Srinagar: Dismissing scores of petitions by employees of Sainik School Manasbal seeking pension and other benefits at par with Sainik Schools across India, the High Court of J&K and Ladakh has held that only the similarity of duties performed by the two sets of employees working in two different institutions will not be good enough reason to apply parity in service benefits and conditions.
The bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar acknowledged that it is true that the duties performed by the employees of the J&K Sainik School, Mansbal, are similar to the duties that are being performed by the employees of other Sainik schools of the country.
“But only the similarity of duties performed by the two sets of employees working in two different institutions will not be a good enough reason to apply the same service conditions to the two sets of employees, nor can these two sets of employees seek parity in service conditions,” he said.
The Sainik schools in other parts of the country, the court said, are working under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, and the funding of said Sainik schools is from different source, whereas the J&K Sainik School, Mansbal, is working under the control of Government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and it is being funded by the UT government.
The petitioners also sought postretirement benefits as are granted to the employees of the State government.
The petitioners submitted that the employment at academic and administrative or other levels of the school are made on the same pattern on which other Sainik schools of the country are following.
They added that the qualification for recruitment of Teachers/Masters is the same as prescribed by the Central Board of School Education.
They also stated that the appointment is made through a duly constituted Selection Committee and the pattern of appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff in the J&K Sainik School Manasbal is the same as is prescribed in other Sainik schools of the country.
Their petition stated “the Sainik School Manasbal is a government-aided school and also receives contributions from various sources including the fee charged from the students. The capital expenditure of the school, its land and other infrastructure is being meted out of the funds provided by the State government as grant-in-aid.”
Hearing the arguments of the petitioner employees and the counter by authorities, the court held “the petitioner employees of the J&K Sainik School, Mansbal, cannot claim parity with the employees of other Sainik schools of the country. Similarly, the employees of the other institutions like IMPA, J&K; Khadi & Village Industries Board, and J&K Sports Council, perform different duties which are in no way identical to the duties that are being performed by the employees of the J&K Sainik School, Mansbal.”
It said “merely because J&K Sainik School, Mansbal, as well as IMPA, J&K; Khadi & Village Industries Board, and J&K Sports Council, are funded by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, would not itself be a reason to claim equality.”
It said that merely because the duties performed by two sets of employees may be similar or the two sets of employees pertaining to two different institutions are being funded from a single source would not be in itself a ground to claim parity in service conditions between the two sets of employees.
Thus, the petitioners cannot claim parity in service conditions pertaining to post-retirement pension either with the employees of other Sainik schools of the country or with other institutions which are funded by the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, it added.
However, the dismissal of the writ petitions would not come in the way of the Board of Governors of the J&K Sainik School, Mansbal, to extend the benefit of postretirement pension to any set of employees of the school, if they deem it proper, concluded the judge.
