RAMESHBHAI BHAGWANDAS PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This group of petitions preferred under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenges the action of the respondent authority in framing the recruitment rules of Head Teachers (Class-III) in the Directorate of Primary Education District Primary Education Committees and Municipal Primary Education Committee and Municipal Primary Education Committee Recruitment Rules, 2016 ("the said Rules" for short). All the petitioners were initially appointed as teachers in Primary Schools and later on, on the post of Head Teachers. Thereafter, they have been discharging their duties once having been given the charge of Head Teacher in respective schools. The challenge was made to the Government Resolution dated 18.1.2012 laying down the rules for the Head Teachers Aptitude Test. Earlier the challenge was made to the Notification dated 18.1.2012 laying down the Recruitment Rules for the post of Head Teachers essentially, on the ground that there was no distinction between teachers of Lower Primary Schools and Upper Primary Schools, even on those posts which needed to be filled up from amongst the primary teachers. The Coordinate Bench in Special Civil Application No. 3592 of 2012 and allied matters, by a detailed bypartite hearing, has held as under:-

(2.) The challenge was made before the Division Bench in Letters Patent Appeal No.296 of 2014 where the Court in Letters Patent Appeal No.296 of 2014, after extensively discussing the law on the subject, upheld the decision with a marginal modification in the following manners:-

(3.) Various petitions came to be preferred as within the period of six months, as was directed by the appellate forum, neither the policy was finalized nor any recruitment rules came to be framed. This Court in Special Civil Application No.17831 of 2014 and allied matters was asked to consider this inaction on the part of the respondent State, wherein learned Government Pleader had submitted that serious consideration was given to the direction issued by the Division Bench and the State was committed to take minimum two months period to work out the modalities for carrying out such directions. All the petitions were disposed of giving direction to the State to complete the entire exercise at the earliest but in no case later than six months' period from the date of the order in the following manners:-