WP/9738/2010 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 9738 OF 2010 Bhagwan Shamrao Chanal, Age 54 years, Occ. Service as a Teacher Zilla Parishad Marathi Boys Kendriya School, Kochur, Tq. Rawer, District Jalgaon. R/o At Post Kochur, Tq. Rawer, District Jalgaon. ..Petitioner Versus 1.The State of Maharashtra Through The Principal Secretary, School Education Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai. 400 032. 2.The Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad, Jalgaon. 3.The Education Officer (P), Zilla Parishad, Jalgaon. 4.The Block Education Officer, Panchayat Samiti, Raver, District Jalgaon. ..Respondents. ... Shri S. V. Chandole, Advocate h/f Shri V. G. Sakolkar, Advocate for the Petitioner. Smt. A. V. Gondhalekar, A.G.P. for the Respondent No. 1. Shri N. B. Suryawanshi, Advocate for the Respondent No. 2 to 4. ... CORAM : D.B.BHOSALE & S.B.DESHMUKH, JJ. Dated : June 16, 2011 WP/9738/2010 2 ORAL JUDGMENT : (Per DESHMUKH, J.) :- 1. Rule. Rule returnable forthwith. Heard by consent. 2. By way of present petition, the petitioner is challenging orders dated 31.7.2008 and 4.4.2009 passed by the respondent No. 3 herein, thereby reducing his basic pay and further directing to deduct an excess amount paid to him from his salary. 3. The petitioner, initially was appointed as an Assistant Teacher from reserved category with Zilla Parishad, Jalgaon in the year 1984. Thereafter, the petitioner acquired trained qualification i.e. "Shiksha Visharad" and accordingly, he came to be appointed as a trained graduate teacher by order dated 16.8.1995. The respondent No.2, however, on the basis of the report of Local Audit Committee for the year 2006-2007 found that the petitioner has been paid excess salary from 1.8.1995 and therefore, vide order dated 31.7.2008 reduced the pay scale of the petitioner to untrained graduate teacher's scale. 4. In response to the notice issued by this Court, the respondents No. 2 to 5 have filed their affidavit in reply justifying the impugned orders. . It is stated that, though in case of wrong award of pay scale earlier, the respondents are entitled to rectify the mistake and place the petitioner in an appropriate scale, which is on lower side WP/9738/2010 3 in the present case. However, from the perusal of Government Resolution dated 13.5.1999, it is clear that if a candidate who has been granted trained graduate teacher's scale does not acquire B.Ed. qualification within a prescribed period, he is not entitled to further increments till he completes the graduation. The said Government Resolution does not provide for reduction in the pay scale. 6. Admittedly, the petitioner has, in fact, completed his B.Ed. In that view of the matter, we find that, the action of the respondents in reducing the pay scale, that too at fag end of petitioners service career, is not permissible in law. It is further settled law that, all recoveries on account of erroneous fixation of pay not attributed to an employee are not permissible in law. The petition would also have to be allowed on another ground of not following the principles of natural justice while passing the impugned order. In the result, we hold that the action of respondents in reducing the pay scale of petitioner from trained teacher to untrained teacher was not permissible in law. Consequently, any recovery made or ordered from the petitioner will have to be set aside. If the amount is already recovered, same shall be repaid to the petitioner within a period of three months from today. 7. In the result, the impugned orders are quashed and set aside. Writ Petition is allowed in terms of prayer clauses (B) and (C). WP/9738/2010 4 Rule is made absolute in aforesaid terms. (S.B.DESHMUKH,J.) (D.B.BHOSALE,J.) ... akl