- (1.) This reference before the Full Bench has been occasioned by a referring order of a learned Single Judge dated 19 November 2010. The issues which have been referred to the Full Bench for resolution have been formulated thus: "(a) Whether the Government Order dated 10.12.2002 which provides for computation of distance of the institution concerned for the purpose of payment of house rent allowance from the original Nagarpalika, in the facts of the case Mirzapur, is binding between the parties; (b) Whether the Government Order dated 10.12.2002 is in violation of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India; (c) Whether the judgment of the Division Bench holding that it is irrelevant from which Municipal Board the distance of the institution is less than 8 kilometers, lays down the correct position in law or not."
(2.) In order to appreciate the issues which have been raised, a brief reference to the factual background would be necessary. There is an educational institution by the name of Rashtriya Inter College, Sherpur, Mirzapur which is governed by the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Intermediate Education Act, 1921. The institution receives grant-in-aid from the State Government. All the petitioners are employees of the institution - the first petitioner is the Principal, the second to sixth petitioners are Lecturers, the seventh to seventeenth petitioners are Assistant Teachers, the eighteenth and nineteenth petitioners are functioning as Head Clerk and Assistant Clerk and the remaining petitioners are class IV employees. Village Sherpur in which the institution is situated falls within the geographical limits of the district of Mirzapur. The case of the petitioners is that the village is within a radius of eight kilometers from the municipal limits of the city of Varanasi. They have placed reliance on a certificate issued by the Collector, Mirzapur on 17 August 1982, a certificate dated 7 January 1981 issued by the Nagar Adhikari, Nagar Mahapalika, Varanasi and by the Varanasi Development Authority , VDA on 4 December 1986. The dispute which is sought to be raised in the writ proceedings is in regard to the payment of House Rent Allowance, HRA to employees of the institution. A Government Order was issued on 15 December 1981 by which it was provided that government employees whose place of work is situated within municipal limits or though situated outside municipal limits is within a distance of eight kilometers would be entitled to the payment of HRA. The municipal areas and slabs for the payment of HRA were indicated in Annexure-1 to the Government Order. Subsequently, another Government Order was issued on 22 June 1982. We will separately examine the effect of the subsequent government orders including those dated 22 June 1982, 29 October 1984, 11 June 1999, 25 February 2000, 21 May 2002 and 10 December 2002.
(3.) At this stage, it would suffice to note that the petitioners were receiving HRA at the rate payable to teachers and employees working in Varanasi city on the basis that their place of work was situated within eight kilometers from the limits of the municipal area of Varanasi. The Accounts Officer in the office of the District Inspector of Schools, DIOS ,Mirzapur raised an objection on 21 November 1982. It appears that the matter was clarified and the employees continued to draw their HRA at the rate payable to the employees of Varanasi city. It appears that the salary of the teachers and employees of the institution was revised in 1991 with effect from 1 January 1986 and, accordingly, HRA was also revised under a Government Order dated 24 July 1992. A further revision took place with effect from 1 January 1996. The HRA was also revised by a Government Order dated 11 June 1999 with effect from 1 June 1999. The grievance of the petitioners was that though by the Government Order, they were entitled to receive HRA at the revised rate and at the rate which was payable to employees of Varanasi city, that was not paid. This led to the filing of a writ petition, Writ Petition No. 29617 of 2000 which was disposed of on 21 July 2000 permitting the petitioners to make a representation to the Principal Secretary (Finance). On 21 May 2002, the Principal Secretary (Finance) held that the petitioners were entitled to receive HRA at the rate which was applicable to employees of Varanasi city after due certification that the village in which the institution was situated was within a radius of eight kilometers from the municipal limits. Consequently, the DIOS issued an order dated 14 August 2002 sanctioning HRA at the aforesaid rate.;