STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. TUKARAM TRYAMBAK CHAUDHARI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted in all the Special Leave Petitions.

(2.) The private respondents in all these special leave petitions had filed several writ petitions in the Bombay High Court questioning the decision of the authorities to treat them as Untrained Teachers although they were all graduate teachers having B.Ed. qualification and approval having been granted for their appointment as trained teachers. According to the said respondents, they had all been appointed as Assistant Teachers in Primary Schools which conducted classes up to the 7th standard, from about the year 1988 onwards. It is only after a decision was taken to treat them as untrained teachers, despite being fully trained and qualified, that they were compelled to move the several writ petitions which were all allowed by a common judgment of the Bombay High Court dated 6.05.2004.

(3.) The case of the writ petitioners before the Bombay High Court was that they were all graduate teachers having B.Ed. qualification and that they had been appointed to teach in Primary Schools conducting classes up to the 7th standard. In most of the cases, approval was granted for their appointment as Trained Teachers. Subsequently, however, in 2001, they were all informed on different dates that they would be treated as untrained teachers and would be paid their salaries accordingly. According to the writ petitioners, in terms of Government Resolution dated 26.10.1982, they were entitled to be appointed and continued as Trained Teachers in the B.Ed. scale. The respondents in the several writ petitions, who are the appellants before us, had contended before the High Court that B.Ed. qualification was not sufficient for being treated as Trained Teacher in the Primary Schools and that what was required was a D.Ed. qualification. It was contended that before joining the school, the teacher concerned was required to hold the qualification of S.S.C. and D.Ed. and that the teacher was also required to acquire a graduation degree while in service along with a B.Ed. degree.