'Doctrine Of Relation Back' Applies In Service Matters When Subsequent Order Passed In Favour Of Employee Relates To Initial Dispute: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has upheld the application of doctrine of relation back in service disputes where subsequent orders have been passed in favour of the employee relates to initial disputes.

While directing payment of salary arrears from year 1998 (date of stop order) to 2021(date when petitioners appointments were held valid), Justice Manish Mathur held that “doctrine of relation back would be applicable in service matters particularly when subsequent exoneration or order passed in favour of an employee relates to the initial dispute.”

Factual Background

Some petitioners were appointed as Assistant Teachers and some on Class IV posts respectively in the respondent institution and were being paid salary. Petitioners pleaded that the institution is a recognized and aided Junior High School. In 1998, salary payments were stopped and subsequently approval for petitioners' appointment was also cancelled.

A writ against the earlier salary disputes was disposed of directing the Director of Education to pass appropriate orders on grievance of the employees and their salary entitlements as per the U.P. Recognized Basic Schools (Junior High Schools) (Recruitment & Condition of Service of Teachers) Rules, 1978. Subsequently, State Government passed order dated 30.06.2021 which has been sought to be implemented by the petitioners.

Counsel for petitioners submitted that even though the petitioners were eligible for salary from 1998 under the said government order, however, the same had not been paid to them. It was argued that the order would be applicable form the date the salaries were withheld and not prospectively, especially when the initial appointment of the petitioners was held to be valid.

Per contra, counsel for respondents argued that since there was no direction by the State Government regarding retrospective applicability of the order, the salaries could not be paid prospectively.

High Court Verdict

The Court observed that the respondent institution under the grant in aid scheme and the salaries of the employees were being given from the State exchequer till the passing of the stop order in 1998. It was observed that once the appointments of the petitioners were held to be valid, the State had directed payment of salaries to the petitioners, who had been paid salary from 1989 to 1998 from the State exchequer.

“Clearly, the dispute pertaining to petitioners' eligibility, qualification and entitlement for being paid salary through State Exchequer relates back to orders dated 09.10.1998 and 15.07.1999 whereby salary through the State Exchequer was stopped. It is thus apparent that the dispute has continued ever since 09.10.1998 continuously without any break and therefore in the considered opinion of this Court, the dispute would relate back to the date when the initial order dated 09.10.1998 was passed.”

The Court held that the applicability of the order dated 30.06.2021 would relate back to 1998, i.e. from the date when the stop order on petitioners' salaries was passed. It was held that the fact no order was passed regarding arrears of salary from March 1998 up to June 2021 was irrelevant.

The Court relied on Delhi Jal Board v. Mahinder Singh where the Supreme Court held that “the findings of the disciplinary inquiry exonerating the officer would have to be given effect to as they obviously relate back to the date on which the charges are framed. If the disciplinary inquiry ended in his favour, it is as if the officer had not been subjected to any disciplinary inquiry.”

Accordingly, applying the doctrine of relation back, Justice Mathur held that the order dated 30.06.2021 was liable to be applied retrospectively from 1998. The Court directed the respondents to clear the salary arrears of the petitioners within four months.

Case Title: Ram Niwas Singh And 5 Others v. State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. Basic Edu. Lko And 5 Others 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 504 [WRIT - A No. - 341 of 2023]

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 504

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