Summary
The Supreme Court granted salary and continuity-of-service relief to three teachers whose salaries were stopped after alleged manipulation of the sanctioned-post count. Their approved appointments had never been cancelled or terminated, and no material linked them to the manipulation. The State could investigate the school management and conditionally recover part of the arrears after due process.
Issues
- Whether salaries could be stopped for alleged manipulation by school authorities without evidence of the teachers’ involvement or cancellation of their approved appointments.
- What service and monetary relief was appropriate, and whether recovery from the management could follow.
Held
- Even accepting the State’s case that only two additional posts were sanctioned and the school recruited three after altering the figure, there was no evidence of collusion or blameworthy conduct by the open-market applicants. The State’s nominee participated in selection, appointments were approved, and neither approval nor appointment orders had been revoked. Abrupt stoppage of salary was unjustified on these facts. (¶¶ 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 30, 34)
- A beneficiary’s participation in fraud cannot be presumed merely because an appointment followed an allegedly manipulated proposal. The Court applied authorities protecting innocent appointees from authority-side errors and distinguished cancellation of an uncompleted recruitment affected by systemic irregularities, where no appointment rights had crystallised. (¶¶ 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
- The teachers were deemed continuously in service and entitled to full salary for 25 June 1999 through January 2002 and 50% backwages from October 2005 to the judgment date. Consequential benefits, including seniority, any due notional promotion and pay fitment, were directed, together with resumption of work and compliance within four weeks. (¶ 34)
- The State could proceed against the school management only after a clear show-cause notice, inquiry and personal hearing. If the management was found guilty of the alleged pre-recruitment manipulation, the State could recover one-third of the ordered arrears from it; exoneration would end that question. Recovery was conditional, not an immediate finding of liability. (¶ 35)
Result
Appeals allowed; the High Court judgments were set aside. Salary arrears, 50% backwages for the specified later period, continuous service and consequential benefits were directed, with work to resume and compliance within four weeks. Conditional liberty for inquiry and one-third arrears recovery from management was granted. No costs.