MODJI SHAMBHAJI PARMAR Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Letters Patent Appeal has been filed by the appellants challenging the judgment and order of the learned Single Judge dated 04.08.2014 passed by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application No.3250 of 2014.

(2.) THE brief facts of this case are that the appellants are serving as teachers in primary school run by the Nagar Prathmik Shikshan Samiti under respondent No.2, Director of Primary Education. The appellants being duly qualified and eligible, applied for the post of Head Teacher (Class III) pursuant to the advertisement dated 27.12.2013 issued by the Gujarat State Primary Education Selection Committee. Based on the merit list, different candidates including the appellants were called for giving placement in the district as Head Teacher on different dates. At the time of interview, the candidates were offered available posts in the district and in case the district place of the choice of the candidate did not have any vacancy, the candidate was called upon to submit an undertaking to the effect that he/she forgoes his/her right for appointment in a particular district. Since the appellants were serving in different schools under the second respondent situated in Banaskantha district, they had expressed their choice of posting at Banaskantha district. When the turn of the appellants came on 05.02.2014, the information was given that initially 40 vacancies were available in the open category in the Banaskantha district and that all such vacancies had now been filled up and that no post was left for appointment of Head Teacher in Banaskantha district, though they are having more merit, some of the appellants were informed that vacancies of Head Teacher in Banaskantha district have been exhausted. Since there were no vacancies available in Banaskantha district, they expressed their unwillingness to go to other districts. The second respondent, thereupon asked them to sign an undertaking on the said date that as no posts were available in Banaskantha district, the said appellants were giving up their right for appointment as Head Teachers. The appellants inspite of having information and knowledge, they did not choose to appear on that date before the Selection Committee and they remained absent.

(3.) ACCORDING to the respondents, since the appellants remained absent, their rights to claim appointment had come to an end.