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State of Bihar v. Dilip Kumar

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 775Decided 18 Jul 2019
Civil Appeal No. 005205 of 2019
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice Indira Banerjee

Background

The respondents' parents, both government schoolteachers, died in harness in 2006. They were offered compassionate appointments as "Nagar Shikshak" (municipal teachers on fixed pay) under the newly-enforced Bihar Municipal Body Elementary Teachers Rules, 2006, which they accepted. A since-withdrawn 2008 government instruction had suggested such posts fell outside the compassionate-appointment committee's jurisdiction and that affected persons should instead get regular government posts; relying on this, the Patna High Court (Single Judge and then Division Bench) directed the State to appoint the respondents to regular government service instead of the Nagar Shikshak posts they had already accepted.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court had erred by relying on the superseded 2008 instruction while ignoring that the respondents' appointments were squarely governed by Rule 10 of the 2006 Rules, under which they had already consented to and accepted their posts; an executive instruction cannot override a statutory rule. The Court relied on its own precedent in Mukesh v. State of Bihar, which had already distinguished the earlier judgment the High Court relied on (Vishwanath Pandey) and held that persons appointed after the 2006 Rules took effect are not entitled to regular government pay scales, unlike those appointed before the Rules existed. Since the respondents were appointed after 1 July 2006, their case fell outside the earlier precedent and within the 2006 Rules' scheme. The Court allowed the State's appeal, set aside the High Court's judgment, but granted the respondents liberty to approach the State Government for any suitable relief on the same terms as granted in the Mukesh case.

Lesson Learnt

Once a statutory rule governing compassionate appointments is in force, it displaces any earlier executive instruction on the same subject, and employees who accept appointment under that rule cannot later claim a different, more favourable category of post based on since-withdrawn administrative instructions.

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

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