SALLY THOMAS Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPELLANTS are High School Teachers seeking appointment by transfer to the post of Higher Secondary School Teachers (Computer Science/ Computer Application ). They applied for the post in response to Notification dated 20. 9. 2001 issued by the Director of Higher Secondary education, Thiruvananthapuram. By the same notification applications were invited from eligible and qualified candidates for appointment to the post of higher Secondary School Teachers in other subjects also which are shown as S1. Nos. 1 to 36 in the notification. Computer Science is S1. No. 37 and Computer application is S1. No. 38 in that notification. Qualifications prescribed for the notified posts are shown against the concerned subjects. In addition to the academic qualifications like post graduate degree in the concerned subject and training qualification, a pass in State Eligibility Test (for short SET) in the subject concerned is also prescribed as one of the essential qualifications.

(2.) QUALIFICATIONS prescribed for S1. No. 37 Computer science and S1. No. 38 Computer Application as per the notification are different from those prescribed for posts shown against S1. Nos. 1 to 36. For easy reference, qualifications for Computer Science and Computer application are extracted below: Unlike other subjects, a pass in SET is not prescribed for appointment to the post of H. S. S. T. Computer Science, Computer Application and Electronics.

(3.) DIRECTOR of Higher Secondary Education has prepared a seniority list of qualified teachers (Ext. P5 with the Writ Petition) showing their preference for appointment as H. S. S. Teachers. In that list, some of the teachers who have not passed SET have been assigned higher ranks whereas the appellants are placed lower down in that list. According to the appellants, if a pass in SET is made compulsory for the post of H. S. S. T. Computer Science/ computer Application, the appellants would have got higher ranks in the final select list to the exclusion of those who did not possess that qualification, which would have accelerated their appointment to the post of Higher Secondary school Teacher in Computer Science/ Computer Application. In the above circumstances, appellants filed W. P. (C)No. 23351 of 2003 praying, among other, for a declaration that 'the exclusion of SET as a mandatory requirement for appointment to the post of Higher Secondary School Teacher in Computer Science was violative of Art. 14 and 16 of the Constitution'. They also sought for a writ of certiorari quashing the final seniority list of qualified H. S. As. and u. P. S. As. /l. P. S. As. for appointment by transfer as H. S. S. Teachers/h. S. S. Teachers (Junior ). A learned Single Judge of this Court as per judgment dated 22. 1. 2003 dismissed the above Writ Petition holding that the concept of under-inclusiveness does not apply to the facts of this case. This Writ Appeal is directed against the above judgment of the learned Single Judge.