The Court upheld the right of the petitioner to claim benefits under the 2014 Placement Rules based on the Grant-in-Aid status, despite opposition arguments about common cadre membership.

JUDGMENT :

DIXIT KRISHNA SHRIPAD, J.

1. Petitioner, a Lecturer in Mathematics in a Non-Government Aided Junior College, is knocking at the doors of Writ Court grieving against the order dated 30.12.2023 made by Opposite Party No.1-Commissioner-Cum-Secretary to Government, Department of Higher Education, a copy whereof avails at Annexure-10, whereby his claim inter alia for the grant of promotion to the post of Senior Lecturer and Reader has been negatived. He has also prayed for a Writ of Mandamus to the Opposite Parties to extend the benefit of Lecturer (Group-A) scale with effect from 2010 and Reader (State Scale) with effect from 2020 on the ground that he satisfies the eligibility conditions enumerated under Rule-3 of the Orissa Non-Government Aided College Lecturers’ Placement Rules, 2014.

2. After service of notice, official Opposite Parties, having entered appearance through the learned Additional Government Advocate, have filed their Counter resisting the petition. However, the Opposite Party-Institution, being represented by its Panel Counsel, does not oppose petition prayers. After the filing of Counter, petitioner has filed Rejoinder seeking leave of the Court. Both the sides have also supplied their respective Date-Charts, which are not much in variance with each other, barring a few differences.

3. Brief facts of the case:

3.1. Petitioner joined the Opposite Party-Institution on 01.08.1993 pursuant to the appointment order dated 20.07.1993 as Lecturer in Mathematics (First Post). The Institution has been receiving Grant-in-Aid and it figures at Serial No.220 in the list of 255 Non- Government Aided Junior Colleges, as has been reflected in Annexure-A to Odisha (Aided Colleges, Aided Junior Colleges and Aided Higher Secondary Schools) Grant-in-Aid Order, 2009 (hereafter “GIA Order, 2009”). Petitioner’s appointment came to be approved against the 1^st Post of Lecturer in Mathematics and he was allowed to avail Block Grant with effect from 01.02.2009 vide Office Order No.5920 Dated 17.02.2010 issued by the Director of Higher Education at Annexrue-3. Accordingly, petitioner received the Block Grant with effect from 01.02.2009.

3.2. GIA Order, 2009 was modified by virtue of Orissa Non-Government Aided College Lecturers’ Placement Rules, 2014 (hereafter ‘2014 Placement Rules’) promulgated under section 10(1) of the Orissa Education Act, 1969 vide Notification Dated 04.06.2014 with effect from 01.01.2014. They provide for placement of the Lecturers to the higher grade with (Group-A) Pay Scale, if the candidates satisfy the eligibility criteria as prescribed under Rule-4. These Rules apply inter alia to the Lecturers in Non-Government Aided Colleges, who are in the pay scale of Rs.9,300/- to Rs.34,800 with Grade Pay of Rs.4600/- under O.R.S.P. Rules, 2008. As on the date the said Rules came into force, petitioner claims to be in this Pay Band.

3.3. The provisions of GIA Order, 2009 came to be amended by the State Government, vide Notification Dated 24.02.2014, as Odisha (Aided College, Aided Junior Colleges and Aided Higher Secondary Schools) Grant-in-Aid Order, 2014 (hereafter, “GIA Amendment Order, 2014”) with effect from 01.01.2014, whereby sub-para (1) of paragraph-5 of GIA Order, 2009 came to be substituted to the effect that the eligible employees of Institutions of the kind shall be paid initial pay + Grade Pay with five increments in the revised scale of pay of O.R.S.P. Rules, 2008. Pursuant to the same, the Director of Higher Education issued Office Order Dated 28.11.2019 granting approval inter alia to the petitioner for payment of Grant-in-Aid with effect from 01.01.2018. In this regard, amount of GIA admissible to him came to be fixed at Rs.38,067/-, the prescribed Pay Scale being Rs.9,300/-