Non-teaching staff are entitled to vacation salary under similar conditions applicable to teaching staff, emphasizing continuous service.

The petitioner is working as a Full Time Menial in an aided school. She was appointed on 01.10.2005. The approval was not initially granted from the date of appointment and was granted only from 31.08.2008. The petitioner challenged the above action and finally this Court in the judgment in WP(C) No.28276 of 2019 directed the approval of the appointment of the petitioner as Full Time Menial from 01.10.2005. The 2nd respondent has issued consequential order as Ext.P4, approving the appointment from 01.10.2005. However, the 2nd respondent has not granted vacation salary for the academic year 2005-2006, on the reason that the petitioner did not have service of more than 8 months in the academic year. The contention taken is that the non-teaching staff are also governed by the provisions which apply to the teaching staff under Chapter XIV A Rule 49 KER. Reliance is placed on Rule 7 of Chapter XXIV B which says that, the rules regarding the appointment, transfer from one educational agency to another educational agency or the transfer under the same educational agency, discipline, maintenance of service records, confirmation, promotion, seniority, and maintenance of seniority list contained in Chapter XIV A and the Conduct Rules in Chapter XIV C applicable to teachers in aided schools shall mutatis mutandis apply to the non-teaching staff in aided schools. Rule 7 of Chapter XXIV B does not specifically say anything about entitlement to vacation salary. The said aspect is stated only in Rule 49 of Chapter XIV A, which says that qualified teachers except Headmasters appointed in vacancies which are not permanent, which extend over the summer vacation and who continue in such vacancies till the closing date shall be retained in the vacancies during the vacation, if their continuous service as on the closing date is not less than eight months. It is stated that the teachers so retained shall be entitled to vacation salary. It also says that the teachers shall be relieved on the closing day, if their continuous service as on that day is less than the aforesaid period. The rule further says that the rule will not apply to teachers appointed in training vacancies. A reading of the rule will clearly show that, it can never be applied mutatis muntandis to a non-teaching staff, since the very purpose of the rule is to see whether the teacher is available during the vacations and one aspect that is taken into consideration for the above purpose is their continuation in the vacancy after the summer vacations. There is no such contingency in the case of a Full Time Menial. Moreover, Ext.P3 order specifically says that the service of the petitioner is continuous. As such, there is no question of denying the vacation salary by drawing an analogy to Rule 49 of Chapter XIV A.

The Writ petition is, hence, allowed. Ext.P4 to the extent it excludes payment of salary to the petitioner for the vacation of the academic year 2005-2006 is set aside. There will a direction to the 2nd respondent to approve the appointment of the petitioner from 01.10.2005 enabling the petitioner to draw salary for the vacation of the academic year 2005-2006, within three weeks from the date of receipt of copy of this judgment. The financial benefits shall be released to the petitioner within one month thereafter.

Sd/- T.R.RAVI JUDGE BR APPENDIX OF WP(C) 29467/2023 PETITIONER’S EXHIBITS Exhibit P1 COPY OF THE APPOINTMENT ORDER DATED

1.10.2005 ISSUED BY THE MANAGER, AMHS VENGOOR Exhibit P2 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER NO. E.M (3)/85144/17/DGE/K.DIS DATED 18.7.2019 ISSUED BY THE ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR OF GENERAL EDUCATION.

Exhibit P3 TRUE COPY OF GO(RT)NO.2287/2022/GEDN DATED 7-4-2022 ISSUED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT.

Exhibit P4 TRUE COPY OF ORDER NO.B2/43081/2022 DATED

5-1-2023 ISSUED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT Exhibit P5 TRUE COPY OF THE REVISION PETITION DATED

12-8-2023 PREFERRED BY THE PETITIONER BEFORE THE 1ST RESPONDENT (WITHOUT ENCLOSURES)

RESPONDENT’S EXHIBITS: NIL