JHARKHAND HIGH COURT ISSUES ORDER ON PROF. DR. JITENDRA PRASAD SINHA V/S THE STATE OF JHARKHAND AND ORS.

RANCHI, India, Sept. 30 -- Jharkhand High Court issued the following order on Aug. 29:

1. Heard the parties.

2. The petitioner by filing this writ petition has challenged part of the order dated 04.11.2024 as contained in Annexure-11 whereby the fixation of pay of the petitioner has been cancelled. Further, consequential effect of the said order, that is the stoppage of pension is also under challenge.

3. The petitioner further prays to direct the respondents to pay his regular pension and the arrears from the date of the impugned order.

4. The petitioner was appointed as a Lecturer of Botany in Gossner College (Aided Minority College). He was appointed in the second post. The first post in the subject Botany was with "financial aid" and the second post was without any aid. Financial aid connotes the financial assistance given by the State.

5. The petitioner filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, numbered as Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 3495 of 1992(R) before the Ranchi Bench of Patna High Court, praying for a direction upon the respondent-State to provide grant of finance for the second sanctioned post of Botany, in the said college. Along with the petitioner another Professor in Zoology also prayed for the same relief, for his subject.

6. The said writ petition was allowed on 20.08.1999. In paragraph no. 9 of the aforesaid orders, the Court held that the authority i.e. the State is bound to sanction grant in aid in respect of the post in question subject to such regulation as may be available under the law for use of grant. Further, in paragraph no. 10 it has been held that the petitioners are entitled for salary out of such grant in aid. The order passed in the writ application attained finality. By virtue of the aforesaid order second post of Botany, in which the petitioner was working, became a post with grant in aid. Ultimately on attaining the age of superannuation, duly got superannuated. Be it noted that the petitioner was paid salary in the scale and also got the retiral and pensionary benefits.

7. Pension was paid to the petitioner but by virtue of the impugned order which was issued on 04.11.2024 the respondents declared that the post in which the petitioner was working i.e. second post in Botany is a post without aid. Thus, fixation of pay of the petitioner was bad and the same could not have been fixed. His pay fixation was cancelled/recalled. Consequently, the petitioner's pension was also stopped.

8. The impugned order was passed pursuant to a LPA No. 115 of 2023 arising out of WP(S) No. 3302 of 2014. The writ petition was filed for fixation of pay in the scale of the Reader/Associate Professor. In the said writ petition the Writ Court directed to revise the pay-scale of the petitioner for the post of Reader w.e.f. 23.03.1989 i.e. the day the petitioner was promoted to the post of Reader by the competent authority. Further all consequential benefits were directed to be paid. The said order was challenged by the State of Jharkhand in LPA No. 115 of 2023. The Letters Patent Court dismissed the said LPA on the ground of limitation. Now ultimately the order of Letters Patent Appeal Court has been set aside by the Hon'ble Supreme Court and the Letters Patent stood revived.

9. After going through the order passed in the said writ petition being WP(S) No. 3302 of 2014, I find that the writ petition was filed by the petitioner praying for a particular scale. The issue whether the post is "with finance" or "without finance" was not the issue before the writ Court, rather the same could not have been, as the issue was already set at rest way-back on 20.08.1999 in Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 3495 of 1992(R). At this point it has been brought to the notice of the Court by the learned counsel for the respondents that LPA arising of the said writ petition was also dismissed.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=A9S7c5LDIsB6RXaCf816x8bRFxKoN5hlWX9iCXsAY3SW0yiCM%2F3SEcdJf0f4FcdD&caseno=WPC/450/2025&cCode=1&cino=JHHC010026392025&state_code=7&appFlag=)

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