Pre-grant-in-aid service counts for notional pay fixation and pension benefits, not salary arrears.

The petitioners, teaching and non-teaching employees of aided educational institutions, sought recognition of their service from their respective initial appointment dates, including service before their posts were admitted to grant-in-aid, for pay fixation and consequential service and pensionary benefits.

They relied on the Karnataka High Court’s decision in W.A. No. 2476/2015 and connected matters, particularly its clarification on the treatment of non-grant service.

The respondents accepted that the petition could be considered in light of paragraph 61 of that decision.

Whether service rendered before a post’s admission to grant-in-aid must be reckoned for notional pay fixation and consequential pensionary and other service benefits.

Whether the petitioners could claim salary arrears or other monetary benefits from the State for the pre-grant period.

The Court applied the clarification in paragraph 61 of the judgment in W.A. No. 2476/2015 and connected matters, read with Annexure I to the Rules, 1999.

Under that rule, service during the non-grant period is to be counted for notional pay fixation as of the date the post is admitted to grant-in-aid and for consequential benefits, including pension and other service benefits; however, the State bears no liability to pay salary or other monetary benefits for that period, as that liability remains with the institution’s management.

The petitioners’ claim was confined to recognition of their pre-grant service for service-benefit calculations.

Applying the appellate court’s clarification, the Court distinguished such notional recognition from a claim for salary: the former was permissible for pay fixation and consequential benefits, while salary and other monetary benefits for the non-grant period remained the management’s responsibility.

The Court therefore directed the authorities to reckon service from the petitioners’ appointment dates for the specified purposes, without directing payment of pre-grant salary arrears.

Respondents 1, 2 and 4 to 10 were directed to reckon the petitioners’ service from their respective appointment dates, including pre-grant service, for notional pay fixation and calculation of pension and other service benefits.

The authorities were directed to complete that consideration within six months; no State liability for pre-grant salary or other monetary benefits was recognized.