- (1.) This petition has been filed on the strength of a legal notice served on the respondents including on the Principal Secretary to Government of Punjab, Department of School Education, Punjab Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh in February, 2014. In the notice, the petitioner claimed the benefit of executive instructions dated 23rd July, 1957 and 1st September, 1960 of the Punjab Government granting advance increments on the basis of higher qualifications earned through a post graduate degree prior to 19th February, 1979. The Masters/Mistresses/JST teachers who were denied advance increments on the strength of higher qualifications had approached this Court in a number of writ petitions including CWP No.2632 of 1985; Vidya Sagar Singla v. State of Punjab where teachers who had secured post graduate qualifications prior to 19th February, 1979 and were regularized before that date, were granted advance increments. LPA No.572 of 1986 preferred by the State of Punjab failed on 11th September, 1986 and the SLP carried to the Supreme Court was dismissed on 8th April, 1987. When these teachers secured the benefit of increments, many Masters and Mistresses who joined service with Post Graduate qualifications or acquired them later, came to enjoy a higher pay and this anomaly was resolved by this Court in Rawail Singh and others v. State of Punjab and another, 1995 4 SCT 481 and both sets of employees were brought at par irrespective of the fact whether the petitioners therein joined service with Post Graduate qualifications before 1st January, 1978 or acquired such qualifications before that date. The monetary benefit was restricted to three years and three months prior to the date of filing of the writ petition. In the same strain, a Coordinate Bench followed the principles in Usha Rani v. State of Punjab, 1996 4 SCT 739 and the principle laid down in Rawail Singh's case was applied.
(2.) The present petitioners No 1 & 2 were appointed to service on 16th May, 1975 and 7 th May, 1975 and retired on reaching the age of superannuation on 30th June, 2008 and 31st July, 2007 respectively.
(3.) Petitioner No.1 earned his MA degree on 25th June, 1975 while the 2nd petitioner on 3rd August, 1975. Both are pensioners since the last six or seven years.;