W.P.(C)/11499/2026 of KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA SANGATHAN Vs K C SHARMA on 12 August 2026

1. The present petition is filed challenging order dated 10.03.2026 (hereafter ‘impugned order’) passed in O.A. No. 1775/2020 whereby the learned Central Administrative Tribunal directed the petitioner to grant Selection Grade to the respondent from the date of completion of 24 years of service with all consequential benefits.

2. Briefly stated, the respondent was appointed to the post of Trained Graduate Teacher (Sanskrit) on 29.08.1984 and he was granted Senior Scale on 29.08.1996 when he completed 12 years of service. Aggrieved by rejection of his applications for grant of

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Selection Scale on account of him not having a Master’s Degree in Sanskrit, the respondent approached the learned Tribunal in O.A. No. 1775/2020. In the meantime, the respondent superannuated on 31.08.2009.

3. The learned Tribunal, by way of the impugned order, allowed the aforesaid original application after observing that grant of Senior Scale or Selection Scale is restricted to financial upgradation in pay scale and educational qualification required for promotion is not necessary for extending monetary benefit when there are no promotional avenues.

4. Today, the sole argument agitated by the petitioner before this Court is that the learned Tribunal failed to appreciate the criteria prescribed in the Scheme for grant of Selection Grade, which mandates that the Primary Teachers and Trained Graduate Teachers will be required to obtain higher qualification. It has further been stressed that by way of letter dated 03.03.2009, the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development has clarified that teachers cannot acquire higher qualification in different subject for getting Selection Scale.

5. Having heard the counsel and perused the record, this Court is not persuaded by the averments agitated on behalf of the petitioner.

6. As the respondent’s entitlement for grant of Selection Grade is only contested on account of him not having post-graduate education in the same subject– Sanskrit, it is crucial to appraise the relevant condition qua requirement of higher qualification in the concerned Scheme for Revision of Pay Scales of School Teachers. The relied

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upon condition reads as under: “3. The revised pay scales will be admissible subject to the following conditions: xxx

(v) Although for purposes of grant of Selection Scale Primary School Teachers and Trained Graduate Teachers will be required to obtain higher qualification, they will not be required to shift to an institution of higher level. ”

7. Bare perusal of the said condition reflects that that it only requires the respondent to obtain higher qualification and the same is poignantly silent on the nature of such higher qualification. When the relevant condition itself does not require the higher qualification to be obtained in the same subject, the clarification dated 03.03.2009 cannot override the same. Even otherwise, it is relevant to note that the petitioner became entitled for Selection Scale on 29.08.2008 while the clarification was issued subsequently on 03.03.2009. In the opinion of this Court, the subsequent clarification cannot retrospectively amend the unambiguous terms.

8. It is also pertinent to note that there was no post for PGT (Sanskrit) in the establishment of the petitioner at the relevant time. In such circumstances, there was no reason for the petitioner to obtain higher qualification in Sanskrit.

9. In view of the aforesaid discussion, considering that the respondent undisputedly had a Master’s Degree in Hindi at the relevant time and no other argument in respect of his eligibility for grant of Selection Scale has been pressed, we are of the opinion that the facts of the present case do not justify invocation of our extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

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10. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed. Pending applications also stand disposed of. AMIT MAHAJAN, J. C. HARI SHANKAR, J. AUGUST 12, 2026 Signed By:HARMINDER KAUR