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Judgment
Rajasekhar Mantha, J
The petitioner was a teacher of Asansol Municipal Corporation. By a Circular issued in the year 1998 and in terms of the Notification dated 15th April, 1992, the petitioner's school came to be controlled under the District Primary School Council of the State of West Bengal. In fact, pursuant to such Notification of the year 1992 (supra) all the Primary Schools in a Municipality under the Scheme sanctioned were taken over by the Primary School Council under the control of the State Government.
It was stipulated in the said Notification of 1992 that the petitioner would be entitled to all pay scales being enjoyed by the teachers under the existing District Primary School Council but shall not be entitled to same Pay and Allowances as they were enjoying under the Asansol Municipal Corporation.
The petitioner after receiving the Pension Payment Order, pursuant to an alleged re-fixation, made in November 2003 by reason of Memorandum No. 732-SE(Law)/PL/5S-284/01 dated 21st November, 2003 was receiving pension. However, within three years thereof, the petitioner moved this Hon'ble Court by way of a writ petition being W.P. No. 21046 (W) of 2006. The said writ petition was allowed to be withdrawn with liberty to file afresh vide order dated 28th November, 2008.
The writ petitioner immediately filed W.P. No. 32154 (W) of 2008 that was disposed of by an order dated 17th April, 2009 directing the Authorities to reconsider his pay fixation.
The Authorities took seven years to comply with the order passed by this Court and finally did so declining the prayer of the petitioner on 9th February, 2015. The petitioner filed W.P. No. 26068 (W) of 2015 challenging the said order dated 9th February, 2015. The said Order dated 09.02.2015 was set aside by this Court and the matter was remanded back for consideration afresh by the District Inspector of Schools (PE), Burdwan.
The District Inspector of Schools (PE), Burdwan vide order dated 11th March, 2016 once again rejected the writ petitioner's prayer which was challenged and the impugned order dated 2nd May, 2016 came to be passed when the petitioner's prayer for re-fixation was rejected for the fourth time.
This Court notices that since after the Schools having been taken over by the State Government and brought under the purview of the District Primary School Council in the year 1998, the petitioner would have been entitled to the benefit of ROPA 1998. In terms of ROPA 1998, admittedly the petitioner, who was originally under the pay scale of Rs.1040-Rs.1920 ought to have been granted a Revised Pay Scale of Rs.3350-Rs.6325 with effect from 1st April, 1996.
The reasoning given by the District Inspector of Schools (PE), Burdwan in the impugned order that the petitioner's Pay Scale cannot be revised since she has already received the Pension Payment Order and has been enjoying the pension from 2003 cannot be accepted.
The petitioner has, within a reasonable time, albeit three years from the date of receipt of pension come before this Hon'ble Court in the year 2006.
While it could be argued by the State that three years is a period long enough to defeat the petitioner's claim, the said period of three years cannot be considered as an inordinate delay.
In those circumstances, this Court directs that the petitioner's Pay Scale must be re-fixed in accordance with the ROPA 1998 and the benefit ought to be given to him from the year 1998 i.e. the year in which the petitioner's School under the Asansol Municipal Corporation came to be brought under the District Primary School Council by the State Government.
Let the petitioner's Pension Payment Order be issued afresh based on the above.
The petitioner shall be entitled to arrears without any interest for the entire period covering his Revised Pay Scale i.e. from 1998 till his date of retirement i.e. 2003. He shall also be paid arrears of pension without any interest from 2003 till date.
The aforesaid directions shall be carried out by the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance, West Bengal as regards the Pension Payment Order and the disbursement shall be carried out by the concerned Treasury Officer at Asansol as expeditiously as possible.
With the aforesaid directions, the instant writ petition shall stand disposed of.
There will be no order as to costs.
Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties upon compliance of all formalities.