Case Background
The petitioner was appointed as a Lecturer in a Government Polytechnic in Bihar on 22.02.1985 under the Department of Science and Technology. After completing 12 years of service, he was granted time bound promotion to the post of Lecturer (Senior Scale) with effect from 08.03.1997.
On 02.01.2003, the Finance Department, Government of Bihar issued a notification laying down conditions for promotion to Lecturer (Selection Grade). It required five years of service as Lecturer (Senior Scale) with a Master’s degree. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) later issued a clarificatory notification on 10.09.2003, with retrospective effect, dealing specifically with teachers recruited before 01.01.1996.
According to the petitioner, after completing five years in the Senior Scale post on 08.03.2002, he became entitled to be placed in the Lecturer (Selection Grade) under the Career Advancement Scheme, in terms of the Finance Department notification and the AICTE clarification. However, he was not granted the higher pay scale.
Due to this, the petitioner was compelled to approach the Patna High Court earlier in C.W.J.C. No. 16508 of 2017. That writ petition was disposed of on 16.05.2019 with liberty to file a detailed representation before the Director, Department of Science and Technology (respondent no. 2), directing that the representation be considered and disposed of within eight weeks.
The petitioner submitted his representation on 02.07.2019, providing his service details and relying on the AICTE clarification dated 10.09.2003, as well as on a Division Bench order in MJC No. 1438 of 2015 which had examined the same clarification. Despite this, after nearly two years, the Joint Director (respondent no. 3) rejected his claim through Memo No. 497 dated 10.02.2021.
The impugned memo held that the petitioner could not be promoted to Lecturer (Selection Grade) because he did not possess a Ph.D. degree, which was treated as an essential qualification in view of Item No. 43 of the AICTE notification dated 04.01.2016. Aggrieved by this, the petitioner filed the present Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 16835 of 2021 before the Patna High Court.
What the Court Examined and Decided
The Patna High Court, through Hon’ble Mr. Justice Purnendu Singh, heard the petitioner’s senior counsel and the State’s counsel and identified two central questions:
First, whether the petitioner was entitled to the pay scale of Lecturer (Selection Grade) under the applicable rules and AICTE clarifications.
Second, whether the AICTE notification dated 04.01.2016, which required a Ph.D. degree for upward movement, could be given retrospective effect to deny the petitioner his claim from 08.03.2002.
The Court noted the admitted service history: appointment on 22.02.1985, and grant of Lecturer (Senior Scale) from 08.03.1997, thereby fulfilling five years of service in Senior Scale on 08.03.2002. Under the Finance Department notification dated 02.01.2003, this period of five years with a Master’s degree was the essential condition for consideration for Lecturer (Selection Grade).
The Court then turned to the AICTE’s clarificatory notification dated 10.09.2003. It reproduced Item No. 10 in full, which dealt with anomalies in AICTE-recommended pay scales for teachers of diploma level technical institutions (polytechnics). The key feature of this clarification was:
- Teachers recruited prior to 01.01.1996 were to be governed by existing Recruitment Rules.
- Qualification requirements were relaxed for such teachers to consider them for Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) to Senior Grade and Selection Grade.
- The relaxation also covered those promoted before the implementation of revised AICTE pay scales and service conditions, for the relevant period.
The Court observed that AICTE is a Central apex body and its clarification about its own regulations is binding on the State. It referred to an earlier Division Bench judgment in L.P.A. No. 720 of 2006 (Shiv Shankar Prasad Singh & Ors. vs. State of Bihar & Ors.) and the subsequent MJC No. 1438 of 2015, where the same AICTE clarification had been examined. The Division Bench had strongly criticized the State’s stand and held that:
- The State cannot act like “Shylock” and make citizens fight for every inch of their rights.
- Once AICTE, as the apex body, clarifies its own regulations, the State, being the implementing authority, must comply and cannot challenge the legality of that clarification.
- The State and the Departmental Promotion Committee were wrong in depriving similarly situated petitioners of consideration for promotion, and the State’s stand was found not bona fide.
In light of that binding precedent, the Court in the present case held that the clarification of AICTE had to be followed, and the petitioner, being recruited prior to 01.01.1996, was entitled to the benefit of relaxed qualification for CAS to Selection Grade.
The State’s counsel defended the impugned Memo No. 497 dated 10.02.2021 as a “speaking order”, arguing that in view of Clause 3.5(ii) of the 02.01.2003 notification and Item No. 43 of the AICTE notification dated 04.01.2016, the petitioner could not claim promotion without a Ph.D. degree.
The Court rejected this line of reasoning. It held that the respondent no. 3 had confused regular promotion with financial upgradation. To clarify this distinction, the Court relied on the Supreme Court judgment in Amresh Kumar Sinha & Ors. vs. State of Bihar & Ors., reported in 2023 SCC OnLine SC 496.
Quoting extensively from paragraphs 17 to 20 of that judgment, the Court highlighted the Supreme Court’s findings that:
- Educational qualifications prescribed under recruitment rules for promotion are not necessary for grant of non-functional, in situ promotion meant only for monetary benefit where promotional avenues are absent and employees risk stagnation.
- Insisting on higher qualifications for such financial upgradations would frustrate the very purpose of schemes like Assured Career Progression (ACP).
- In situ promotion or ACP is essentially financial upgradation, not actual promotion to a higher post, and therefore should not be denied on the ground of not possessing higher academic qualifications for the next post.
Although the petitioner’s case concerned Lecturer (Selection Grade) under CAS rather than ACP, the Court drew support from the Supreme Court’s reasoning that financial advancement aimed at removing stagnation should not be blocked by imposing higher educational qualifications that were not part of the earlier applicable scheme.
