AARTIBEN G PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Recruitment was held for making appointments on the post of Vidhya Sahayaks in October 1998 for District Banaskantha in pursuance to the advertisement, which had been issued on 25.6.98 and 2.7.98. This recruitment was intended for 1492 Vidhya Sahayaks. Select list was prepared on the basis of the marks obtained in S.S.C. as well as P.T.C. and other courses. After the recruitment was held and the Vidhya Sahayaks were to be appointed and when the question came up with regard to their postings, the Director of Primary Education held a Camp at Palanpur from 6.11.98 to 12.11.98. According to respondent No.3 at that time it was decided not to fill up any vacancy in the cadre of Primary School Teachers through the selected Vidhya Sahayaks so far as Talukas, namely, Palanpur, Vadgam and Danta in Banaskantha District are concerned, as there were shortage of teachers in other backward and interior Talukas like Deodhar, Vav, Tharad, Kankrej etc. as they are Boarder Talukas as well as under developed and backward. The vacancies available in these three Talukas had not been notified for the aforesaid Camp and the candidates were asked to select the villages and places of their choice in Talukas other than Palanpur, Vadgam and Danta and the postings were given in the other Talukas, which had been duly notified for the aforesaid Camp. Number of candidates approached the authorities for their posting in these three Talukas i.e. Palanpur, Vadgam and Danta for different reasons and accordingly 124 postings were given in these three Talukas also. Later on the Director of Primary Education of the State of Gujarat issued instructions to cancel the said postings as the same were contrary to the guidelines and decision taken by the District Panchayat itself. Immediate action was, therefore, taken by the respondent No.3 herein cancelling the said posting orders and posting the said 124 Vidhya Sahayaks in other Talukas.

(2.) Against the postings made in these three Talukas, seven petitions being Special Civil Applications Nos.2503, 2108, 2301, 2304, 2388, 2591 and 2116 of 1999 were filed before this Court and all these seven Petitions were decided by a common judgment and order dated 11.10.99 passed by this Court (Coram: Rajesh Balia, J). Subject matter of the dispute in those petitions was that the posting to certain Vidhya Sahayaks had been given at places in these three Talukas, although the same had not been notified for the camp. This Court while considering the seven petitions, as aforesaid, found that the postings in three places i.e. in Talukas Vadgam, Danta and Palanpur had been made without considering the merit list of the candidates of the very same selection for such postings in these Talukas and thus the order of preference envisaged under the Scheme of Appointment of Vidhya Sahayaks was defeated. Whereas the Vidhya Sahayaks after the appointment and posting are not liable to be transferred until absorbed regularly as Primary Education Teachers, no Scheme could be operated in violation of the Constitutional mandate of equal treatment at the hands of the State, the Court issued directions as under:-

(3.) On behalf of the petitioners herein, 117 in number, the grievance has been raised that while giving appointments now after this Court's decision dated 11.10.99, the places in three Talukas have been kept out of consideration and the postings have been given only in Talukas other than the aforesaid three Talukas and stress has been laid that according to the decision of this Court dated 11.10.99, the three Talukas should also have been included. The present petition was filed in this Court on 18.11.99 with the prayers as under:-