' CH. MUHAMMAD ARIF, J.---The Secretary to the Government of the Punjab in the Education Department, Lahore has challenged the vires of judgment, dated 30-6-1992 wherein the respondent succeeded in his Appeal No,50-A of 1992 with the following observations:- ' "After having gone through the file of this appeal I find that appellant was appointed as Headmaster on 23-12-1971 and was confirmed as such on 23-12-1973. In 1975 when private Institutions were taken over by the Government appellant was serving as Headmaster. So as per Government notification, dated 30-11-1975 appellant was legally entitled to the pay scales in the grades comparable to those of the teachers and employees of Government schools. On careful perusal of the facts of this appeal I am of this view that under the terms and conditions and rules applicable in case of appellant, he could not be denied the status or the pay of that post.
Resultantly the present appeal is allowed with the aforementioned observations...."
2. On 12-4-1993 leave to appeal was granted ".. To examine the issue that while holding that the respondent is entitled to the grade and post of Headmaster, the Service Tribunal did not advert to the question, as to whether he is possessed of equivalent qualifications prescribed for the post of Headmaster of the Educational Institution maintained by the Government".
3. As culled out from the memo. Of appeal by the respondent before the Punjab. Service Tribunal, his case was that he had joined service as a teacher in the Education Department of the defunct State of Bahawalpur, on 23-11-1948. He was confirmed as such and, being the senior most, was promoted to the post of Headmaster Fazil High School, Ahmedpur East by the then Administrator, Municipal Committee, Ahmedpur on 23-12-1971. On revision of the pay scale of the post of Headmaster on 9-5-1972 with effect from 1-6-1970, his case was submitted to the Regional Directorate Local Funds and Audit Department for fixation of pay which was done on 9-5-1972. He opted for the National Pay Scales introduced by the Punjab Senior Teaching Post (National Pay Scale) Rules, 1974 with effect from 1-3-1972. It was on 27-8-1975 that the Governor of the Punjab in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 224(b) of the Local Government Act, 1975 (Act No,XXXIV of 1975) and after obtaining the consent of the Local Councils, notified that the Fazil High School, Ahmadpur East stood transferred to the management and control of the Government of the Punjab in the Education Department with effect from 1-7-1975. The effect was that the terms and conditions of the staff of the school similarly placed as the M.C. Fazil High School, Ahmadpur East for the purposes of counting their previous services in relation to pension, seniority and other benefits, stood transferred to the Education Department. He was also shown as Headmaster of Fazil High School with effect from 23-12-1971 in his Service Books which had been sent to the Regional Office of the Local Fund and Audit Department Multan Region, Bahawalpur on 12-11-1975. His case for fixation of pay was also submitted by the Administrator, Municipal Committee, Ahmadpur East on 25-7-1976. During the interregnum, the Government of the Punjab issued yet another Notification allowing more rights to the staff of the Provincialized Schools vide Notification, dated 30-11-1975. However, the post held by the respondent at the Fazil High School was shown vacant, inadvertently. He made a suit for declaration regarding his status as Headmaster of Fazil High School, Ahmadpur East and to remain as such which was decreed by the learned Senior Civil Judge, Rahawalpur on 29-5-1979. Appellant's appeal against the decree, dated 29-5-1979 was dismissed by the appellate forum on 9-3-1981. Their further Revision Petition was allowed by the Lahore High Court on the ground that Civil Courts had no jurisdiction in the matter which falls within the domain of the Service Tribunals. Respondent remained unsuccessful in claiming Special Leave to Appeal against judgment, dated 9-2-1982 in C.P.S.L.A. No,207 of 1982 from this Court on 18-7-1988.
On being asked, to exhaust his departmental remedies, by the Punjab Service Tribunal in Appeal No,524 of 1988 on 15-8-1989, he made the appeal before the Departmental Appellate Authority on 14-9-1989 which was dismissed on 29-9-1991. An appeal field against the aforementioned order, dated 29-9-1991 before the Punjab Service Tribunal was disposed of with a direction by it to the respondent to make a representation before the Provincial Government, on 10-10-1991. Such representation was made on 13-10-1991 but as no order was issued thereon within the statutory period, he made Appeal No,50-A of 1992 out of which the present proceedings have arisen, as mentioned above.
4. Mr. Altaf Ilahi Sheikh, the learned Additional Advocate-General, Punjab has stuck to the position taken in the leave grant order that the Punjab Service Tribunal had not considered the question regarding the respondent possessing or otherwise the equivalent qualifications prescribed for the post of Headmaster and contended that the respondent was not confirmed as Headmaster and that on the eve of Provincialization the post of Headmaster was correctly shown as vacant with the result that he was illegally sticking to it ".. Under the unlawful order of the Administrator because the post of Headmaster was borne on regional cadre and under the West Pakistan Local Council and Municipal Service Rules, 1963 only the Government was the competent Authority to fill up the post".
