JASWANT RAI GUPTA Vs. DELHI ADMINISTRATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under Article 228 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner, a trained graduate teacher in an existing recognised School, who has been officiating as Principal, claims to be entitled to be considered for promotion to the post of Principal on the ground that in terms of the existing rules, it was a promotion post.

(2.) The following facts and circumstances provide the necessary backdrop for the controversy. The petitioner is an M. A. in Mathematics with 50.3% marks, having obtained the Degree in 1942 from the then Panjab University. He joined the D. A. V. Higher Secondary School, a recognised institution, for short, the School, in 1944, as a Post Graduate Teacher in Mathematics. In 1975, the petitioner was appointed as officiating principal of the School and has been discharging duties as such Principal. The record of work and conduct of the petitioner has been satisfactory. In August, 1977, the School issued an advertisement inviting applications for the post of Principal, the minimum educational qualifications for which was, inter alia, stipulated to be Second Class Master's Degree from a recognised University. The School fixed November 30, 1977, for interview of the prospective candidates. The petitioner did not apply for the post as in terms of the advertisement he was not eligible, having been a 3rd Class M. A. He instead filed the present petition on November 28, 1977, claiming that the post of a Principal was a promotion post and he was entitled to be considered to the exclusion of fresh recruits and that in any event, the petitioner, having secured 50.3% marks in 1942 in the M. A. Examination, he would be eligible to apply for the post in terms of the advertisement. When Rule was issued, the announcement of results of the interview was ordered to be held up. Subsequently by an order of January 19, 1978, the interim order was made absolute and the petitioner has, therefore, continued to be the officiating Principal.

(3.) The petition was opposed on behalf of the Delhi Administration, Director of Education and the Management of the School. In the returns to the Rule, the respondents challenged both the contentions of the petitioner but after considerable arguments, the Management was reconciled to the point that, having regard to the different standards obtaining in different Indian University, with regard to the 2nd Division in the M. A. Examination, and having regard to the fact that 50.3% marks obtained by the petitioner in 1942 would have today put the petitioner in 2nd Division, it conceded that the petitioner would be eligible for being considered for appointment to the Post of Principal, along with the other eligible candidates, whether from among the existing staff of the School or from outside.