Point of Law: Once the decision has been taken to release the grant-in-aid, it should be released uniformly without putting any riders in the same.

ORDER :

1. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the order dated 16.01.2019 (Annexure A-16), whereby case of the petitioners for Grant-in-Aid w.e.f. 01.04.1993, came to be rejected, petitioners had approached the erstwhile H.P. State Administrative Tribunal by way of O.A. No. 927/2019, which now on account of abolishment of Tribunal already stands transferred to this Court and has been renumbered as CWPOA No. 6443/2020, praying therein for following substantive reliefs:

“(i) That the order dated 16.01.2019 contained in Annexure A-16 passed by respondent No. 2, may kindly be quashed and set aside.

(ii) That the respondent-department may kindly be directed to release the Grant-in-Aid to the applicants from their respective dates of appointments reflected in Annexure A-1, in the respondent school upto 20.10.2009 with all consequential benefits.”

2. Precisely the facts of the case, as emerge from the record are that petitioners herein filed CWP No. 272/2010, seeking therein directions to the respondents to pay them all salaries, wages, allowances and other benefits admissible to them as allowed to their counterparts working in different Govt. Senior Secondary Schools along with arrears and interest at the rate of 18% per annum. This Court vide judgment dated 27.05.2010, passed the following direction:

“It is submitted that in similar circumstances, this Court had already granted relief in CWP No. 492/1997. The said writ petition was disposed of directing the State to disburse 95% of Grant-in-Aid. The State had taken up the matter in appeal L.P.A. No. 37 of 2004. That was dismissed vide judgment dated 17.11.2008 and S.L.P. was also dismissed. It is submitted that the said judgment has been complied with. Claiming relief in similar circumstances, petitioner has submitted Annexure P-5 representation to the first respondent. There is a direction to the first respondent to look into and take appropriate action in accordance with law in the matter without discriminating the petitioner, in the light of the judgments referred to above. The needful as above shall be done within a period of two months from the date of production of a copy of the judgment alongwith a copy of the writ petition. Petition stands disposed of.”

3. Pursuant to aforesaid direction issued by this Court, petitioners herein submitted their representations to Principal Secretary (Education) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh, requesting therein similar reliefs, as were prayed in the aforesaid writ petition. Principal Secretary (Education) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh, after having carefully gone through the records though found that school of the petitioners, i.e. Biilasan Senior Secondary School Bilaspur, Tehsil Dehra, District Kangra was one of the 144 schools, list whereof was furnished in Civil Appeal No. 1233-1234 of 1993 filed in Hon’ble Apex Court and have also started +1 and +2 classes after obtaining temporary affiliation and recognition of the H.P Board of School Education, Dharamshala and Deputy Director of Education, North Zone, Dharamshala, respectively, but yet directed the Director, Higher Education to consider the case of the petitioners for Grant-in-Aid from the date of filing claim, i.e. 21.10.2009 (Annexure A-7). Pursuant to aforesaid order (Annexure A-7), passed by Principal Secretary (Education) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh, Director Higher Education reconsidered the matter and interestingly rejected the case of the petitioners for Grant-in-Aid (Annexure A-16) on the ground that they are not similar to the petitioners in the cases, i.e. CWP No. 492/1997, titled Smt. Kailash Gupta and Others vs. the Secretary (Education) and Others and judgment dated 19.12.2011 in CWP No. 1201/2010, titled Anil Kumar and Others vs. State of H.P. and Others. Perusal of the aforesaid order (Annexure A-16) further reveals that one of the ground for rejection came to be recorded by Director Higher Education in aforesaid order is that vide order dated 28.0