HITESHBHAI BHIKHABHAI VYAS Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants-original petitioners in Special Civil Applications No. 2899 and 3722 of 2012 have mainly challenged the validity and legality of age limit of 35 years provided in the Notification dated 18.1.2012 issued by the respondents for appointment of Head Teacher in Government Primary Schools by way of direct recruitment.

(2.) BEING aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the common judgment and order dated 8.5.2012 passed by the learned Single Judge in the above referred Special Civil Applications and other connected matters, the above referred Letters Patent Appeals under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent are filed against the same. Since the grievance and the challenge referred above are intertwined and magnetically drawn to the common issues and contentions and since the respondent State has put forward common defence, the rival contentions are considered and dealt with by this common order.

(3.) SO far as the grievance related to upper age limit narrated above in paras 3 and 3.1 is concerned, as the age limit was coming in the way of the appellants, they were not able to register themselves. The upper age limit of 35 years is prescribed under rule 4 (a) of the Rule of 2012. Because of the second proviso to the said rule 4 (a) all those teachers who are employed and working in self-financed primary schools or in private primary schools receiving grant-in-aid and have crossed upper age limit on the relevant date, are automatically excluded and are rendered disqualified. As per the say of the appellants, the provisions as to upper age limit cannot be applied to the teachers who are already working as teachers and it is claimed that the provision is discriminatory. The learned Single Judge has dealt with at length as under on each and every issue on this point in paras No. 9.3 to 9.9 of the impugned judgment: