The Gauhati High Court has ruled that employees appointed on an honorary basis cannot claim arrear salaries for the period before their regularization. This decision came from a division bench featuring Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Anjan Moni Kalita during the case of Basanta Barman v. State of Assam & Ors. The appellant, a Logic and Philosophy teacher at Barama Higher Secondary School, contended that he was entitled to back pay for over twenty years of unpaid service. He was initially appointed on July 12, 2000, under purely honorary terms, which he accepted without challenge for two decades.
The court observed that the regularization of the appellant’s services occurred only through an administrative order dated March 31, 2022, nearly two decades after his original appointment. In his defense, the appellant argued that upon his regularization, he should receive compensation for his entire prior service under the doctrine of quantum merit, claiming that the state had been unjustly enriched during his time of service.
Respondents, representing the Bodoland Territorial Council and the Finance Department, countered that the claim contradicted the explicit terms of his appointment. They maintained that the appellant had knowingly accepted the honorary position as non-remunerative, which barred him from seeking retrospective financial benefits.
In a decisive ruling, the division bench favored the respondents, indicating that the regularization order explicitly stated that the pay scale and allowances would take effect only from the date of issuance going forward. The court emphasized that it could not alter the terms of the appointment that the appellant had voluntarily accepted and under which he served for years without complaint.
Ultimately, the court concluded that the appellant’s failure to challenge either his original honorary appointment order from 2000 or the subsequent regularization order of 2022 was detrimental to his case. As a result, the appeal was dismissed.
Original Source: https://www.guwahatiplus.com/guwahati/no-right-to-arrear-salary-for-honorary-service-before-regularisation-gauhati-hc
Category: Guwahati
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Publish Date: 2025-10-22 14:17:00
