Entitlement to TGT scale of pay from the date of acquiring the qualification and the obligation to pay the differential amount within a specified period.

JUDGMENT

B.R. Sarangi, J. - The petitioner, who is working as Assistant Teacher against Trained Graduate Post in Budhnath High School, Balipatna in the district of Khurda, by means of this writ petition, seeks to quash the communication dated 15.07.2013 under AnnexureIV, and issue direction to the opposite parties to allowing her Trained Graduate Teacher scale of pay from 13.12.1986, i.e. from the date of passing B.Ed. examination till the date she was actually promoted to the post of Junior SES during the year 2006, instead of notionally.

2. The factual matrix of the case, in hand, is that as per the revised yardstick issued by the Government on 01.06.1983, an additional section post was created in Class X-C of "Sri Budhanath High School, Balipatna" in the district of Khurda. The petitioner was appointed against the additional section post. In the meantime, the Government upgraded trained intermediate post to that of trained graduate post, vide Govt. Order No. 37536/E dated 14.08.1991. The petitioner, having possessed B.Ed. qualification with effect from 13.12.1986, claimed that she should be granted trained graduate scale of pay from the date of passing of the examination, but the same was not considered. Therefore, she approached this Court by filing OJC No. 7792 of 1995, which was disposed of on 01.02.1996 with the direction to consider her representation pending with the Inspector of Schools and on examination if it is found that the petitioner is entitled to the trained graduate scale of pay, as claimed by her, necessary recommendation to the Director of Secondary Education shall be made within two months and the Director of Secondary Education in his turn shall pass necessary orders thereafter within two months from the date of receipt of the recommendation. In compliance of the above order, the Inspector of Schools, by its letter dated 05.07.1996, recommended the case of the petitioner along with others to the Director, enclosing therewith the copy of the statement of the concerned teachers requesting the Director to allow them to draw trained graduate scale of pay w.e.f. 01.06.1983 or from the date of passing of their B.Ed. examination. But the Director did not take any steps and sat over the matter.

2.1 Consequentially, the petitioner filed OCRMC No. 549 of 1997, which was disposed of on 10.04.2001 by this Court expressing displeasure on the conduct of opposite parties and granted eight weeks time for compliance of the order of this Court as a last chance. But the opposite parties, in spite of the order passed by this Court, did not take any steps. Consequentially, the petitioner was compelled to file CONTC No. 216 of 2011, wherein the Director, Secondary Education, Odisha, Bhubaneswar filed compliance affidavit on behalf of the contemnor/opposite parties stating that the Commissioner-cum-Secretary to the Government, School and Mass Education Department, Orissa allowed the TGT sale of pay in favour of the petitioner from the date of passing of the B.Ed examination notionally till she was actually promoted to the promotional post keeping in view the G.O. No. 37536 dated 14.08.1991. Aggrieved by such grant of TGT scale of pay to the petitioner notionally, the petitioner approached the Orissa Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, Cuttack in O.A. No. 1096 (C) of 2014. But, on abolition of the said tribunal, the said original application has been transferred to this Court and registered as writ petition.

3. Mr. P.K. Das, learned counsel for the petitioner contended that once the authority is satisfied that the petitioner is entitled to trained graduate scale of pay from the date of passing of B.Ed. examination i.e. from 13.12.1986, the same should not have been granted notionally, but should have been granted actually for the period from 13.12.1986 till 06.06.2006, as the petitioner has been receiving regular scale of