- (1.) The petitioners are working as teachers/ Science Masters in privately managed schools of Haryana. They have approached this Court through the instant petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution for quashing order dated 1.5.2006 (Annexure P.5) passed by the Commissioner-cum-Director General School Education, Haryana declining their prayer regarding release of medical allowance. The impugned order dated 1.5.2006 reads as under: That in compliance of the Court order dated 12.1.2006 claims of the petitioners regarding release of medical allowance was examined in view of the instructions issued by the Haryana Govt. from time to time and law laid down by the various Court in this regard. The employees of the aided schools in the State of Haryana are entitled to parity in pay and dearness allowance only at par with their counter parts working in Govt. schools but they are not entitled for any other benefits in the light of Hon'ble Supreme Court judgement dated 22.10.1991 in CP No. 206 of 1991 passed in CA No. 2566 of 1988 State of Haryana v. Champa Devi wherein it has been held that the employees of the aided schools cannot claim parity in all matters like Govt. employees. The Medical Allowance to a Govt. employee is an incentive and the employees of the Aided Schools are not entitled for the same because in Champa Devi case the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India held that it is upto the State to decide whether these benefits shall be granted to the employees of the aided schools or not. The provisions of Haryana School Education Rule 2003 under rule 91(5) also run as under: (5) The benefit of leave encashment, facilities of leave travel concession , bonus and medical reimbursement etc. shall be at the discretion of the Managing committee. No grant-in-aid on this account shall be reimbursement by the Department.
(2.) It is thus obvious that apart from placing reliance on the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of State of Haryana v. Champa Devi , the Commissioner also placed reliance on Rule 91(5) of the Haryana School Education Rules, 2003. The petitioners had prayed that the afore-mentioned rule be also declared as ultra vires of the Constitution in as much as it comes into conflict with the directions issued to prepare a scheme for grant of the afore-mentioned allowance. It is appropriate to mention that the petitioners have claimed fixed medical allowance as per the circular issued by the Finance Department on 17.12.2004 (Annexure P.1) which has raised the amount from Rs. 125/- p.m. to Rs. 250/- p.m. w.e.f. 1.12.2004.
(3.) We have heard the learned Counsel at a considerable length and regret our inability to accept his submissions because in the case of Haryana State Adhyapak Sangh v. State of Haryana 1990 (Supp) SCC 306 it has been held that the teachers/ masters working in privately aided schools must be paid the pay scales and dearness allowance as teachers in government schools for the entire period and the expenditure is to be apportioned between the State and the management in the same proportion in which they share the burden of emoluments of the teachers. The State Government, however, was not held liable to pay other allowances. Thereafter clarificatory application was filed on 21.2.1990 and the Hon'ble Supreme Court clarified and explained the view taken in 1988 in para 9 of the judgement in the case of Haryana State Adhyapak Sangh (supra) and the directions issued in 1988 for bringing parity of teachers of various privately aided schools and the teachers of government schools a committee was constituted under the Chairmanship of the Finance Minister. In the concluding part of para 10, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has summed up as under: ... In the circumstances we are of the view that the directions of this Court in the judgement dated July 28,1988 must be construed to mean that the respondents are required to maintain such parity and to revise, from time to time, the pay scales and dearness allowance of the teachers employed in aided schools as and when the pay scales and dearness allowance of teachers employed in government schools are revised. It is, therefore, incumbent upon respondents to revise the pay scales of teachers employed in the aided schools so as to bring the same at par with the pay scales of the teachers employed in government schools with effect from January 1,1986 and fix the salaries of the teachers employed in aided schools in the revised pay scales with effect from January 1,1986 and the pay the salaries and dearness allowance to these teachers on that basis.;