He was also of the view that the learned Service Tribunal did not advert to the plea of limitation raised on behalf of the appellant and that same is true of all other pleas raised before it in the parawise comments to respondent's Appeal No,50-A of 1992.
5. Contrarily, Mr. Muhammad Ismail Qureshi, learned counsel for the respondent has supported the judgment of the Service Tribunal Punjab, dated 30-6-1992 with the plea that the entire record pertaining to the service-career of the respondent was duly considered therein for reaching the conclusion that he could not be denied the status of the post of Headmaster. He made a specific reference to the educational attainments of the respondent i.e, 'Allama' degree from Jamia Abbasia, Bahawalpur in 1948 and the same having been equalized with the degree of B.A. As also 'Maulvi Fazil' in the same year. As regards the allegation that the post held by the petitioner was shown vacant (vide Notification, dated 30-11-1975), it was contended that the continuous holding of the post by the respondent having not been denied by the appellant at any point of time in the past, the assertion by the respondent that it was an inadvertent entry therein is supported by the entries in his Service Book and other relevant material. He also vehemently controverted the plea noticed in the leave grant order, dated 12-4-1993 that the respondent did not possess the requisite qualifications and pointed out that no such question was raised by the appellant before the Service Tribunal. He has also referred to the Notifications issued by the erstwhile State of Bahawalpur and also the Governor of the Province of the Punjab for supporting the case of the respondent to the effect that his promotion to the post of Headmaster by the Administrator, Municipal Committee, Ahmedpur East and the subsequent allowance of the newly-created pay to him on more than one occasions after the Provincialization, clearly help him in the matter of obtaining the requisite status and pay with effect from 23-12-1971.
6. We have considered the arguments advanced on behalf of the parties in this case and have also carefully perused the material on the record. The question regarding the respondent holding the post of Headmaster Fazil High School, Ahmedpur East ever since 23-12-1971 without any break, stands established. The intervening Provincialization, entitlement of persons similarly placed as the respondent in the matter of status as well as pay as reflected in the entire service record of the respondent and the appropriate forum i.e, Punjab Service Tribunal having dealt with the case of the respondent in terms of the impugned order, dated 30-6-1992 do clinch the matter with regard to the cause remaining current throughout. The plea of the appellant that respondent's appeal before the Punjab Service Tribunal was beyond time need not detain us further in that it was neither pleaded in the parawise comments to Appeal No,50-A of 1992 nor the same was argued before the Tribunal.
7. Attending to the other point raised in support of the appeal to the effect that the then Administrator, Municipal Committee, Ahmedpur East was not competent to promote the respondent as Headmaster with the result that he had no right to the pay for the post of Headmaster Fazil High School, Ahmedpur East, we suffice by observing that all the events succeeding the promotion of the respondent by the Administrator Municipal Committee, Ahmedpur East stood merged in the new discipline which came about on account of Provincialization of the year 1975. It is not denied on behalf of the appellant that the respondent did opt for National Pay Scale introduced by Punjah Senior Teaching Post (National Pay Scale) Rules, 1974 which were made applicable with effect from 1-3-1972 when the management and control of the schools of Municipal Committees and Corporations were transferred to Government of Punjab in the Education Department with effect from 1-7-1975. The appellant did not even so much as raise any objection whatsoever to the then existing position. Similarly, the litigation between the parties originated in the year 1979 and concluded with the making of the impugned judgment by the.
Punjab Service Tribunal favouring the respondent on 30-6-1992. Learned counsel for the respondent has rightly relied upon Rule 31 of the West Pakistan Municipal Committees (Grades of Pay) Rules, 1964 and on Notifications, dated 27-8-1975 and 30-11-1975 to contend respectively for (i) respondent's entitlement to the same scales of pay as are prescribed for Government servants of corresponding category and qualifications; (ii) transfer of Municipal Committee Fazil High School, Ahmedpur East to the management and control of the Government of the Punjab in the Education.
Department with effect from 1-7-1975 and (iii) that in addition to being made the Drawing and Disbursing Officer in respect of the teaching and non-teaching staff of Municipal Committee Fazil High School, Ahmedpur East, he was also allowed the pay scale of the corresponding post under the Government. The objection to the later facility not being made available to the respondent on the ground that the post of Headmaster of Municipal Committee Fazil High School, Ahmedpur East was shown vacant in the 'Talbe' appended to Notification, dated 30-11-1975 under the subtitle 'Bahawalpur Division' therein, is of no avail to the appellant when considered in the context of the situation on the ground being totally different from the one which was indicated therein. It is not the case of the appellant that the matter was ever resolved against the respondent between 30-11- 1975 through his retirement from service on 21-12-1992 and todate.
8. Looked at from whatever angle, the resolution of the dispute by the Punjab Service Tribunal in favour of the respondent has not been shown to be suffering from any taint whatsoever. The instant appeal is sans merit and is dismissed with no order as to costs.