The Court further noted that the AICTE notification dated 04.01.2016, which introduced Ph.D. as a mandatory qualification for upward movement, had no retrospective effect, as there was no indication in the notification itself that it would operate backward in time. Therefore, it could not be used to deny the petitioner his entitlement from 08.03.2002 up to the date the 2016 notification came into force.
The Court also recorded the petitioner’s argument that the Supreme Court’s decision in The Secretary, All India Shri Shivaji Memorial Society (AISSMS) & Ors. vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors. in SLP (Civil) No. 7058-7061 of 2019 was distinguishable. That case concerned teachers appointed between 1995 and 2009, whereas the petitioner here had been appointed in 1985, clearly prior to 01.01.1996, and specifically covered by AICTE’s Item No. 10 clarification. The High Court accepted this distinction and found the reliance on AISSMS misplaced in the petitioner’s context.
Based on the AICTE clarification, the earlier Division Bench directions, and the Supreme Court’s approach to financial upgradations, the Court concluded that the petitioner was entitled to Lecturer (Selection Grade) from 08.03.2002. It held that the respondent no. 3’s reliance on the 2016 notification and Ph.D. requirement to reject the claim was contrary to the 2003 Finance Department notification and AICTE’s 10.09.2003 clarification.
Accordingly, the Court set aside and quashed Memo No. 497 dated 10.02.2021 as “wholly misconceived”.
The Court then issued a clear direction to respondent no. 2, the Director, Department of Science and Technology, Government of Bihar, to take corrective measures. The petitioner was to be granted Lecturer (Selection Grade) with effect from 08.03.2002, as he had completed five years of service in Senior Scale from 08.03.1997. The Court further held that the petitioner was entitled to the Lecturer (Selection Grade) pay scale till his retirement on 31.03.2021, along with all consequential benefits arising out of that pay scale.
With these directions, the writ petition was allowed. There was no order as to costs.
Why This Judgment Matters
This Patna High Court judgment is significant for teachers of Government polytechnics and similar technical institutions in Bihar who were recruited before 01.01.1996. It reinforces that such teachers are governed by the earlier Recruitment Rules and the AICTE’s 10.09.2003 clarification for Career Advancement Scheme promotions.
The decision makes it clear that the State cannot retroactively apply later AICTE norms, like the 04.01.2016 requirement of a Ph.D., to deny Selection Grade pay to long-serving teachers whose entitlement had already matured under the earlier scheme.
The Court also underlines a broader principle: when a central apex body like AICTE issues a clarification on its own regulations, the State, acting as an implementing authority, must follow it and cannot create hurdles or delay financial benefits that remove stagnation.
For similarly placed employees, the judgment sends a message that financial upgradations such as CAS or ACP cannot be frustrated by insisting on new qualifications that were never part of the original entitlement. It may encourage other affected teachers to seek similar relief where their claims have been rejected on comparable grounds.
Legal Issues and Answers
- Issue: Whether the petitioner, a Lecturer appointed in 1985 and placed in Senior Scale from 08.03.1997, was entitled to the pay scale of Lecturer (Selection Grade) from 08.03.2002 under the applicable notifications and AICTE clarification.
Answer: Yes. Based on the Finance Department notification dated 02.01.2003 and the AICTE clarificatory notification dated 10.09.2003 for teachers recruited prior to 01.01.1996, the petitioner was entitled to Lecturer (Selection Grade) w.e.f. 08.03.2002, with all consequential benefits till retirement. - Issue: Whether the AICTE notification dated 04.01.2016, requiring a Ph.D. degree for upward movement to Lecturer (Selection Grade), could be applied retrospectively to deny the petitioner’s claim from 08.03.2002.
Answer: No. The 2016 notification had no retrospective effect in the absence of any clear stipulation. It could not override the petitioner’s matured entitlement under the 2003 notification and 2003 AICTE clarification, and therefore could not be used to deny Selection Grade pay for the earlier period. - Issue: Whether higher academic qualification prescribed for promotion is necessary for financial upgradation under schemes like CAS or ACP where the objective is to avoid stagnation.
Answer: No, applying the reasoning in 2023 SCC OnLine SC 496 (Amresh Kumar Sinha), the Court held that such schemes are essentially for financial upgradation and not actual promotion to higher posts, so insisting on higher qualifications for the next post for these benefits would defeat the scheme’s purpose.
Cases Cited by the Court
- L.P.A. No. 720 of 2006, Shiv Shankar Prasad Singh & Ors. vs. State of Bihar & Ors., and related MJC No. 1438 of 2015 (Division Bench of Patna High Court) – relied upon for enforcing AICTE’s Item No. 10 clarification and binding nature of AICTE directions.
- Amresh Kumar Sinha & Ors. vs. State of Bihar & Ors., 2023 SCC OnLine SC 496 – cited for the principle that educational qualification for higher posts is not necessary for financial upgradation under ACP/in situ promotion schemes meant to avoid stagnation.
- The Secretary, All India Shri Shivaji Memorial Society (AISSMS) & Ors. vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors., SLP (Civil) No. 7058-7061 of 2019 – referred to by respondents; distinguished by the Court as factually different from the petitioner’s case.
Case Details
Case Number: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 16835 of 2021
Case Title: Rabindra Narain Singh vs. The State of Bihar & Ors.
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Purnendu Singh
Citation: 2025(3) PLJR 816
Advocates:
For the Petitioner: Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Senior Advocate; Mr. Sumit Kumar, Advocate.
For the Respondents: Mr. Pratik Kumar Sinha, AC to GA-5.
Nature of the Case: Civil writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging denial of promotion pay scale (Lecturer Selection Grade) and seeking mandamus for grant of Career Advancement Scheme benefits.
Link to Judgment: View full judgment on Patna High Court website
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