The Supreme Court has issued notice to Rajasthan government education officials seeking their reply as to why contempt action not be initiated against them for non-compliance of its 2019 order, directing reimbursement of 70 per cent of the salary paid to teachers of a government-aided school which was shut in 2011.
A bench of Justices RF Nariman, B R Gavai, and Hrishikesh Roy said, “Absolutely they have done nothing” and issued notice on the contempt plea filed by a trust, which used to manage a school, and sought the response from the officials within four weeks. “Issue notice, returnable in four weeks. Personal presence of the alleged contemnor(s) is dispensed with for the time being,” the bench said in its order passed on May 6.
Advocate Dushyant Parashar, appearing for petitioner trust ‘Managing Committee Bishambhar Lal Maheshwari Education Foundation’ argued that the Rajasthan government has not complied with the top court’s orders passed on September 30, 2019. He said that even after the legal notice was served on the state government on September 9, 2020, no compliance of the direction in order dated September 30, 2019 has been made by the state government. Parashar further said that on March 12, another legal notice was issued to the state government for compliance of the 2019 order but they “wilfully” and “deliberately disregarded”, “disobeyed” and did not comply with the order.
The top court had on September 30, 2019 passed the order while exercising its plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution and said, “We are of the view that the institution needs to be reimbursed to the extent of 70 per cent of the amount that has been paid out pursuant to our order dated May 10, 2016.” It had directed the Rajasthan government to comply with its order within a period of 12 weeks from the date of the order. The top court had also taken on record an affidavit filed by the trust, which was directed to pay the entire salary of teachers, employed in the school as per the sixth pay-commission as per the order passed on May 10, 2016 and then seek reimbursement from the state government.
It has also referred to another verdict passed in 2016 by the top court regarding teachers of the same school in which it had directed the school management to pay 30 per cent of their liability towards salary and further directed the government to pay the remaining 70 per cent of grant-in-aid to them. The top court had also directed the state government to absorb the teachers of the same school, who were before the court, into the state services. On May 10, 2016, the top court had directed the trust to comply with the directions of the high court, with regards to payments to the teachers concerned, within six weeks of the order.
The trust, which was an aided institution as per provision of the Rajasthan Non-Government Education Institution Act of 1989, was receiving 70 percent of grant-in-aid from the state government. The plea said that due to substantial decrease in strength of students as well as surmounting deficit, the managing committee of the school was forced to get the stoppage of grant-in-aid with effect from April 1, 2008 by the state government. The teachers of the school then moved the high court for grant of selection scale with arrears, which directed the school management to pay the entire salary to them from April 1, 2008 till April 30, 2011. It gave liberty to the school management to claim reimbursement of grant-in-aid payable to them from the state government.
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