BHAGWATIBEN J SHARAF Vs. DIST PRIMARY EDUCATION OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Special Civil Application is filed by the petitioner, who was serving as primary teacher under the District Primary Education Officer, District Education Committee, District Panchayat, Junagadh. The petitioner has challenged the legality and validity of the impugned orders dated 15.07.2000 and 12.01.2001 (Annexures 'C' and 'I' respectively). By order dated 15.07.2000, Annexure 'C' to the petition, the petitioner was ordered to be retired on compensatory pension, with effect from 31.07.2000. Against this order dated 15.07.2000, the petitioner made representation dated 16.08.2000 requesting that as the petitioner has put in 24 years and 9 months of service and if she was allowed to retire at the end of the academic term, she would have completed 25 years of service and on so completion of 25 years of service she would have got the benefit of addition of 5 years for calculation of pensionable service. She requested for the said benefit by the said representation. As she did not hear anything from the authorities she made another representation dated 10.10.2000. May be that the petitioner was little impatient, she again made a representation dated 20.10.2000. The next representation submitted by her to the authorities was dated 12.12.2000. Thereafter, one more representation she made on 29.12.2000. The authorities replied to the last representation of the petitioner dated 29.12.2000 by letter dated 12.01.2001, a copy of which is at Annexure 'I', which is under challenge in this petition. By the said communication the petitioner was conveyed that by order dated 15.07.2000 you are already retired on compensatory pension and that order is final and there is no question of your reinstatement in service. Therefore, the petitioner should not indulge in any unnecessary correspondence and pension papers be prepared and submitted through Taluka Development Officer, Vanthali within eight days from the date of receipt of the said communication. Surprisingly, the authorities mentioned in that letter/ communication that, 'in case the petitioner fails to do so, it will be presumed that the petitioner is not willing to accept the pension. The stand taken by the authorities is too harsh by any standards and therefore, the petitioner is before this Court being aggrieved of both these orders dated 15.07.2000 and 12.01.2001.

(2.) The facts of the case are that the petitioner was appointed in the year 1975 as primary teacher in Sindhi Medium School on a large scale migration of Sindhi speaking people in Junagadh district, Sindhi Medium Schools were opened in Junagadh, Veraval, Bantva, Manavdar, Vanthali, Keshod and other places. By passage of time strength of students taking instructions in Sindhi Medium Schools got reduced and therefore, some of the schools were required to be closed down. Therefore, the authorities by communication dated 08.03.2000 (Annexure 'A') asked the petitioner, along with many other similar Sindhi Medium Primary Teachers, either to accept assignments in Gujarati Medium Schools or to accept cessation of their services. Options were invited. The petitioner also exercised her option, but the authorities came to the conclusion that the petitioner was not competent to work in Gujarati Medium School and that the petitioner had not given her consent to be allotted to a Gujarati Medium School. The communication dated 08.03.2000 of the District Primary Education Officer was replied by the petitioner by her letter dated 27.03.2000 controverting both these averments, namely, she is not competent to work in a Gujarati Medium School and that she has not given her consent to be allotted to a Gujarati Medium School. The said reply was not accepted and the impugned order dated 15.07.2000 was passed.

(3.) The learned advocate for the petitioner submitted that other similarly situated persons had approached this Court by filing Special Civil Application No.8112 to 8115 of 2000 challenging an order similar to the impugned order dated 15.07.2000. These matters were disposed of on a statement being made which is recorded in judgement and order dated 27.07.2000, which reads as under: