- (1.) This judgment will dispose of Civil Writ Petition No. 8736, 6006, 3547 and 9318 of 1987, and Civil Writ Petition Nos. 103, 486, 966, 892, 1000, 1102, 712, 3161, 1945, 2164, 1419, 3352, 4159, 3940, 3941, 3562, 1362, 1325, 3070 and 2618 of 1988, as in all these the main point to be decided is as to whether the State Government, Haryana Agricultural University, Kurukshetra University, Maharishi Dayanad University, Private Colleges and the Institutions in which teachers from Haryana Government are working on deputation in Union Territory, Chandigarh, were justified in making deduction of Rs. 45/- per month from the gross salary payable to the teachers on the basis of order Annexure P2. For facility of reference, the facts of Civil Writ Petition No. 966 of 1988 will be taken notice of.
(2.) The petitioners joined as teachers in the Education Department of Haryana, or the University mentioned above. From the Education Department of Haryana, some of them were sent on deputation to Union Territory, Chandigarh. Most of them joined after 1st January, 1973 and very few had joined before that date.
(3.) On 6th September, 1974 the Secretary to Government, Haryana Finance Department, issued letter Annexure P2, to all the heads of Departments, informing that the Government had decided to sanction additional dearness allowances to its Class-I and Class-II officers. The teachers, with whom we are concerned, are Class-II officers, and they are governed by items (4) and (5) shown at page 2 of the Annexure P2, at page 80 of the paper book. For those teachers, who were drawing emoluments above Rs. 300/- and upto Rs. 900/-, between 1.1.1974 to 31.1.1974, additional dearness allowance at the rate of 12 per cent of the emoluments subject to minimum of Rs. 48/- and maximum of Rs. 108/- was allowed and for the teachers drawing emoluments upto Rs. 1600/- per month, with effect from 1.2.1974 onwards, 15 per cent of emoluments subject to the minimum of Rs. 60/- and a maximum of Rs. 135/- was allowed. According to para 2 of order Annexure P2, the additional dearness allowance had to be calculated on the emoluments which were to be total sum of pay, dearness allowance and the two ad hoc reliefs granted, with effect from 1.4.1972 and 1.12.1972. Para 4 of Annexure P2 mentions that the additional dearness allowance, which was being sanctioned was subject to the deductions to the extent indicated in Col. 5 of the table given below it in the Annexure. Against 4th and 5th items of this table, Rs. 45/- was mentioned as the amount to be deducted as part of ad hoc relief to be adjusted. In the Education Department, from the pay of teachers whether in service from 1.4.1972 or 1.1.1973, or those who joined after the issue of letter, Annexure P2, deduction of Rs. 45/- per month was made after the issue of letter Annexure P2, right till the writ petitions were filed in this Court in 1987 and onwards. Since common questions were involved they were ordered to be heard.;