1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 8851 OF 2010 Sharad s/o Raosaheb Surve, Age: 42 years, Occ: Service, R/o. 28/Shridhar Nagar, Girna Pumping Road, Jalgaon, District Jalgaon & Ors. ...PETITIONERS VERSUS The State of Maharashtra, Through Education and Employment Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32 & Ors. ...RESPONDENTS WITH WRIT PETITION NO. 5094 OF 2010 Sanjay s/o Chudaman Thakre, Age: 44 years, Occ: Service, R/o. 32 Bhaskaracharya Society, Dhule Road, Amalner, Tq.Amalner, District Jalgaon. ...PETITIONER VERSUS The State of Maharashtra, Through Education and Employment Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32 & Ors. ...RESPONDENTS 2 WITH WRIT PETITION NO. 6736 OF 2010 Kantilal s/o Rohidas Deore, Age: 35 years, Occ: Service, R/o. At Post Mohadi, Tq. & Dist. Dhule & Ors. ...PETITIONERS VERSUS The State of Maharashtra, Through Education and Employment Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32 & Ors. ...RESPONDENTS WITH WRIT PETITION NO. 7525 OF 2010 Sudam s/o Narayan Pardeshi, Age: 41 years, Occ: Service, R/o. Kasampura, Tq. Pachora, District Jalgaon & Ors. ...PETITIONERS VERSUS The State of Maharashtra, Through Education and Employment Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32 & Ors. ...RESPONDENTS WITH WRIT PETITION NO. 7614 OF 2010 Shivaji s/o Santosh Patil, Age: 45 years, Occ: Service, R/o.Plot No.12, Dhandai Nagar, Deopur, Dhule & Ors. ...PETITIONERS 3 VERSUS The State of Maharashtra, Through Education and Employment Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32 & Ors. ...RESPONDENTS WITH WRIT PETITION NO. 7615 OF 2010 Abhay Pannalal Jain, Age: 49 years, Occ: Service, R/o. At Post Kusumba, Tq. & Dist.Dhule & Ors. ...PETITIONERS VERSUS The State of Maharashtra, Through Education and Employment Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32 & Ors. ...RESPONDENTS WITH WRIT PETITION NO. 8852 OF 2010 Chandrashekhar Bhaskar Patil, Age: 32 years, Occ: Service, R/o. Bhaler, Tq. & Dist. Nandurbar & Ors. ...PETITIONERS VERSUS The State of Maharashtra, Through Education and Employment Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32 & Ors. ...RESPONDENTS 4 WITH WRIT PETITION NO.8986 OF 2010 Lalsing Babulal Rajput, Age: 42 years, Occ: Service, R/o. Dadusingh Colony, Shirpur, Tq. Shirpur Dist. Dhule & Anr. ...PETITIONERS VERSUS The State of Maharashtra, Through Education and Employment Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai-32 & Ors. ...RESPONDENTS ... Mr. A.D. Pawar, Advocate for petitioners. Mr. N.B. Khandare, Government Pleader for respondent Nos. 1 to 3. ... CORAM: B.R. GAVAI, & K.K. TATED, JJ. DATE : 19TH NOVEMBER, 2010 ORAL ORDER : ( PER K.K. TATED, J.) 1. Rule. 2. Rule made returnable forthwith. 5 3. By consent of the learned Counsel for the parties, these petitions are taken up for final hearing at admission stage itself and decided by common order since the reliefs claimed in these petitions are similar. 4. In these Writ Petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners have prayed for direction to the respondents to grant higher pay scale to the petitioners with effect from the date of completion of 12 years qualifying service on the basis that they have already completed 12 years qualifying service from the date of their initial appointment. Prayer clause (B), (C), (D) and (E) in Writ Petition No. 8851 of 2010 reads as under : "(B) To direct the respondents to grant time bound promotion or higher pay scale in favour of petitioners immediately after completing their 12 years qualifying service from the date 6 of their initial appointments and grant all the consequential benefits that might have accrued to them by issuing writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ or direction as the case may be. (C) To direct the respondents to re-fix the pay scale of the petitioners in the light of order dated 21.04.2009 in writ petition No. 2362/2009 and order dated 30.07.2010 in Writ Petition No.1485/2010 and grant all the consequential benefits including restoration of higher pay scale, difference on account of re-fixation of pay scale by issuing appropriate writ, order or direction as the case may be. (D) To direct the respondent No.3 Account Officer, Education Department, Zilla Parishad, Jalgaon to accept the proposals for granting of time bound promotion of the petitioners and consider the said proposals in 7 the light of order passed by this Hon'ble court in Writ Petition bearing No.2362/2009 and 1485/2010 by an order 21.04.2009 and 30.07.2010 by issuing necessary writ, order or direction as this Hon'ble court may kindly be deem fit." . Similar prayers are made by the petitioners in other Writ Petitions also. 5. We have heard the learned Counsel for the parties. In all these Writ Petitions, it would suffice to say that the challenge raised therein are similar challenge raised in group of Writ Petitions bearing Writ Petition No. 6756 of 2008 Dattatraya Ramchandra Chaudhari & Ors. vs. The State of Maharashtra & Ors., which came to be decided by the Division Bench of this Court on 21-04-2009 (Coram : N.V. Dabholkar & A.V. Potdar, JJ.) and Writ Petition No. 1485 of 2010 Sanjay s/o Shantaram Patil & Ors. vs. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. and connected matters decided 8 by Division Bench of this Court by oral judgment ( Coram : P.V. Hardas & N.D. Deshpande, JJ.) dated 30-07-2010. 6. The learned Government Pleader appearing on behalf of the respondents has not disputed that these two judgments fully cover the present group of Writ Petitions also. 7. The learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners strongly urged that the petitioners are entitled to get higher pay scale upon completion of 12 years qualifying service and in support of the said contention, reliance is placed on the decision of this Court mentioned hereinabove. The relevant Para-4 and 5 of the oral judgment dated 21-04-2009 in Writ Petition No. 6756 of 2008 reads as under : "4. We, therefore, dispose of the writ petitions by recording two observations at the cost of 9 repetition - (1) Even non teaching staff of private schools is entitled to benefit of "Time Bound Promotion" as promulgated in GRs dated 23.07.1998 and 28.11.2006 and (2) Completion of 12 years service is to be reckoned from the individual joining in the particular cadre. The services need not be reckoned from the date school is brought on grantable basis. 5. With these observations we direct the respondents to consider the claims of all the petitioners for "Time Bound Promotion" at an early date in accordance with the Government Resolutions applicable, which are referred herein above. In any case the petitioners should know the result on or before 30th June 2009. We direct the respondents to ensure that financial benefits, to which the petitioners will be entitled to, should be available to them 10 latest with their July salary to be paid in August 2009. Save and except these directions, writ petition disposed of." 8. The learned Government Pleader appearing for the respondents has submitted that in view of the aforesaid decisions of this Court, the respondents will abide with the said order of the this Court. 9. In the result, we allow the Writ Petitions and direct the respondents to consider the petitioners' claim for grant of higher pay scale on completion of 12 years qualifying service on the basis of decisions dated 21-04-2009 and 30-07-2010. For that purpose, the Management of the respective schools shall send the proposals to respondent No.2 and respondent No.2 and other respondents shall consider the proposals in the light of the aforesaid direction. The said exercise shall be completed within a period of four months from the date of receipt of the proposals from the respective schools. 11 10. Rule is made absolute in the above terms. However, there shall be no order as to costs. sd/- sd/- [K.K. TATED,J.] [B.R. GAVAI,J.] sut/NOV10/wp8851.10