Protik Prakash Banerjee, J. - (1.) This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeks a higher scale of pay than the one which the writ petitioner currently enjoys. His representation for the grant of the higher scale of pay has been a festering wound in the petitioner expectation for last 6 years. The writ petitioner was an honours graduate. He had enrolled himself for a post graduate (Masters) degree in September 21, 2007 thereafter he had applied for and appeared in the selection process and was duly appointed after the recommendation by the appropriate commission. His appointment was made on October 5, 2009 and the same was approved by the statutory authorities concerned on December 17, 2009. The post to which he was appointed was a honours/ post-graduate post and not simply a pass graduate post. Before he was appointed, he was already enrolled in the post graduate course of Masters' in Science. Thereafter, the petitioner approached the concerned authorities of the High Madrasah with an application dated November 23, 2009 seeking permission to continue his degree and appear for the Part-II examination of his M.Sc. degree. The concerned Managing Committee approved the petitioner's representation by a resolution dated December 04, 2009 and the prayer of the petitioner was forwarded to the Additional District Inspector of Schools (S.E.), Uluberia Sub-division by a letter dated March 24, 2010 along with the resolution adopted by the Managing Committee. Once the managing committee granted the permission, the writ petitioner continued with the course for his post graduate degree and after obtaining necessary study leave from the Managing Committee of the said Madrasah, he appeared for his M.Sc. Part-II examination, where he was successful in April 2010. The leave allowed to the writ petitioner was duly sanctioned later on by the West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education by a memo being No. 1528/1(4) dated November 18, 2016 and recorded in his service book.
(2.) The case of the petitioner is simply that since the post for which he was recruited was of "honours/post graduate" type, and he had been recruited when he was already enrolled for the Masters' course though he was an Honours graduate, on duly improving his qualifications with the permission of the managing committee and leave sanctioned by it as also the Board of Madrasah Education, he was entitled under Section 14(3) of the West Bengal Schools (Control of Expenditure) Act, 2005 to get the post graduate scale of pay.
(3.) The writ petitioner approached the concerned authorities at the said High Madrasah by an application dated March 26, 2013 seeking higher scale of pay which was duly forwarded by the said High Madrasah to the Additional District Inspector of Schools (S.E.), Uluberia Subdivision on September 17, 2013. However, despite subsequent reminders dated December 27, 2013 and December 18, 2017, no decision on his application was intimated to the petitioner. Hence, the writ petition.;