The central legal point established in the judgment is the entitlement of teachers promoted as Primary School Headmasters after 01.06.1988 to the financial benefits of Selection Grade and Special Grade as per G.O.(Ms).No.207, and the obligation of the appellant Department to revise their pay and pension accordingly.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent Act, praying to set aside the order dated 23.09.2014 in W.P.No.24214 of 2014.)

Common Judgment

R. Suresh Kumar, J.

Since the issue raised in these appeals as well as the other connected writ petitions is one and the same, with the consent of the learned counsel appearing for both sides, these writ appeals as well as the writ petitions were heard together and are disposed of by this common order.

2. The respondents in the writ appeals and the respective petitioners in the writ petitions were the erstwhile teachers who were working either as Secondary Grade Teacher or as Primary School Headmaster before 01.06.1988.

3. Insofar as the benefit that has to be conferred on them i.e. Selection Grade and Special Grade after completion of 10 years and 20 years of service respectively, such kind of benefit had been conferred on them while they were working as Secondary Grade Teacher. Thereafter suppose a teacher has got promoted as a Primary School Headmaster whether such Primary School Headmaster would be entitled to get the financial benefit of conferring the Selection Grade as the case may be or his service would be calculated only from the date of his promotion as Primary School Headmaster alone for the purpose of conferring such status was the question.

4. At that time the Government had come forward to give such benefit for those who were working as Primary School Headmasters as on 01.06.1988, that means, those who were working as Primary School Headmaster on 01.06.1988 would be considered for conferment of Selection Grade and Special Grade by taking into account of the total service they rendered including the service in Secondary Grade Teacher post and accordingly such benefit have to be conferred on them.

5. However, many number of such teachers who could not earn the promotion as Primary School Headmaster before the said cut-off date of 01.06.1988 were able to earn the promotion only after the said cut-off date because of the years of service as well as the want of vacancy. After they earned such promotion after 01.06.1988 when they claimed for such benefit of Special Grade and Selection Grade by taking into account of the total service rendered by them including the Secondary Grade Assistant post that was denied by quoting the cut-off date i.e. 01.06.1988.

6. Therefore, this issue was brought to the notice of the Government and the Government after having considered all these aspects including the judgment rendered by this Court, decided to issue a Government Order called G.O.(Ms).No.207, School Education (G2) Department dated 30.09.2008. Inter alia in the said G.O., the Government ordered as follows:

7. By virtue of this G.O.(Ms).No.207 those who become the Primary School Headmaster even after 01.06.1988 would also be eligible and entitled to claim the financial benefit of Selection Grade and Special Grade by taking into account the entire service they rendered.

8. Pursuant to this G.O. when the Department at the District level prepared the list of such beneficiaries for conferring such financial status, the Director of School Education issued a proceedings in Na.Ka.No. 2200/C2/2010 dated 23.07.2010. In the said proceedings, the Director has interpreted the import of G.O.(Ms).No.207 to state that the benefit arising out of G.O.(Ms).No.207 would be conferred only on those who were working and got promoted on 01.06.1988 alone and not those who got promoted subsequent to 01.06.1988.

9. Therefore if at all any such conferment of the benefit made to those who got the promotion as Primary School Headmaster after 01.06.1988, such is the wrong conferment, therefore that should be recovered. Also it was stated in the said proceedings dated 23.07.2010 that the G.O.(Ms).No.207 restricts only the pension and not the arrears of salary for such a conferment of the Selection Grade or Special Grade to those who attained the promotion as Elementary School Headmaster after 01.06.1988.

10.