R VIMALA Vs. DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL EDUCATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The prayer in the writ petition is for issuance of a writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to approve the petitioner's appointment as Secondary Grade Teacher in the 5th respondent school from the date of her appointment.

(2.) The facts leading to the filing of the writ petition could be briefly stated as follows:- The petitioner is a Tamil Pandit and was appointed as Secondary Grade Teacher in the fifth respondent school on 02.06.1986. The fifth respondent school is an aided minority institution. The fifth respondent school filed two writ petitions before this Court in W.P.No.415/1989 and W.P.No.436/1989. The relief sought for in the W.P.No.415/1989 was to grant aid by way of allotment of teaching and non-teaching staff to the school from the year 1979 onwards and in W.P.No.436/1989, the prayer was for grant of aid by way of allotting teaching staff from the year of recognition namely 1986. By virtue of interim direction granted by this Court in W.P.No.436/1989, the petitioner received salary from the Government grant for the period from 02.06.1986 to 31.10.1987. Thereafter, the petitioner continued to work as Secondary Grade Teacher without salary from 01.11.1987 to 01.06.1997. The Government in G.O.Ms.No.13, School Educational Department, dated 29.11.1998, sanctioned Secondary Grade post with effect from 01.06.1987 in the scale of 1200-30-1560-40-2040 and the fifth respondent school was sanctioned four posts. This decision was based upon the earlier government order in G.O.Ms.No.317, School Education Department dated 25.07.1997. The petitioner was accommodated in one such post by the management by its school committee resolution dated 22.03.1998 and the proposal was sent to the department seeking approval of the petitioner's appointment. However, the department declined to approve the petitioner's appointment stating that the petitioner is not eligible as per the G.O.Ms.No.559, Education Department dated 11.07.1995. Against such rejection, the petitioner filed W.P.No.12259/2000 and the said writ petition was tagged along with W.A.Nos.991 to 998/1998. The Hon'ble Division Bench by order dated 29.06.2001, directed the State Government to take steps to provide relief to such teachers, who were inducted prior to the dismissal of the writ petition on 19.05.1998. Subsequently, the Government by G.O.Ms.No.155, School Education Department dated 03.10.2002, issued certain directions for approval of appointments of Secondary Grade Teachers in private aided minority and non-minority institutions, appointed between 11.07.1995 and 19.05.1998 by directing them to undergo training in Child Psychology. The petitioner requested that she may also be sent for Child Psychology training by submitting a representation to the fourth respondent on 30.01.2003. Since, no orders were passed on the representation, the petitioner filed W.P.No.4310/2002 seeking approval of her appointment. Pending disposal of the writ petition, the petitioner also sought for interim direction to send the petitioner for Child Psychology Training for a period of one month. This court by order dated 30.02.2003 granted interim direction as prayed for, enclosing such order the petitioner submitted a representation on 17.02.2003 followed by a telegram on 18.02.2003. However, she was not sent for training and petitioner also filed contempt petition for disobeying the interim direction issued.

(3.) The two writ petitions filed by the fifth respondent school in W.P.No.415/1989 and W.P.No.436/1989 were tagged along with batch of cases and heard by the Hon'ble Division Bench and by order dated 24.03.2003, the Hon'ble Division Bench allowed the writ petitions and directed the applications given by the respective managements, regarding grand-in-aid shall be considered by the State Government by following the directions given in paragraph 29 of the Judgment. In the above stated factual background, the petitioner's appointment is yet to be approved and therefore, the petitioner has prayed for appropriate direction.