The Allahabad High Court has directed the Director of Basic Education to make the payment to a teacher who has been fighting a legal battle to get his salary due for 26 years within a week.
A single-judge bench of Justice Salil Kumar Rai passed this order while hearing a Contempt Application filed by Laxman Prasad Kushwaha.
The Court noted,
In pursuance to the previous order passed by the Court, the District Basic Education Officer, Ballia and the Finance Controller in the department of Basic Education (Directorate of Education), Uttar Pradesh, Prayagraj have filed their personal affidavits.
It has been stated in the affidavits of the officers that letters have been written to the Director of Basic Education, Directorate of Education, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow for sanctioning an amount of Rs 1,25,92,090 which includes the arrears of salary and the interest on the arrears amount payable to the applicant under the orders of the Writ Court.
However, from the tenor of the affidavits, it also appears that the amount has not yet been sanctioned and the approval has not been granted by the Director of Basic Education.
The order was passed by the Writ Court in April, 2009 directing that salary and the arrears of salary be paid to the applicant / petitioner within three months. The contempt application has been pending in the Court since 2009.
A perusal of the different letters annexed with the affidavits and the averments made in the affidavits shows that more than eighty eight lakhs rupees are to be paid as interest to the applicant. The interest is to be paid from the public exchequer which means the taxpayers money have to be spent on paying the interest to the applicant due to the delay on the part of government officers, the Court observed.
The Court directed the Director of Basic Education, Directorate of Education, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, the Principal Secretary (Basic Education), Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Principal Secretary (Finance), Government of Uttar Pradesh to ensure that the entire amount due to the applicant under the orders of the Writ Court are paid within one week and in any case latest by 30th September, 2024.
“The Director of Basic Education, Directorate of Education, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, the Principal Secretary (Basic Education), Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Principal Secretary (Finance), Government of Uttar Pradesh shall either file a compliance affidavit showing full compliance of the order passed by the Writ Court or shall be personally present in the Court for framing of charges on the next date fixed in the case”, the order reads.
The Court has fixed the next hearing of the petition on October 3, 2024.