Full Judgment Text
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
Special Leave Petition (C) No.2166021661 of 2019
Keraleeya Samajam & Anr. ..Petitioner(S)
VERSUS
Pratibha Dattatray Kulkarni (Dead)
through LRs & Ors. ..Respondent(S)
J U D G M E N T
M.R. Shah, J.
1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned
judgment and order dated 28.06.2019 in Writ Petition No.5311 of
2011 and Writ Petition No.5338 of 2000 passed by the High Court
of Judicature at Bombay, the management has preferred the
present special leave petitions. By the impugned common judgment
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by R
Natarajan
Date: 2021.10.04
16:09:36 IST
Reason:
and order the High Court has declared that the entitlement of the
original petitioners is to receive wages in pay scales as per Schedule
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– C to the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Condition of
Service) Regulation Rules, 1981. Thereafter, the Division Bench has
disposed of the said writ petitions issuing a direction to the Deputy
Director (Education) to see that the teachers working with the
petitioners school are received their wages and salaries accordingly.
The High Court has also not accepted the submissions on behalf of
the petitioner to restrict arrears to three years preceding the filing of
the writ petition.
2. At the outset, it is required to be noted that in the order dated
21.10.2019, this court recorded the submissions on behalf of the
petitioners that the petitioners are ready to pay the arrears as per
th
6 Pay Commission for the preceding three years prior to the filing
of the writ petition. Thereafter this court passed the following order
on 04.11.2019:
“Being aggrieved by the impugned order of
the High Court directing the petitioners
Institution to pay the arrears of salary as per the
Fifth and Sixth Pay Commissions to the teaching
and nonteaching staff of the second petitioner
School (said to be unaided school) the petitioners
have filed these special leave petitions.
We have heard Mr. Shekhar Napahade,
learned senior counsel, assisted by Ms. Bina
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Madhavan, learned counsel appearing for the
petitioners who has submitted that the
petitioners are ready to pay arrears as per the
Sixth Pay Commission for the preceding three
years prior to the filing of the writ petition.
On the above submission, the petitioner to
file the calculation memo as arrears of the
amount payable to the teaching and non
teaching staff.
Accordingly, the petitioners have filed
calculation memo as per which the amount
towards the salary for three years preceding the
filing of writ petition (Sixth Pay Commission),
Rs.1,49,13,459/ is payable.
So far as the total arrears towards Fifth Pay
Commission an amount of Rs.1,19,96,967/ is
payable. Insofar as the Sixth Pay Commission an
amount of Rs.5,34,50,719/ is stated to be the
arrears payable. Thus the total arrear as per
Fifth and Six Pay Commissions is
Rs.6,54,47,686/ (Rs.1,19,96,967/ +
Rs.5,34,50,719/) and out of the said amount
50% works out to Rs.3,27,23,843/.
Mr. Shekhar Napahde, learned senior
counsel, has submitted that the second
petitioner being unaided school may not be in a
position to deposit the entire amount.
Considering the submission made at the Bar,
there shall be an interim stay of the operation of
the impugned order on condition that the
petitioner shall deposit 50% of the total amount
which works out to Rs.3,27,23,843/ within a
period of eight weeks failing which the interim
stay granted by this Court shall be automatically
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vacated. The deposit of the above amount shall
be without prejudice to the contention of the
petitioners in the matter.
On such deposit, the amount of
Rs.3,27,23,843/ shall be disbursed to the
teaching and nonteaching staff of the second
petitionerschool and other employees who are
held entitled to get arrears as per the orders of
the High Court.
Issue notice.”
That thereafter a further order dated 29.01.2020 came to be passed
by this court, which reads as under:
“In compliance of Order dated 04.11.2019
the petitioners Institution has deposited the
amount of Rs.3,27,23,843/ (Rupees three crore
twenty seven lakhs twenty three thousand eight
hundred forty three) in the Registry of the
Supreme Court. As per the said order the
amount is to be disbursed to the teaching & non
teaching staff and the other employees of the
second petitionerModel English School who are
entitled to get the arrears as per Order of the
High Court.
