IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED : 08.09.2025 CORAM THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R.SURESH KUMAR and THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR W.A.No.2602 of 2025 and C.M.P.No.20788 of 2025

1. The District Educational Officer, Tirupattur Educational District, Tirupattur, Tirupattur District.

2. The Block Educational Officer, Jolarpet Union, Tirupattur Educational District, Tirupattur District. ... Appellants -Vs-

R.Elayaraja ... Respondent PRAYER : Appeal filed under Clause XV of Letters Patent, against the order dated 14.03.2024 in W.P.No.14806 of 2021.

For Appellants : Mr.S.Yashwanth Additional Government Pleader For Respondent : Mr.P.M.Vishnuvarthanan

J U D G M E N T

(Judgment of the Court was delivered by R.SURESH KUMAR, J.)

This intra Court appeal has been directed against the order dated

14.03.2024 made in W.P.No.14806 of 2021.

2. The respondent who was the writ petitioner had been appointed as Secondary Grade Teacher in Natrampalli Union on 20.10.2004 and his service had been regularised. Subsequently, he was transferred to Jolarpet Union on 25.07.2007 from where he got promoted as B.T.Assistant on 19.06.2014. One D.Balamurugan was appointed as Secondary Grade Teacher in the very same Jolarpet Union on 18.01.2005 and he was promoted as B.T.Assistant on

08.08.2016. Therefore, the respondent / writ petitioner was senior, and his name also was found in the seniority panel for the post of Headmaster dated 01.01.2018 at Serial No.63, whereas the said Balamurugan had been placed at

85th position.

3. Despite these factors, the respondent / writ petitioner salary was fixed and was paid the salary of Rs.55,100/-, whereas the salary of the said Balamurugan was fixed at Rs.58,500/- as on 14.06.2017.

4. Therefore, it is the case of the respondent / writ petitioner that, being the senior, he is getting lower pay and the individual Balamurugan being the junior is getting higher pay. Hence, in order to set right the pay anomaly, he had approached the respondents, who are the appellants herein, however the request had been turned down through the order dated 09.04.2021, challenging the same, the said writ petition was filed.

5. The said writ petition was heard and allowed by the learned Judge, through the impugned order dated 14.03.2024, wherein learned Judge has observed that, as the writ petitioner was transferred to Jolarpet Union, he is senior in all respects from the date of entering into service, hence, the pay already been fixed to his junior, i.e., Balamurgan at Rs.58,500/- should be extended to the petitioner also on par with his junior. When such a plea was raised, the same since has been turned down through the order impugned before the writ Court, the learned Judge was pleased to set aside the order and had given a direction to consider the request made by the writ petitioner in this regard by way of his representation dated 03.10.2020 and to re-fix the salary as on 14.06.2017 on par with the junior.

6. Aggrieved over the said order passed by the writ Court, the appellants have filed the present intra-Court appeal.

7. Heard Mr.S.Yashwanth, learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the appellants and Mr.P.M.Vishnuvarthanan, learned counsel appearing for the respondent.

8. The learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the appellants would submit that, in fact the rejection that has been made through the order dated 09.04.2021 which was impugned before the writ Court rejecting the plea of the writ petitioner to set right the pay anomaly by fixing the pay on par with the junior is concerned, that was rejected not on the ground that he was transferred from Union to Union but on the different reason, that is, the junior has been given advance incentive increment for having acquired higher qualification, that is the reason why there had been a pay difference between them.

9. If that kind of advance incentive increment is given based on which if the pay is stepped up even for a junior, that would not entitle a s