Pramath Patnaik, J. - (1.) In the instant writ application, the petitioners have interalia prayed for direction upon the respondents to grant of Grade-I scale to the petitioners from their respective date of joining in services and further prayer has been made for grant of subsequent grades including Grade-II & IV to the petitioners after completing 14 to 20 years of service, reckoning the Grade-I scale from the date of their joining with all consequential benefits and to count seniority of the petitioners from date of their joining.
(2.) The brief facts as disclosed in the writ application is that all the petitioners are compassionate appointees, appointed as Assistant Teachers in different years, working in different Govt. Schools in the same District of State of Jharkhand. At the time of appointment, all the petitioners were untrained teachers however, they were Graduate. These untrained teachers in view of orders passed by the Hon'ble Patna High Court were sent for training and successfully completed the said training. After acquiring the requisite training, the respondents granted the Grade-I Scale to the petitioners from the date of completion of training. Subsequently, Grade-II scale have been granted to the some of the teachers by reckoning the Grade-I from the date of acquiring of training and not from the date of joining. Aggrieved by the said decision of the State Government, some of them approached this Court in case of Arun Sinha & Ors. Vs. the State of Jharkhnad & Ors. in W.P.(S) No. 638 of 2006, whereby, it has been held that the petitioner's case should be considered for fixing their seniority from the date of their appointment. They should also be considered for giving benefit of Grade-IV scales after completion of 8/12 years of the services. This observation of the Court was affirmed up to Hon'ble the Apex Court. It is the further case of the petitioners that in view of the observations of the Hon'ble Courts, the petitioners are entitled for grant of Grade-I scale from the date of their joining and thereafter, all subsequent promotions/scales ought have to be given to the petitioners by counting their seniority from the date of their joining in services. Thereafter, the respondents have issued a Resolution bearing No. 3027 dated 14.12.2015 regarding grant of Grade-I scale from the date of joining to the teachers appointed in the year 1987, 1988, 1994 and 2000. But, the name of petitioners who were appointees of years other than as mentioned above, does not find place in the aforesaid Resolution dated 14.12.2015. The petitioners are mainly aggrieved by the non-consideration of their cases for grant of Grade-I scale from the date of their joining and for grant of subsequent grades including Grade-II & IV to the petitioners after completing 14 to 20 years of services as because in the resolution dated 14.12.2015 in Clause-15 (V) of the said notification held that the benefit of Grade-I from the date of joining shall not be given to the teachers appointed on compassionate ground and the same will only be given to the persons indicated in sub-clause (i) & (ii) of Clause 15. As the said benefits were not granted to the present petitioners, they approached this Court, by filing this writ petition.
(3.) Learned counsels appearing on behalf of the petitioners submits that the petitioners are entitled for all consequential benefits and promotions from their respective date of joining. Learned counsels further argue that a direction may be given to the respondents for considering the cases of the petitioners within stipulated period. Learned counsel for the petitioner has further submitted that the case of the petitioners is squarely covered by the decision as passed in W.P.(S) No.502 of 2016 with analogous cases vide order dated 14.12.2017 by this Hon'ble Court.;