‘Pay teachers or we’ll attach bank accounts’

The High Court on Wednesday warned the Delhi government of attaching its bank accounts if it did not release funds for payment of salaries of municipal school teachers in east and north Delhi.

A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar said that the State should treat all teachers, both municipal and government, at par.

“We will attach your [the Delhi government’s] bank accounts. We will stop you from paying salaries to your teachers. Let all the teachers be treated at par. How can you even claim you are interested in education?,” the Bench said.

It asked the city government to pay salaries from its funds, as of now, and said it would later decide whether it is the responsibility of the Centre or the State to pay the municipal teachers, who got their last salary for January.

‘Violation of RTE’

The court added that non-payment of salary was a violation of the right to education under the Constitution.

The court listed the matter for April 16 and asked the Delhi government counsel to take instructions on how it will release funds for salaries of municipal teachers.

The court had earlier too pulled up the authorities for the treatment they meted out to teachers, doctors, nurses and sanitation workers who were not paid for over four months.