In Brief
A private school management challenged a High Court order requiring it to pay salary arrears to teachers and non-teaching staff as per the Fifth and Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. The management argued arrears should be limited to three years before the writ petition was filed. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that once an employer is bound by rules to apply a revised pay scale, it must do so automatically without requiring employees to repeatedly petition for the benefit. Employees cannot be denied full arrears because of the employer's default. The school was directed to clear all outstanding arrears within eight weeks.
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