The impugned G.O. No. 904-SE (Secy.) dated 19.12.94 which was expressly quashed by the decisions in Kalidas Gangopadhyay (and which decision has not been interfered with by any Appeal Court), continues to remain quashed notwithstanding the subsequent decision in Tapan Kr. Das, and the State and its Officers cannot any more use that quashed G.O. for defeating the claim of any one.

This is a writ petition in respect of the petitioners' claim for higher scale of pay for the higher qualification they acquired while serving as Assistant Teachers in the concerned school. The two petitioners while serving as Assistant Teachers in the Birpara Nepali High School, District Jalpaiguri, pursued their studies with the permission of the Managing Committee of the school through correspondence course of Himachal Pradesh University and in due course obtained post-graduate degree, that is, M.A. degree in English and History respectively. In view of their obtaining higher qualification the petitioners are entitled to higher scale of pay in accordance with the Government circular applicable in the matter and they also prayed for the same with the recommendation of the school authorities. They made such representation to the respondent No.3, the District inspector of Schools (SE), Jalpaiguri in the month of August 1995 and November 1995 respectively. It is the contention of the petitioners, as submitted that although their representation for higher scale of pay on the basis of higher qualification bas not yet been expressly rejected by the District Inspector of Schools yet they have been given to understand that the D. I. has been withholding sanction for the higher scale of pay in view of the Government of West Bengal, School Education Department-Secondary Branch G. O. No. 904-SE(Secy) dated the 19th December, 1994 by which the Education Department informed the Director of School Education that the State Government in Education (School) Department as a matter of policy had not agreed to recognise degree/diploma/master degree etc. acquired through correspondence course from any University etc. as equivalent to a regular course conducted by recognised Universities, and as such the question of extending the benefit of higher scale for acquiring such degree/diploma/master degree through correspondence course did not arise. It is however submitted by the learned Advocate for the petitioners that the said G O. No. 904-SE (Secy.) dated 19.12.94 has been already quashed by this Court in (1) Katidas Gangopadhyay and Others v. State of West Bengal and Ors., 1996(2) CLJ 42 following the earlier decision of this Court in (2) Muchha Mondal v. State of West Bengal, 1996(1) CLJ 306 : AIR 1996 Cal 132: 100 CWN 472 and that being so the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Jalpaiguri cannot withheld the benefit of the higher scale of pay which the petitioners are entitled to for their acquisition of higher qualification and he cannot defeat the petitioners' claim by misapplication of the said quashed G.O. No. 904-SE (Secy.) dated 19.12.94 which, by reason of its being so quashed by judicial order, is non-existent now and is its being available for any use or application. This submission of the learned Advocate for the petitioners is indeed unassailable and the learned Advocate appearing for the State also could not submit anything in support of the inaction or the District Inspector of Schools in the matter of sanctioning higher scale of pay to the petitioners for their acquisition of higher qualification. I would have therefore immediately directed the D. I of Schools to accord sanction for grant of higher scale of pay to the petitioners but before that I would like to discuss the matter inasmuch as a subsequent decision of a learned Judge of this Court in (3) Tapas Kr. Das v. State of West Bengal, 1996(2) CLJ 467 has been brought to my notice for consideration

2. Before I discuss the decision of another learned Judge which has been brought to my notice I would like to make here a brief reference to my two earlier decisions on the matter first. In Muchha Mondal v. The State of West Bengal, 1996 (1) CLJ 306 : AIR 1996 Cal 132 : 100 CWN 472, the writ petitioner came before this Court for appropriate relief in connection with the approval of penal for appointment to the post of English Teacher in a School by the District Inspector