Ms. Bina Madhavan, learned counsel
appearing for the petitioners and Mr. Akshay
Girish Ringe & Mr. Bhaskar Y. Kulkarni, learned
counsel appearing for the respondents, have
agreed that the amount so deposited before this
Court be disbursed to the teaching & non
teaching staff and the other employees of the
second petitionerModel English School through
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Deputy Director of Education, Education
Department, State of Maharashtra.
In view of above, the Registry is directed to
transmit the amount of Rs.3,27,23,843/
(Rupees three crore twenty seven lakhs twenty
three thousand eight hundred forty three) to
Deputy Director of Education, Education
Department, State of Maharashtra, either
through RTGS or by Pay Order at the earliest.
Ms. Bina Madhavan, learned counsel
appearing for the petitionersInstitution, shall
furnish the details of the bank account of the
Deputy Director of Education, Education
Department, State of Maharashtra, to the
Registry of this Court within a period of two days
from today.
The Deputy Director of Education, Education
Department, State of Maharashtra, is directed to
identify the teaching, nonteaching staff and
other employees of the second petitionerModel
English School who are entitled to receive the
arrears as per order of the High Court and
thereafter disburse the said amount
proportionately as per arrears on proper receipt.
The Deputy Director of Education, Education
Department, State of Maharashtra, shall
complete the exercise of disbursement of the said
amount within four weeks from today.
We make it clear that the disbursement of
the said amount shall be without prejudice to the
contentions of the petitioners and the
respondents. Matter be listed in the last week of
April 2020.”
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3. Therefore the entitlement of the teacher’s salaries as per the
th th
5 and 6 Pay Commission to the teaching and nonteaching staff
of the second petitioner – school is not required to gone into and
only issue which is required to be considered is whether the arrears
ought to have been restricted to three years preceding the filing of
the writ petition?
4. Having heard Shri Shekhar Naphade, learned Senior Advocate
appearing on behalf of the petitioners and learned counsel
appearing on behalf of the respondents and considering orders
passed in earlier round of litigations which ended up to this court
the liability of the management to pay the salaries to the teaching
th th
and nonteaching staff as per the 4 Pay Commission and 5 Pay
Commission ended in favour of the teaching and nonteaching staff
th
working with the petitioners. Therefore as and when the 6 Pay
Commission recommendations was made applicable as such it was
the duty cast upon the petitioners’ institution to pay the
salary/wages to the teaching and nonteaching staff as per the
th
applicable pay scale as per the 6 Pay Commission
recommendation and for which the staff was not required to move
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before the Deputy Director (Education) again and again. Therefore,
the submissions on behalf of the petitioners that as the
respondents approached the Deputy Director (Education)
subsequently and therefore the question with respect to the
limitation will come into play and therefore the respondents shall be
entitled to the arrears of last three years preceding the filing of the
writ petitions cannot be accepted.
5. The respondents were compelled to approach the Deputy
Director only when the petitioners though were required to pay the
wages as per the applicable rules and as per the recommendation of
th
6 Pay Commission, failed to make the payment, the respondents
were compelled to approach the Deputy Director (Education)
thereafter. Therefore for the lapse and inaction on the part of the
petitioners, the respondents cannot be made to suffer and deny the
th
arrears of the salaries as per the 6 Pay Commission
recommendation, which otherwise they are entitled to. Every time
the teachers were not supposed to approach the appropriate
authority for getting the benefit as and when there is a revision of
pay as per the pay commission recommendations.
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In view of the above and for the reasons stated above both
these special leave petitions deserve to be dismissed and
accordingly dismissed.
It is directed to the petitioners to clear the arrears within a
period of eight weeks from today failing which it shall carry interest
at 9 %. The Deputy Director (Education), Nasik Division is hereby
directed to see that the present order is complied with by the
petitioners and the amount is disbursed to the respective
respondents by account payee cheques.
…………………………………J.
(M. R. SHAH)
…………………………………J.
(A. S. BOPANNA)
New Delhi,
October 1, 2021
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