Sunday, September 23, 2012

Non-Payment of salary to teachers

Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 3:09 PM                                            5th & 6th PAY COMMISSIONS                                 
HC Issues contempt notice to private schools    
The Delhi High Court today issued contempt notice to a private school, Rukmini Devi Jaipuria School, Rajpur Road for not paying salary and arrears to its teachers as per the 5th & 6th Pay Commissions.

Hearing a contempt petition filed by the aggrieved teachers through advocate, Ashok Agarwal, a single bench comprising Justice Rajiv Shakdher directed the school to reply to the contempt notices by 14 December 2012.

The contempt petition has been filed against the school for disobeying the earlier court order dated 11/052012 in which a Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw had directed the erring school to pay the salary as well as arrears with effect from 1/1/1996.

The Delhi High Court had held that the teachers of unaided private schools are entitled to same pay and emoluments as those of government schools. Rejecting an appeal by a private school, a bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw upheld the single judge's order directing Rukmini Devi Jaipuria School, Rajpura Road, to pay arrears of salary to its teachers with effect from January one, 1996.

Directing the school to pay the arrears in four weeks, the bench also imposed a cost of Rs 30,000 on it.

The court dismissed the school's argument that the pay commission recommendations are only applicable to the government-aided schools and not to private schools.

The court accepted the contention of Ashok Agarwal, the counsel for the teachers, that it's a travesty of justice that the teachers are denied their lawful salary without any justification.

The court also held that the employees of all unaided recognised private schools are entitled to benefits of pay and emoluments from January 1, 1996, the date the fifth pay commission recommendations became applicable and the schools cannot deny or delay the same on the ground that it could not recover fee from the students.

Only recently, the Justice Anil Dev Singh Committee for Review of School Fee had found as many as 143 Delhi Unaided Private Schools which claimed to have increased the fee consequent to the order of the Directorate of Education dated 11/2/2009 but have not implemented the recommendations of Sixth Pay Commission.

Ashok Agarwal, Advocate
M-09811101923
21.09.2012

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