Panchayat cadre employees cannot claim time-bound pay scale benefits applicable to regular Government servants prior to absorption.

The Appellants, currently serving as Lecturers, challenged the order dated 24.11.2025 passed by a Single Judge in WPS No. 10277/2025, which dismissed their writ petition.

The Appellants were originally appointed as Shiksha Karmi (Panchayat cadre) between 1998 and 2008 and were later absorbed into the School Education Department of the State Government following a policy decision dated 30.06.2018.

They sought the benefit of Kramonnati Vetanman (time-bound pay scale) based on a State Government Circular dated 10.03.2017.

The present Writ Appeal was filed with an 18-day delay, which the Court condoned after considering the grounds in I.A. No. 01.

1. Whether employees originally appointed under the Panchayat Cadre (Shiksha Karmi) are entitled to the benefit of Kramonnati Vetanman under the Circular dated 10.03.2017 for the period of service rendered prior to their absorption into the State Government.

2. Whether the Appellants can claim parity with the case of Smt. Sona Sahu (WA No. 261/2023) regarding the grant of time-bound pay scales.

State Government Circular dated 10.03.2017, which provides for the grant of first and second Kramonnati Vetanman after 10 and 20 years of service respectively, specifically for regular Government Assistant Teachers and Lecturers.

Chhattisgarh Panchayat Shiksha Karmi (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2007/2012, noting that Panchayat employees are distinct from State Government servants.

Clauses 4 and 5 of the Absorption Order dated 30.06.2018, which stipulate that seniority and financial benefits for absorbed employees shall only be calculated from 01.07.2018, explicitly prohibiting any arrears for the period prior to absorption.

The Court observed that the issue was identical to the one decided in Writ Appeal No. 193/2026.

The core reasoning is that the 2017 Circular applies exclusively to regular Government servants and does not extend to the Panchayat cadre, to which the Appellants belonged before 2018.

Since the Appellants were not Government employees until their absorption on 01.07.2018, they were governed by Panchayat-specific rules, which do not contemplate the same benefits as the School Education Department's circulars.

The Court distinguished the Sona Sahu case as being based on its "peculiar facts" and pointed out that the 2018 absorption policy categorically denies retrospective financial benefits or arrears.

Consequently, the Appellants' service as Shiksha Karmi cannot be equated with regular Government service for the purpose of the 2017 Circular.

It held that the Appellants are not entitled to the benefit of Kramonnati Vetanman under the Circular dated 10.03.2017 because their service prior to 01.07.2018 was under the Panchayat cadre and not as Government servants.

The Court ordered that the appeal be dismissed in terms of the judgment dated 13.03.2026 passed in Writ Appeal No. 193/2026.