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Ram Bahadur Pandey v. State of Uttarakhand

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 9130 of 2014)Decided 29 Aug 2014
Civil Appeal No. 9130 of 2014
Justice Anil R. Dave · Justice Uday Umesh Lalit

Background

Two assistant teachers in recognised tribal primary schools run by a society were dismissed after complaints about their work. The management had not obtained written approval from the Basic Shiksha Adhikari. It defended the dismissals by saying the teachers' original appointments had not followed the prescribed recruitment procedure.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and directed reinstatement within two months. Rule 11 of the applicable 1975 school rules required prior written approval for the punitive termination of these teachers, and defects in their original recruitment did not excuse the management from following that requirement. Because their appointments were irregular, the Court refused back wages for the period after dismissal. It left them free to pursue any unpaid salary from before dismissal and allowed the management to take fresh disciplinary action according to law.

Lesson Learnt

Where school service rules require prior approval for dismissal, management must obtain it even when recruitment was irregular; reinstatement does not necessarily include back wages.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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