C.W.P. No.18324 of 2008 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH C.W.P. No.18324 of 2008 Date of Decision: 11.01.2010 Dr. Rajinder Kaur and others .....Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and others ....Respondents Present: Mr. Puneet Jindal, Advocate for the petitioners. Mr. Anil Kumar Sharma, Addl. A.G., Punjab for respondent Nos.1 and 2. Mr. Chetan Dayal, Advocate for respondent Nos.3 and 4. CORAM:HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? ` -.- K. KANNAN J.(ORAL) 1. The petitioners, who were teachers, working in the 4th respondent College seek for a mandamus to direct the respondents to release the arrears of salary and other benefits as a result of revision of pay scales w.e.f. 01.01.1996. There has been already a direction issued to the College previously in C.W.P. No.24 of 2008 when the Court found that the petitioners were entitled to the arrears of salary and other benefits as a result of revision of pay w.e.f. 01.01.1996 and had directed the 3rd respondent to decide the demand notice issued by them in accordance with law within a period of four months. The College has taken a decision C.W.P. No.18324 of 2008 -2- to admit to the claims of the Teachers in the manner demanded and forwarded their decision to the Government for releasing appropriate grants inasmuch as the Government provides 95% aid to the College and 5% alone has to be borne by the College. The petitioners have filed the proceedings of the College and its decision that is forwarded to the Director, Education Department by its communication dated 30.07.2008. Sh. Sharma, learned State Counsel on instructions from Sh. G.S. Bajwa, Assistant Director, O/o DPI(C), Punjab states that if the fresh communication with all the details of the benefits to the Teachers is forwarded to the Government within a period of two weeks, the Government will take appropriate action for release of the grant within a period of four weeks from thereon. The statement is recorded. 2. It has been held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Shri Anandi Mukta Sadguru Shree Muktajee Vandasjiswami Suvarna Jayanti Mahotsav Smarak Trust and others Vs. V.R. Rudani and others AIR 1989 SC 1607 that the Management is primarily responsible under the relationship of master and servant and the refusal to make the full payment unless the State compensates, would be untenable. The Hon'ble Supreme Court lay down this proposition in the context of the liability of a College, which had a temporary affiliation to the Gujarat University Act and when the Teachers were seeking by means of a writ of mandamus for obtaining the monetary benefits due to them C.W.P. No.18324 of 2008 -3- under contract of employment. The decision is indeed a paradigm case where the mandamus was issued against a College, which had still not obtained its affiliation but was running the College under a temporary affiliation and the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that a mandamus would not be confined only to statutory authorities and instrumentalities of State but would even be issued to any other person or authority performing public duty. Learned counsel appearing for the College states that it is a Charitable Institution and it cannot be burdened with interest. The Hon'ble Supreme Court judgment in Shri Anandi Mukta's case was actually considering only a case of Public Trust running a College and still the Court found that it was liable for interest. No exception could be made to the principle that a payment which the petitioners were entitled to by the application of the revised scales of pay were delayed inexorably for all these years and the payment of arrears with interest @6% per annum shall, therefore, be made from the date when the revision of pay scale had been announced against the State as well as the College. 3. The writ petition is allowed in the above terms with costs assessed at Rs.5,000/- (K.KANNAN) JUDGE January 11, 2010 Pankaj*