The appellant's right to higher pay was found to be indefeasible and could not be taken away arbitrarily.

JUDGMENT :

RABINDRANATH SAMANTA, J.

1. This appeal portrays the struggle of a woman-Librarian for more than a decade to establish her entitlements to higher pay commensurate with her higher qualification. Being unsuccessful in the previous three rounds of litigation, the appellant Smt. Manjulika Goswami has preferred the instant appeal as a fourth round of litigation challenging the order dated 06.12.2013 passed by a learned Single Bench in W.P. No. 34066 (W) of 2013.

2. The background facts which led the filing of the writ petition may be adumbrated as under:

The appellant passed M.A. in History in the year 1979 and Bachelor of Library Science in the year 1984 from the University of Calcutta. After obtaining the degree of Bachelor of Library Science she registered her name with the employment exchange in the year 1987. For appointment to the post of Librarian of Sarat Chandra Girls’ High School (H.S.) at 43 A, Ram Kamal Street, Kolkata-700023, the school authority sought names of candidates from the employment exchange by sending a requisition. In response to the requisition, the employment exchange sponsored the names of the eligible candidates including the name of the appellant for the aforesaid post. The interview was held at the said school on 11.05.1987 and the appellant by virtue of a call letter appeared at the interview. Thereafter, the selection committee prepared a panel of three candidates wherein the appellant was empanelled as the second candidate. The panel so prepared was approved by the respondent no. 3, the District Inspector of Schools (SE).

3. Since the first empanelled candidate namely Krishna Sadhukhan did not join, the appellant as a second empanelled candidate was offered appointment and she joined the post of Librarian of the school on 01.09.1988. The appointment of the appellant was approved by the respondent no. 3 vide Memo dated 27.02.1990. While the appellant joined her services on 01.09.1988 her pay was fixed at Rs.560 in the scale of pay of Rs. 440-1170 (Master Degree Holder) in terms of Memo No. 372-EDN (B) dated 31.07.1981. After the West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay & Allowance) Rules, 1990 (in short ROPA Rules, 1990) and the West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay & Allowance) Rules, 1998 (in short ROPA Rules, 1998) came into force the pay of the appellant was fixed as per the revised scale of pay commensurate with her post graduate qualification.

4. The appellant had been enjoying the scale of pay as per her master degree qualification since the day of her joining and this scale of pay was revised as per the aforesaid ROPA Rules.

5. After the West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay and Allowance) Rules, 2009 (in short ROPA Rules, 2009) came into force the appellant opted option as per the Rules and her pay was re-fixed in the post graduate pay of scale as she drew earlier.

6. But, as a bolt from the blue, the appellant for the first time came to learn by a letter dated 01.08.2009 of the Head Mistress of the school that the option papers submitted by her under the ROPA Rules, 1998 and ROPA Rules, 2009 were not approved by the District Inspector of Schools (SE). Being aggrieved by such non-approval of the option papers the appellant through her learned advocate vide a letter dated 20.08.2009 made a demand of justice to the District Inspector of Schools (SE), the respondent no. 3. Getting no reply to the letter demanding justice, the appellant filed a writ petition being W.P. No. 20574(W) of 2009 and by the order dated 11.02.2010 the writ petition was disposed of by a learned Single Bench directing the respondent no. 3 to give reply to the said demand of justice with cogent reasons. By order dated 12.05.2010 the respondent no. 3 rejected the letter demanding justice on the ground that the appellant was not entitled to post graduate scale of pay as per Government Orders dated 07.03.1990, 12.02.1999