SUNIL KUMAR YADAV Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan ("SSA") is a flagship programmatic intervention by the Government of India, operationalised in partnership with State Governments, to achieve the universalisation of Elementary Education in India. Its jurisprudential foundation is anchored in the Directive Principles of State Policy under Article 45 of the Constitution of India and, subsequently, the Fundamental Right guaranteed under Article 21A [Inserted via the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002], which mandates the State to provide free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of six to fourteen years. The SSA is the primary vehicle for implementing the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 ("RTE Act"). In the State of Jharkhand, the overarching responsibility for implementing the SSA is with the Jharkhand Education Project Council, an autonomous State Implementation Society. The project was a muchneeded initiative, and to fulfil its laudable aims, the State may have been compelled to adopt innovative approaches to address the human resources gap in employing teachers. To shorten the narrative, it is noted that the result was the engagement of voluntary teachers/para-teachers on a contract basis starting in 2002.

(3.) The para-teachers engaged under the SSA are the Appellants. The Civil Appeals arise from the Judgment dtd. 16/12/2022, in Writ Petition (S) No. 315 of 2016 and a batch of similar petitions from the High Court of Jharkhand ("Impugned Judgment").