Facts: The petitioner, an Assistant Teacher, was initially appointed to an unaided post in 2008. In 2017, he was transferred to a fully aided post within the same management. The Deputy Director of Education approved the transfer but sanctioned salary grants at a reduced rate, starting at 20% and increasing by 20% annually, reaching 100% in the fifth year. The petitioner challenged this partial grant of salary, arguing entitlement to 100% salary from the date of transfer.
Procedural Posture: The petitioner filed a writ petition in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, challenging the order of the Deputy Director of Education. The court heard the matter for final disposal, considering the subject matter of the petition and the facts presented.
Issue: Is the Deputy Director of Education justified in approving a transfer to a fully aided post but sanctioning only partial salary grants based on a Government Resolution, when the transferred employee was already working under the same management?
Holding: No, the Deputy Director of Education's order approving partial salary grants is quashed. The petitioner is entitled to 100% salary grant from the date of transfer to the fully aided post.
Reasoning: The Court reasoned that the transfer from an unaided post to a fully aided post within the same management is not a fresh appointment. The court relied on Rule 41 of the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1981, stating that transfers should not adversely affect the pay or pay scale of the employee. The court also cited previous judgments, including Sagar Harichandra Bhande v. State of Maharashtra, which held that when a senior teacher is transferred to fill a vacant aided post, there is no reason to obtain an undertaking for partial salary as per the Government Resolution. The court found the partial salary grant policy inapplicable in this case, as the petitioner's transfer was to a sanctioned, fully aided post, and he had already served for a significant period. The court emphasized that the Government Resolution's clause allowing for partial salary grants applies only when the government sanctions new posts on an aided basis, not for transfers to existing aided posts.