The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Punjab government to pay ₹50,000 as compensation to a teacher who was not allowed to join her duties for 14 months.The high court acted on the plea of one Neha Bhagat, who was selected for post of Punjabi mistress and issued an appointment letter, but when she went to join her duty on February 16, 2006, she was not allowed to do so.She wasn’t allowed to do so, & the district education officer (DEO) (secondary) Jalandhar referred the matter to director education department (secondary), commenting that she hadn’t passed Punjabi elective subject in BA, rather she had passed Punjabi compulsory subject.

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As per the petition, then district education officer (secondary), Jalandhar, had referred the matter to director (education), observing that Punjabi was not her compulsory subject but an elective one. The matter kept hanging in the balance for about 14 months, before the DEO on 14 February 2008 permitted Bhagat to join her duties as Punjabi mistress on the basis of decision taken by DPI, secondary education, Punjab.The DPI had opined that it had been decided to allow all those candidates to join duty, who had passed BA with Punjabi as a compulsory or elective subject. She joined her duty on February 16, 2008.

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Article 226 in The Constitution Of India 1949

  1. Power of High Courts to issue certain writs

(1) Notwithstanding anything in Article 32 every High Court shall have powers, throughout the territories in relation to which it exercise jurisdiction, to issue to any person or authority, including in appropriate cases, any Government, within those territories directions, orders or writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibitions, quo warranto and certiorari, or any of them, for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by Part III and for any other purpose

(2) The power conferred by clause ( 1 ) to issue directions, orders or writs to any Government, authority or person may also be exercised by any High Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to the territories within which the cause of action, wholly or in part, arises for the exercise of such power, notwithstanding that the seat of such Government or authority or the residence of such person is not within those territories

(3) Where any party against whom an interim order, whether by way of injunction or stay or in any other manner, is made on, or in any proceedings relating to, a petition under clause ( 1 ), without

(a) furnishing to such party copies of such petition and all documents in support of the plea for such interim order; and

(b) giving such party an opportunity of being heard, makes an application to the High Court for the vacation of such order and furnishes a copy of such application to the party in whose favour such order has been made or the counsel of such party, the High Court shall dispose of the application within a period of two weeks from the date on which it is received or from the date on which the copy of such application is so furnished, whichever is later, or where the High Court is closed on the last day of that period, before the expiry of the next day afterwards on which the High Court is open; and if the application is not so disposed of, the interim order shall, on the expiry of that period, or, as the case may be, the expiry of the aid next day, stand vacated

(4) The power conferred on a High Court by this article shall not be in derogation of the power conferred on the Supreme court by clause ( 2 ) of Article 32

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She had approached the high court in 2015, claiming the monetary benefits for the 14 months period. In response, the department had claimed that it would treat this time as duty period towards pay fixation and sanction of increments, but declined to pay arrears of salary.The high court while holding that she was not entitled for salary to the said period, but for the reasons that petitioner was not to be blamed for not discharging duties, allowed her a compensation of ₹50,000 to be paid by Punjab government.During the pendency of the writ petition, the department conveyed its decision to treat the aforesaid period of 14 months as duty period towards pay fixation & sanction of increments, but declined to pay arrears of salary for the said period.

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