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Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 20
Putting an end to the controversy over the jurisdiction of Punjab Educational Tribunal, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that all disputes between the management and employees would lie with the tribunal. The only exception was cases involving gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act.
The ruling by Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi came on two petitions by Suresh Sharma and other petitioners against the state government and other respondents. The issue was whether the tribunal was created only to redress grievance of employees belonging to aided and unaided institutions subjected to punishment or termination of service.
The counsel for the petitioner had claimed that the tribunal’s jurisdiction could be evoked only in the case of dismissal, removal or reduction in rank imposed as a matter of punishment. The tribunal’s jurisdiction was barred, where employees were seeking payment of benefits such as retirement.
The Bench was told that the petitioner’s claim in one of the petitions was against respondent-president of a managing committee running a private aided college for release of pension benefits, balance payment of leave encashment and for arrears of pay scale following revision.
At the onset, counsel for private aided college raised preliminary objection on the writ petition’s maintainability as the petitioner’s claim was primarily against the management of a private aided institution. It was stated that the petitioner was required approach the tribunal. Justice Sethi asserted the acceptance of petitioner’s arguments that the employees would approach the tribunal only in case of dismissal, removal or a reduction in rank would lead to an anomalous situation.