IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Civil Writ Petition No.3651 of 2011 Date of Decision : March 01, 2011. Usha Rani .....Petitioner versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE SURYA KANT. Present : Mr.Ranjan Lakhanpal, Advocate, for the petitioner. -.- 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? --- Surya Kant, J. (Oral) The petitioner is a retired teacher from the Hindi Putri Pathshala (Higher Secondary School), Khanna, District Ludhiana. She seeks a mandamus for the release of her annual increments for the years 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993 and 2003 with all the consequential benefits. It is averred that these increments were withheld by the Management of the School, namely, D.A.V. College Management Committee for arbitrary reasons and as a colourable exercise of powers. It is further averred that the petitioner preferred a departmental appeal against withholding of her increments before the D.P.I. (Schools), Punjab, on 17.5.1985 (Annexure P-2) and no sooner the Management received notice of that appeal that it approached this Court in Civil Writ Petition C.W.P.No .3651 of 2011 2 No.8218 of 1987 challenging the Constitutional vires of the Punjab Privately Managed Recognized Schools Employees (Security of Service) Act, 1979. As an interim measure, further proceedings before the D.P.I. (School), Punjab were stayed in that writ petition which has since been dismissed as withdrawn in the year 2009. The petitioner, therefore, seeks a direction for the release of her above stated increments. Having heard learned counsel for the petitioner and on perusal of the material on record, it appears that the petitioner's appeal dated 17.5.1985 could not be decided by the D.P.I. (Schools), Punjab due to the the stay granted by this Court against continuation of these proceedings. Since the writ petition filed by the respondent-Management is stated to have been dismissed as withdrawn, there appears to be no legal embargo to prevent the D.P.I.(Schools), Punjab, to invoke his statutory powers under the 1979 Act or the 1981 Rules framed thereunder and redress the petitioner's grievance. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of with a direction to the D.P.I.(Schools), Punjab, to treat this writ petition as a supplementary representation on behalf of the petitioner in continuation of her original claim dated 17.5.1985 and dispose of the same after observing the principles of natural justice and in accordance with law, within a period of four months from the date of receiving a certified copy of this order. Ordered accordingly. Dasti. March 01, 2011 (SURYA KANT) Mohinder JUDGE