, where multiple rounds of litigation occurred inter-se the parties before various fora, including this Court, it would be appropriate to narrate the factual events before delving into the legal issues raised before us concerning the law of precedents, the doctrine of merger and the principle of res judicata.

FACTS

4. The controversy centers around the alleged discrepancy in the pay scales of SDI/ABSA and DBSA of the Basic Education Department, State of Uttar Pradesh vis-a-vis the Headmasters of Junior High Schools (hereinafter, 'Headmaster'). The genesis of this disparity can be traced back to the Government Order dated 20.07.2001 (hereinafter, 2001 Order'), issued on the basis of the recommendations of the Fifth Central Pay Commission, pursuant to which the pay scales of State Government teachers, including Headmasters, were brought on par with Central Government teachers, with effect from 01.07.2001.

5. The effect of the 2001 Order, in essence, was that the basic pay scale of Headmasters stood revised from 4625-125-7000 to 6500-200-10500, with a further revision of their Selection Grade from 4800-150-7650 to 7500-250-12000. There was, however, no alteration in the pay scales of SDI/ABSA and DBSA and resultantly, their pay scales became lesser than those granted to the Headmasters.

6. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of this issue, it is essential to take into account the revision in pay scales across various posts over time.

7. The pay scale granted for the post of Sub-Deputy Inspector of Schools (SDI) since the year 1945, with consequent revisions, is depicted in a tabular format hereinbelow:

The position of the ABSA, being equivalent to that of SDI, likewise bore the same pay scale of 4500-7000, with effect from 01.01.1996.

8. The pay scale assigned for the post of DBSA since 1945, with subsequent revisions, is outlined in the table below:

9. Lastly, the pay scale apportioned for the post of Headmaster since 1945, with subsequent revisions, is detailed in the table below:

*Selection Grade Pay Scale

10. It may be seen from the above table that the post of Headmaster was placed in the pay scale of 4625-7000 w.e.f. 01.01.1996. Thereafter, the said pay scale was revised to 6500-10500 w.e.f. 01.07.2001, and in addition, the Selection Grade of Rs.7500-250-12000 was also granted through the 2001 Order. Additionally, Headmasters also got a promotion grade pay