RANCHI, India, May 18 -- Jharkhand High Court issued the following order on April 16:

1. Heard learned counsel for the parties.

2. The instant writ petition has been filed by the petitioner, for the enforcement of her service benefits, including unpaid postretirement dues, arrears of salary under the 6th Central Pay Revision, and differential salary under the 7th Central Pay Revision. The petitioner asserts that she is entitled to these benefits with interest.

3. The petitioner was appointed as a lecturer at Nirmala College, Ranchi, on 28.07.2005. The appointment was subject to the approval of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), which was granted on 06.07.2009. The petitioner voluntarily resigned from service on 08.04.2017 on medical grounds, and her resignation was accepted by the Governing Body of Nirmala College on 11.04.2017.

4. The contentions of the parties, as recorded during the proceedings, are summarized as follows:

Contentions of the Petitioner:

5. The petitioner claims that she was not paid complete postretirement benefits. She specifically alleges that the benefits of pay revision have not been paid by the College from the date these have been enforced by the State Government for its employees. She claims that she is entitled to receive 6th Pay Revision arrears of salary from 01.01.2006 instead of July, 2013. The case of this Petitioner is that if the College has paid the 6th Pay Revision benefits from July, 2013 for a post without finance, it should also be directed to pay the benefits from 01.01.2006, when the 6th Pay Revision Commission recommendations became applicable. The petitioner's counsel relied upon the decision of this Court in State of Jharkhand and others vs Arbind Kumar Lal & others, (2024) SCC Online JHAR 2224, to support the claim for parity in benefits. It was also argued that the action of the State Government and the College, which distinguishes between employees based on the nature of their sanctioned post (with or without finance), is discriminatory and violates Articles 14, 16, and 21 of the Constitution of India.

6. Contentions of the Respondent - Nirmala College (Respondents No. 6 & 7):

7. It has been submitted that all post-retirement benefits have already been paid to the petitioner following her voluntary resignation. No leave encashment is payable as the petitioner was not attending the College for over a year prior to her resignation. She was on Extra Ordinary Leave (Leave Without Pay) from February 2016 until her resignation. The college has disputed the claim for 6th Pay Revision arrears from 01.01.2006 to June 2013. It relies on a letter dated 28.07.2014 from the Vice-Chancellor of Ranchi University, which states that arrears of the 6th Pay Revision were sanctioned only for lecturers working on posts with finance, for the period April, 2010 to June, 2013. The College asserts it has only received arrears for the 6th revised pay scale for 24 teachers working on sanctioned posts with finance, and that too, only from April 2010 to 2013. The State Government has not provided any financial support for the period from 01.01.2006 for any staff of the College. It is further stated that the college has extended the 6th Pay Revision benefits from July, 2013 to the petitioner from its own resources, as she was on a post without finance.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=rC8SUFuyEFsvB5V61cXUrLafZzm3eQsT1iBu1D0b9VpogkluBei0oHRZY8%2Fte%2Bez&caseno=WPC/2538/2018&cCode=1&cino=JHHC010153782018&state_code=7&appFlag=)

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