Aptitude test qualified candidates selected for unaided school assistant teacher posts with specified pay scale cannot be appointed on honorarium; entitled to regular pay from original date, coerced undertakings invalid.

JUDGMENT :

RAVINDRA V. GHUGE, J.

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forth with and heard finally by the consent of the parties.

2. All these Petitioners are identically placed. In the First Petition, the Petitioners have put forth their Prayers below Paragraph No. 14, Clauses (A) & (C), which read as under :

A) This Hon'ble High Court be pleased to issue Writ in the nature of Mandamus or any other Writ order or direction to the respondent no. 2 to issue to the Petitioners the order of appointment as Full Time Assistant Teachers on un-aided basis in its Secondary Schools with effect from 21.6.2024, in place of the order dated 20.6.2024 [EXH-C], whereby the Petitioners are appointed as Shikshan Sevaks on payment of monthly honorarium, and accordingly the Respondent No. 2 may be directed to pay the differential salary to the Petitioners, from the said date of appointment, deducting the amount of Rs.18,000/- per month paid to the Petitioners as monthly honorarium, with all arrears.

C) By a suitable writ, order or direction, this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to hold and declare that since the Petitioners had applied and they were selected and recommended for appointment as Assistant Teachers on un-aided basis in the Secondary Schools of the Respondent No. 2 Corporation, that the Petitioners were and are entitled to be appointed as Assistant Teachers in Pay Matrix and not as Shikshan Sevaks on monthly honorarium, and accordingly the Respondent No. 2 may be directed to issue the appointment order to the Petitioners as Assistant Teachers in Pay Matrix with effect from 21.6.2024, in place of the appointment given to the Petitioners as Shikshan Sevaks on monthly honorarium under the order dated 20.6.2024 [EXH-C], with all consequential benefits including the payment of the differential amount of salary after deducting the monthly honorarium paid to them during the intervening period.

3. In the Second Petition, the Petitioners have put forth their Prayers below Paragraph No. 14, at Clauses (B) & (C) which read as under :

B) By a suitable writ, order or direction, this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to direct the Respondent No. 2 to issue to the Petitioners the order of appointment as Full Time Assistant Teachers on un-aided basis in its Secondary Schools with effect from 21.6.2024, in place of the order dated 20.6.2024 [EXH-C], whereby the Petitioners are appointed as Shikshan Sevaks on payment of monthly honorarium, and accordingly the Respondent No. 2 may be directed to pay the differential salary to the Petitioners, from the said date of appointment, deducting the amount of Rs.18,000/- per month paid to the Petitioners as monthly honorarium, with all arrears.

C) By a suitable writ, order or direction, this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to hold and declare that since the Petitioners had applied and they were selected and recommended for appointment as Assistant Teachers on un-aided basis in the Secondary Schools of the Respondent No. 2 Corporation, that the Petitioners were and are entitled to be appointed as Assistant Teachers in Pay Matrix and not as Shikshan Sevaks on monthly honorarium, and accordingly the Respondent No. 2 may be directed to issue the appointment order to the Petitioners as Assistant Teachers in Pay Matrix with effect from 21.6.2024, in place of the appointment given to the Petitioners as Shikshan Sevaks on monthly honora