The main legal point established in the judgment is the principle of equal pay for equal work, as enshrined in Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, and its application to the payment of remuneration to retired teachers engaged as extension lecturers.

TRIBHUVAN DAHIYA, J.

This petition has been filed seeking a writ of certiorari quashing Clause/paragraph 11 of ‘Policy guidelines regarding engaging Eligible Extension Lecturers in Govt. Colleges purely on work requirement basis’, dated 04.03.2020 (Annexure P-2), and a direction to the respondents to pay the petitioners, who are retired eligible teachers, monthly remuneration at par with the eligible serving teachers/extension lecturers at the rate of Rs.57,700, instead of Rs.35,400, with effect from 01.01.2021 with interest at the rate of 18% per annum.

2. The facts of the case in brief are, the petitioners superannuated from service as Associate Professors in the subject of Punjabi, after serving the respondent-Higher Education Department for more than 21 years. Petitioner No.1 retired from service on 30.06.2019, and petitioner No.2 retired on 31.05.2019.

2.1. The respondents have a policy of engaging extension lecturers in government colleges on temporary basis. The petitioners, being eligible, applied for being so engaged. They are Ph.D holders and have also qualified National Eligibility Test (NET) held by the University Grants Commission (UGC); their testimonials have been attached with the petition as Annexure P-4.

2.2. Since the respondents did not consider the petitioners’ applications, they approached this Court by filing a writ petition, CWP No.28822 of 2019 titled Dr. Balwinder Singh and another v. State of Haryana and others, seeking a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to grant them opportunity to serve as Extension Lecturers (Punjabi) in government colleges in terms of policies dated 20.07.2017, 20.09.2017, 16.09.2019 and 20.09.2019, wherein a provision for appointment of retired government teachers, in the event of non-availability of displaced eligible extension lecturers existed. The petition was disposed of by this Court, vide order dated 04.10.2019 (Annexure P-1), directing respondent No.2 to decide the petitioners’ representation within a period of two months.

2.3. In consideration thereof, the petitioners were appointed as Extension Lecturers (Punjabi) in the Government Post Graduate College, Ambala Cantt. on fixed monthly remuneration of Rs.57,700 on 02.02.2020. It stands established from the Bank statements of the petitioners’ accounts (Annexure P-5) that they were paid monthly remuneration of Rs.57,700 from February 2020 to December 2020.

2.4. On 04.03.2020, in supersession of previous instructions/ guidelines/directions (Annexure P-2) the respondents issued a new Policy dated 04.03.2020, inter alia providing that the eligible extension lecturers shall be paid Rs.57,700 per month with effect from 27.06.2019 on the principle of equal pay for equal work, and no allowances will be admissible. Extension lecturers, who are not eligible as per the UGC/State Government norms, but still working as being protected by the orders of the High Court, will be paid remuneration at the rate of Rs.35,400 per month till final outcome of their writ petitions. Clause 11 of the Policy prescribes, “the remuneration to be paid to such retired teachers will be Rs.35,400 per month.”

2.5. Despite the aforesaid instructions, the respondents kept on paying monthly remuneration to the petitioners at the rate of Rs.57,700 up to December 2020. The same was, however, withdrawn with effect from January 2021 without any notice or show cause to them, and the respondents started paying monthly remuneration at the rate of Rs.35,400 instead. This led to the petitioners approaching this Court by way of filing the instant writ petition.

2.6. Subsequently, vide order dated 20.05.2022 (Annexure A-3), respondent No.2 directed respondent No.3/Principal, Govt. (P.G.) College, Amabala Canntt., to recover the excess amount paid to the petitioners by way of remuneration at the rate of Rs.57,700 per month from February 2020 to December 2020, being in violation of government instructions. The recovery was, however, stayed by an interim order passed b