High Court dismisses plea of 52 Nagaland teachers seeking higher grade pay

DIMAPUR — The Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by 52 Post Graduate Teachers (PGTs) in Nagaland who had sought grade pay parity with PGTs upgraded in 2014, ruling that the two groups were governed by different service rules.

The case was heard on Aug. 19, and judgement was delivered on Friday by Justice Mridul Kumar Kalita.

Per the judgement order, the petitioners were upgraded to PGTs in 2020 from the posts of Graduate Teachers and Primary Teachers. They contended that they were entitled to grade pay of INR 4,600 (Pay Matrix Level-12) as given to the 2014 batch of PGTs, but were instead fixed at INR 4,400 (Pay Matrix Level-11) under notifications issued on March 5, 2020.

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Their petitioners’ counsel argued that both groups were upgraded on the basis of the same Cabinet decision of June 19, 2014, and therefore should receive the same benefits. The petitioners also relied on Finance Department concurrences dated June 1, 2016, and December 20, 2017, both of which indicated grade pay of INR 4,600 for upgraded PGTs. They further submitted that an incumbency list of Government Higher Secondary School PGTs for 2020–2021 also reflected their grade pay as INR 4,600.

The petitioners alleged discriminatory treatment and violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.

The counsel argued that the petitioners, “who stand on the same footing like that of those PGTs who were upgraded in the year 2014, were treated in a discriminatory manner, violating their fundamental rights under Article 14 of the Constitution of India,” by giving them a lower grade pay.

The teachers had reportedly submitted a representation to the principal secretary of School Education on February 16, 2021. However, their request was turned down by the government on March 9, 2025, on the grounds that it was not tenable under the provisions of the service rules, they said.

It was further argued that denying the petitioners the same grade pay as the 2014 batch violated the principle of equal pay for equal work.

State’s response

Defending the state, the government advocate countered that the 2014 and 2020 upgrades were carried out under different legal regimes. The first phase of 262 posts upgraded in 2014 was governed by the Nagaland School Education Service Rules, 2002, which prescribed a pay scale equivalent to grade pay of INR 4,600. The petitioners, however, were upgraded in 2020 under the Nagaland School Education Service Rules, 2017, which created two distinct categories—PGT (Junior Grade-III) with grade pay of INR 4,400, and Senior PGT (Junior Grade-II) with grade pay of INR 4,600.

She maintained that the petitioners were placed only in the Junior Grade-III category, as explicitly stated in the March 5, 2020 notifications. The state submitted that “the incumbency list cannot override the statutory provisions” of the 2017 Rules and described the entries in the incumbency list showing INR 4,600 as clerical errors. It was also argued that Finance department concurrences were only interdepartmental communications with no statutory force.

Court’s findings

After examining the submissions, the court held that the petitioners’ claims could not be sustained. It noted that both the March 5, 2020 notifications “categorically prescribe Pay Level-11 (INR 40,800–1,29,200)” and that these were published in the official gazette, which is binding. The concurrence of the Finance department, the court said, “is only an inter-departmental communication” and “does not create any right in favour of the petitioners.”

“What is binding is the notification and not the views/clearance/concurrence on the basis of which such decision was taken,” the order stated.

The court further referred to Schedule-II of the Nagaland School Education Service Rules, 2017, which “clearly stipulates that PGT (Junior Gr.-III) would get grade pay of INR 4,400 and only Senior PGT would get a grade pay of INR 4,600.” It observed that the petitioners had not challenged these provisions and therefore could not claim benefits applicable to a different category.

On the question of parity with the 2014 batch, the court pointed out that the earlier group had been upgraded under the 2002 Rules, which carried the higher scale, whereas the 2020 batch fell under the 2017 Rules. “The petitioners and the Post Graduate Teachers who were appointed in the year 2014 stand on two different footings and were governed by two different sets of Rules applicable to them at the time of their upgradation,” the judgement stated.

Rejecting the plea of arbitrariness, the court held that by providing grade pay of INR 4,400 to the petitioners in terms of the applicable rules, “they were not subjected to any arbitrary treatment, and same has not in any manner violated the fundamental rights guaranteed to the petitioners under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.”

Accordingly, the Court dismissed the writ petition.