PCS rules apply to IT education society teachers: HC
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that computer teachers recruited under the Punjab Information and Technology Education Society (PICTES) are required to be governed by the Punjab Civil Service (PCS) rules — a conclusion that effectively confirms society’s status as an extension of the Punjab Government.
The Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Vikas Suri made it clear that these teachers were entitled to benefits under the PCS rules, rejecting the Punjab Finance Department’s earlier dissent against extending such benefits.
The Bench partially concurred with a single Bench ruling in a case filed in 2018 by concluding that the service conditions of PICTES employees must align with the provisions explicitly mentioned in their appointment letters. The court asserted that the appointment letters, issued in the name of the Punjab Governor, categorically said the employees would be governed by PCS rules rendering contrary stance by the Finance Department untenable.
Rejecting the argument that PICTES, as a registered society, had independent service conditions, the Bench held it functioned as an instrumentality of the state under Article 12 of the Constitution.
The court further emphasised that PICTES was created to carry out functions otherwise performed by the Government of Punjab. It was merely an auxiliary entity and remained an extension of the state government, the Bench asserted while affirming the teachers’ parity with vocational masters in pay scales and allowances.
Acknowledging that PICTES was a distinct legal entity under the Societies Registration Act, the Bench ruled that this did not alter the teachers’ employment status, which remained subject to the same service rules as government employees.
The directions came on 12 petitions filed against the state of Punjab by the employees. The matter was placed before the Division Bench after it was asked to decide on government employee status of PICTES staff following difference in opinion by single Benches of the high court.
