Absorbed Panchayat teachers are ineligible for Kramonnati pay upgrades under School Education Department regulations.

The thirty-three petitioners, currently serving as Teachers, Assistant Teachers, and Headmasters in various government schools in District Janjgir-Champa, filed a writ petition seeking the implementation of the 2017 'Kramonnati' (Time-bound Pay Scale Upgradation) order read with the order dated 06.04.2019

They sought a direction for pay upgradation and disbursement of arrears effective from the completion of 10 or 20 years of service

The petitioners were originally appointed as "Shikshakarmis" (Assistant Teachers/Teachers/Lecturers - Panchayat) by the Janpad Panchayat under the Panchayat and Rural Development Department and were subsequently absorbed into the School Education Department following a state policy decision dated 30.06.2018

The State contested the petition, arguing that the petitioners’ service history as Panchayat employees rendered them ineligible for benefits reserved for regular employees of the School Education Department under the relevant circulars

Whether the petitioners, who were initially appointed under the Panchayat Department and later absorbed into the School Education Department, are entitled to 'Kramonnati Vetanman' (upgraded pay scale) under the circular dated 10.03.2017.

criteria laid down in the State Government Circular dated 10.03.2017 regarding pay scale upgradation

legal distinction between employees of the School Education Department and "Shikshakarmis" governed by the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam, 1993

binding precedent established by a Coordinate Bench in WPS No. 11009 of 2025 (decided on 24.11.2025), which held that 'Kramonnati' benefits do not extend to teachers absorbed from the Panchayat Department who did not meet the criteria specified in the 2017 circular

The Court analyzed the petitioners' eligibility by examining their initial appointment and the nature of their service.

It noted that the petitioners did not dispute their original appointment by the Janpad Panchayat under the Panchayat Department.

The Court distinguished the present case from Sona Sahu v. State of Chhattisgarh (W.A. No. 261 of 2023), observing that the petitioners were not regular teachers of the School Education Department during the period for which they claimed the benefit.

Referring to the reasoning in WPS No. 11009 of 2025, the Court observed that because the petitioners were governed by separate rules under the Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam, 1993, until their absorption in 2018, they failed to fulfill the eligibility criteria stipulated in the circular dated 10.03.2017.

Consequently, the time spent in service under the Panchayat Department could not be counted toward 'Kramonnati' benefits as defined by the School Education Department's regulations.

It held that the petitioners are not entitled to the 'Kramonnati' pay scale benefits because they were not employees of the School Education Department at the time they completed the 10 or 20 years of service in question, but were instead "Shikshakarmis" under the Panchayat Department.

The petition was dismissed in terms of the earlier order passed in WPS No. 11009 of 2025.