IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.7302 of 2007 Lalan Pandey, son of late Banwari Pandey, resident of village Arawan, P.S. Nalanda, District Nalanda at present Assistant Teacher, Middle School, Dahpar Sargawan, P.S. Nursarai, District Nalanda … Petitioner Versus 1. The State Of Bihar through the Director, Primary Education, New Secretariat Building, Patna 2. The Director, Primary Education, New Secretariat, Patna 3. The Collector cum Chairman, Primary School Establishment Committee, Nalanda 4. The District Superintendent of Education, Nalanda at Bihar Sharif 5. Md. Ibrahim, son of Md. Idrish, Headmaster, Madhya Vidyalay, Dahpar Sargaon, P.O. and P.S. Nursarai, District Nalanda … Respondents ---------------------------------- 2. 22.9.2011 Heard counsel for the petitioner and the counsel for the State. The prayer of the petitioner in this writ application reads as follows: “This is an application for issuance of writ in the nature of writ of mandamus commanding respondents to grant B.A. trained pay scale of Rs. 6500-10500/- which the junior persons to the petitioner including respondent no.5 are getting whereas, the petitioner is getting Matric Trained the scale pay of Rs. 5000-8000 although petitioner is senior in service, educational qualifications etc. to them. And further for a direction to the respondents to grant benefits of difference of pay/ arrears after placing the petitioner the said scale with effect from the date junior are getting the said scale or from the date when the discrepancies/ anomalies started.” A vague prayer of the nature claiming promotion and higher pay scale without disclosing any date would normally raise a question as to when the petitioner became eligible for grant of 2 such promotion and pay scale. From the reading of the writ application it transpires that such cause of action was available to the petitioner at least from 2.1.1984 when he had completed eight years of service and became eligible for being considered for grant of I.A. trained scale of pay which was then in vogue and came to be abolished from 1.1.1986 in view of the statutory Rule framed in the year 1993. The petitioner, however, just before a month of his retirement remembered that he had a cause of action for his promotion either in the I.A. trained scale of pay or B.A. trained scale of pay and that is how this writ petition came to be filed on 1.6.2007 when the petitioner was to go out of service with effect from 1.7.2007. Normally the delay of more than 23 years from the cause of action was itself sufficient to dismiss this writ application but then Mr. Amit Prakash very fairly would submit that the petitioner under changed situation and in order to save his retirement benefit would not press this application for grant of any monetary relief even if he is given such higher promotion in B.A. trained scale from a retrospective effect. In that view of the matter, this Court would entertain this writ application ignoring the delay of around 23 years. The issue as with regard to promotion of a Matric trained teacher, which the petitioner was holding during his entire service career, on the post of B.A. trained teacher in fact had remained subjudice in a number of cases and a finality was arrived only in view of the judgment of the Full Bench in the case of Ram Nath Prasad Singh 3 vs. State of Bihar & ors., reported in 2009(3) PLJR 384, wherein a direction was given to draw a fresh seniority list with effect from 1.1.1986 and consider the cases of all eligible persons against the vacancies which were available from that date. In that view of the matter, this Court would give liberty to the petitioner to file a compact representation enclosing the evidence, if any, for his promotion in B.A. trained pay scale to the District Programme Officer, Nalanda who will place the matter before the District Education Establishment Committee, Nalanda inasmuch as it is for Establishment Committee, the statutory body, to deal with the service condition of the teachers of Primary School. the said Committee will accordingly take a final decision as with regard to promotion of the petitioner in B.A. trained scale of pay from the due date in accordance with law. It is made clear that the case of the petitioner for retrospective promotion from due date will not be rejected on the ground that he had retired from service and in fact his such promotion will be notified from the date on which any of his junior has been given such promotion in view of the directions given by the Full Bench in the case of Ram Nath Prasad Singh (supra). This exercise must be completed within a period of six months from the date of receipt/ production of a copy of this order and the petitioner must be given the financial benefit in terms of enhanced retirement benefit taking his last pay on promoted post of B.A. trained teacher to be the basis for finalization of all his retirement benefit. It is once again made clear 4 that the petitioner will not be entitled for arrears of salary on account of grant of such promotion. With the aforementioned observation and direction, this application is disposed of. (Mihir Kumar Jha,J.) Surendra/