The main legal point established in the judgment is that the entitlement to selection/special grade for government employees is based on stagnation in the same post without promotion for a certain period, and such entitlement is affected by promotions and the calculation of service for selection/special grade.

ORDER :

The order dated 13.11.2013 passed by the first respondent is sought to be quashed in the present writ petition.

2. The petitioner in the present writ petition seeks for a direction to the respondents to grant the benefit of G.O.Ms. No.210, Education, dated 14.08.2009 to the petitioner by upgrading the petitioner as Secondary Grade Teacher from 16.10.1967 and grant consequential selection and special grade scale of pay to the petitioner in the post of B.Ed., Middle School Headmaster and grant arrears of pay and pension.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioner made a submission that the petitioner was pursuing the matter and he filed writ petition on earlier occasion.

4. Be that as it may, even in case, the petitioner pursued the matter, this Court is of an opinion that the issues raised by the petitioner are no more res integra.

5. This Court has elaborately considered all the Government Orders in this subject and passed an order on 25.01.2022 in W.P.(MD) Nos.3186 and 3187 of 2016.

6. The learned Additional Government Pleader appearing on behalf of the respondents made a submission that the facts in the writ petition on hand as well as the facts decided by this Court in W.P.(MD) Nos.3186 and 3187 of 2016 are identical.

7. For better appreciation, the relevant paragraphs 7 to 24 of the order dated 25.01.2022 are extracted herein below:-

“7. The concept of selection/special grade is that the government employees are entitled to “selection grade” if the person is stagnating is the same post without promotion for 10 years and entitled to “special grade” if the person is stagnating is the same post without promotion for 20 years. The G.O. Ms. No. 666 Finance (Pay Commission) dated 27.06.1089 was issued cancelling the selection/special grade. Thereafter the scheme of granting selection/special grade was reintroduced vide G.O. Ms. No. 304 Finance (Pay Commission) Department dated 28.03.1990. In partial modification in paragraph 9 of the G.O. 666, the G.O. 304 was issued granting the selection/special grade.

8. In Education Department prior to 01.06.1988 the post of Secondary Grade Teacher and Primary School Headmaster in Government Schools and Panchayat Union Schools are interchangeable and considered as same post. The grade pay of the Secondary Grade Teacher and the grade pay of the Primary School Headmaster are same, with an additional special pay to the Headmaster. After 01.06.1988 the post of Headmaster is a promotion post and in V pay Commission the Headmaster were paid Rs. 1400-2600 without special pay and the Secondary Grade Teacher were paid 1200-2040. The teachers who had worked in the Panchayat Schools/Government Schools in Secondary Grade Post were allowed to serve as Headmaster of Primary School with extra allowance to the post of Headmaster post. After 01.06.1988 the post of Headmaster is made as promotion post. Therefore a claim was submitted to add the service of Secondary Grade Post and Headmaster of Primary School for calculating the selection grade and special grade. The government issued G.O. Ms. No. 1381 Education Department dated 05.10.1990 wherein selection/special grade was granted to teachers who were holding the HM post on 01.06.1988 be awarded selection/special grade in the revised scales on or after 01.06.1988 by computing the “Secondary Grade Teacher and Primary School HM prior to 01.06.1988”. The G.O. also states that “at the post of HM carries higher scale of pay above that of the Secondary Grade Teachers, those promoted as HM after 01.06.1988 shall be allowed fixation of pay in the post of HM as provided under Fundamental Rules 22B. The persons promoted after 01.06.1988 opposed to fix under Fundamental Rules 22B and they prayed to grant selection/special grade as granted to HM by taking both secondary grade service and HM post. Since the same was declined, those persons filed petition before Tribunal in O.A. No. 2899, 3009 and 3010 of 1989 and the Tribunal has held that the classification is wrong and s